The Fun Never Ends Around Here

Time to get back to the Ormes Inspired quilt! You can read about the original inspiration in the link. I've been puttering around with it here and there and finally got the last of the boxed-in leaves stitched down. So glad I went with reverse applique as it made for a very stable base for these very curvy leaves.

Loving these applique scissors

This summer I had an online order that needed just a little bit more for cheaper shipping. These little Olpha applique scissors were the best impulse buy I've made in a long time. They have been working beautifully for cutting the funky looking leaves and also for making the little snips necessary to help ease the stitching.

The only leaf that isn't reverse appliqued is the one with tan background fabric up in the right corner. That was a pieced woven print and so I cut the white leaf {same exact fabric as the larger background} and then appliqued it down on top of the background like I normally would. After that it was a simple matter to sew the rectangle shape to the larger white background of the 'whole' quilt. It just made sense not to try and cut through pieced seams on a woven print that would fray easily. Peace of mind is worth taking the extra steps.

The base of Ormes Inspired is ready to go!

I'm still not sure if all the placement is exactly where it needs to be, but the base of this quilt is set now. Not taking anything out unless it's just gonna get in the way of something later on. Next up is some of the other larger pieces that will be underneath some of the smaller applique bits that will be coming along soon. First things first! I went ahead and attempted to draw the elephant, mentally scratching my head the entire time. I'm actually going to put an elephant on one of my quilts? Okay, fine. It's gonna be black pinstripes then. This elephant is going to have to have character! lol  

To make matters worse, that particular fabric was just almost enough for another project that has been marinating for months now. Perfect for it! And now I've raided way too much for the other project to even get off the ground. But you know how it is. The quilt that is being made right now is the Ormes Inspired one. Can't worry about the quilt that may or may not even be made at a later date!

Proof that I'm losing my mind

The baby boy quilt is all finished except for the label. That will be stitched on before gifting, no worries there! This quilt has a different look than what you probably are used to seeing around here, but I'm fairly pleased with it regardless. I went ahead and machine quilted the entire thing in straight stitches {using orange thread}, some in-the-ditch, some that had to be marked. The only hand quilting on this quilt is in the blocks row and also just a little bit around that make-do blue print fabric addition. Any and every excuse to add just a little bit of perle cotton!

The latest baby quilt

I'm not very good at machine quilting and so always try to stick to the basics. My go-to thread is Aurifil because I rarely ever have trouble with that particular brand and the least bit of trouble would probably convince me that I'm done machine quilting forever.  I'm a total chicken-heart when it comes to machine quilting!  As you can see, I did have enough of the old blue calico print for the binding. I am actually pretty stoked about how well it looks! How's that for moving a 20 plus year old fabric down the road!

Looking at the binding

The backing fabric is just a wee bit too bright for my tastes, but nothing out of pocket right now means it's the perfect fabric. Baby quilts are supposed to be bright and fun anyway. Right?

Front and back of the baby quilt

I seem to be knee deep in projects that will be going to other people right now. There is a little gift exchange coming up early November that convinced me of the need to make a small table runner. Or wall hanging? It could totally work either way. Hand made items are not mandatory at all, but it just seems like the right thing to do for my person.

A quick little runner

The gift recipient is a very traditional gal and so I went looking in the stash totes for prints reflecting those vibes. I thought to make an autumn look runner, but then somehow ended up with the gold, vibrant orange, blue and red combo. The pattern that I am loosely following is 'Rebeccas Baskets' by Jo Morton. It's one of those gifts where the pattern really isn't what it's all about  but of course I saw the little baskets and got all excited.  It was in the December 2003 edition of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. The original pattern calls for 8 baskets I think, but narrowed down to 3 it starts looking very doable as a fast and quick project.

Trimming the small hsts for accuracy

I was shocked at how small the little hsts were, but they sewed up with plenty of room to trim down to proper size. That's helpful around here as my hsts rarely end up straight and true. If you're wondering what the white specks are? Those are the rogue flowers in the blue and red print fabric I chose to use for the basket handles. The tan floral fabric is absolutely gorgeous in proper lighting, but not something that I ever use anymore. Pairing it with the solid blue just seemed boring and so...yep,  I had to try and find something to punch things up a bit. Just can't seem to help myself! Probably not the best choice, but it makes me smile 'cuz it's different and a tiny bit unexpected. It makes you look closer! Still pondering the sashing and outside border fabric and then that's that. On to the quilt sandwich and plenty of time to finish up before our gift exchange!

Little baskets

I did finally make some decisions about the Seedpod quilt and even started cutting out some fabric for it. My husband derailed me on the night that I was making serious inroads on the cutting, and since, my elbow has been bothering me. Nothing to do with him, just me being stupid and carrying too many groceries into the house all at one time. It's the same elbow that I got tendinitis in years ago, and so best to slow down and give it a rest for a couple days. Gonna still hand quilt though if at all possible. Can't possibly give up that!