It's That Time of Year! Quilty Folk Applique Template Giveaway!

I cannot believe we are this close to Christmas again! Where did the year go? Fed-Ex finally delivered our tree today, so maybe we can get into the proper holiday spirits after the tree lights start twinkling. Last year I gifted an applique template during this time of year and it seemed to be well received. Well over a hundred 'Yes, please! I want that!' comments plus emails, which really, is the best sort of compliment. Cozy quilts seem to be the thing we most want to work on during the holidays.

The older {Happy Flowers} Love Apple blocks

So this year, much in the same vein, I am doing another Very Merry Christmas giveaway to all my loyal readers! *This offer is good through December 25th!* Most everyone who responded the other day wanted the older Happy Flowers template, but I just couldn't resist offering the newer, funkier looking flower too. They are just so sweet! Everyone should have at at least one Love Apple quilt hanging around, right?

The newer 2021 Love Apple Blocks

If you are interested in obtaining the gift of these simple, folksy applique templates, all you have to do is leave a request in the comments or drop me an email. It's that easy! Both templates will be included in the PDF that will be attached in the return email. Depending on how many requests that I receive, it may take me until January 1st to get completely caught up. Please be patient! If you haven't received anything by that date, it will be because I can't find your return email. Then you can get grumpy {hopefully reach out again}, we can talk more, and then, probably, the PDF will finally be zinging your way.

A few things to consider:

• Please leave your email address in the comment or you might very well get lost in the Blogger quagmire of privacy issues. Can leave it in this form: 'audkateaster at gmail dot com'  if you are nervous about throwing it out into the universe {use your email address not mine of course} . Or you can just email me directly if that works better. 
• If you don't request the template, I won't be sending it to you. I'll just assume you stopped by to say 'Hi'!
• This is a limited time offer, good only through Christmas Day, 2021. Last year I randomly got requests throughout the entire year! Which occasionally kind of drives me nuts, just saying. After December 25th, 2021 you will only get this giveaway PDF if you physically mail me a fat quarter or two through the postal service: Audrey Easter, PO Box 2251, Pateros, WA 98846. That tells me you're seriously in the mood to make this and not just trying to scoop up a freebie. It doesn't even have to be brand new fabric, just make sure it's suitable for quilting! And I'm dead serious about this unless maybe you live overseas and the shipping would be astronomical. Then we'll talk. Call me a meanie, but a giveaway needs to have an end date! Be sure your email is included with the fabric so I can get the PDF sent to the right person. 
• Just to be clear, this giveaway is for applique templates ONLY, not quilt patterns. You'll probably want to trace the designs onto template plastic or freezer paper before you get started. 
• When cutting the background fabric, 9" x 9" squares of fabric work fine for both motifs, even though one is on point and the other straight up and down. Feel free to make your background whatever size looks best to you though!
• Both templates include a skinny rectangle shape that can be traced and used for the flower stem. I prefer to make long {bias or not} vines and cut into proper lengths. In the case of the Happy Flower block, you'll want to start with 2" strips and sew the really scant seam and then iron the seam to the back. For the newer Love Apple block, start with 1 1/2" strips and proceed like the previous block. So much easier hand stitching straight edges when all the raw edge is clear out of the way!
• For all you stressy peoples out there, I need to tell you that it's highly unlikely these motifs will line up exactly even steven. Ha! Remember that the preferred look around here at Quilty Folk is cozy and hand touched, not precise and rigidly straight!
• Please do not copy, redistribute or try to sell these templates. It might make me shut down my blog and go cry in a corner.

Okay, that's it. Any questions? Shoot me an email! Happy Holidays to all!

A Happy Finish

Happy Flowers is finally a true blue finished quilt! Woohoo! It's only been in the hoop since April.... Um, yeah. A couple other quilts sort of nudged it out of the way.

Happy Flowers

I think maybe because the stitching wasn't going to change the look very much? I just didn't feel pressed to get it done and out of the way. Plus, I worked on this quilt a lot when I helped out with my cousin who had the stroke last winter. It seems to be a happy quilt with a fun vibe. And honestly, it felt good to have this hanging around my lap when I was trying to be cheerful. {In case you didn't realize, cheerful doesn't exactly come natural to me at this point in my life.}

A closer look

I don't know that I will ever use linen to make quilt blocks again though. Love the way the fabric feels and it was a fun experiment. Bottom line? It was way too much work for me, making sure these seams don't fray! And I still don't know for absolute positive that they won't, which of course makes me very nervous. You can be sure that I will be checking on this quilt for a long time.

More Happy Flowers

Chances are this quilt will be given away because I always seem to give away the brighter, happier quilts. It just seems easier to gift people with quilts that say 'snuggle up with me and I'll make you smile'. But then I'm the weirdo who thinks quilts might actually have something to say.*wink

Loving those polka dots

From start to finish, this has been a wonderful quilt to work on. Love that the inspiration is from antique quilts with 'love apple' sort of applique flowers too. I always get my very best inspiration from the old ones! Okay, time to link up to Julie's Binding Blitz! It feels really good to have another finish for this year!

Finishing Up and Starting Something New, The Ongoing Cycle

Things have been pretty slow around here in regards to quilting. We jaunted off to Portland over the weekend to attend a friends wedding and I ended up doing a lot of the driving. Which means of course, no time with the hand work because we're always busy after we arrive at our destination!

Happy Flowers ready for binding

It's already been the year for weddings with our friends and family and still one more left on the schedule for August. I'm starting to think in terms of, either gift, or money in the boot, but not both! It's starting to cut into my quilting money.*wink

I have had very little motivation since returning, but I did manage to finish up the hand quilting on my Happy Flowers quilt. Wowsers, has that quilt been in the hoop for a long time considering how small the quilt is! I picked out all the cherry red binding from my leftovers tote and had enough for half the binding length. The rest came from my stash as I did not want to go shopping for fabric right now.

A new project...

I've been considering this 'Pleasantville' quilt from the book 'Making Quilts with Kathy Doughty' for some time now. I have dithered a lot over actually starting it because the twirly ball blocks have to be cut out from templates. Ughh.. I do so hate drawing them onto the fabric and then having to oh-so-carefully cut them out. Much better to cut out using a rotary cutter and ruler! First I am going to try sewing them on the machine and then if that doesn't work out, I may switch to hand sewing. 

The quilt will not be made in the correct order of sequence because I really need to find out if the twirly ball blocks are even manageable before I progress with the rest of the quilt. Honestly, I am terrible about following directions and it's been a long time since I've seriously planned on even attempting to make a quilt directly from a pattern! Which I'm not. Just parts of it. I've already decided to change a few things just in fabric choices! The layout will probably be the same though and that's where I'll really have to focus and try to get things cut out just right so as not to waste or ruin fabric. If I remember right, some of the Kathy Doughty patterns have been a bit confusing for me to follow along with...

My Happy Conversation Quilt

For such a small quilt, this one is taking a long time to finish hand quilting. The problem is, of course, that I'm working on my Fire quilt at the very same time. So... this quilt only gets taken out when I go sit with my cousin or when I have company in my home. There's just something about the Fire quilt that makes me nervous and squeamish to work on it in front of people. Call me shy.

Working on the borders

Or call me thoughtful. Maybe even a little particular? Happy Flowers is just bright and happy. It makes for very lighthearted conversation! And even with all the crazy goings on last week and over the weekend, I did manage to complete a couple frames. When people {who want to act interested but don't really want the skinny} ask about my quilting, this is an easy quilt to pull out. There's a brief mention about the quilt in my lap {hand quilting doesn't seem to be an ordinary event in most homes} and then very quickly the conversation about quilting dies and moves on to those things that we have more in common. Which is as it should be.

Adding a little flower pattern in the gold triangles

Am I being snobby? Condescending? No. I don't think so. We ask people about their hobbies and interests sometimes because we know it's important to them and we do care. Really. But sometimes we really, really don't want the hour long rambling conversation it evolves into! {Sorry mom, your genealogy tries my patience sometimes.} So I try to be polite and keep my 'I am so very serious about my quilting, you wouldn't believe how many quilts I'm working on!' conversations for those moments when I can see excitement and true interest involved by the other party. It's not that my 'different' quilts are a secret. Hello! I talk about them all the time on a public blog. It's just better and so much more interesting all the way around to have those conversations with people who share the same passions. At least for me. Maybe you're one of those ramblers who make our eyes glaze over?*wink

Hand Quilting Away

I can't believe there are two different quilts in two different hoops and I'm okay with that. Wowsers, am I crazy or what? The flower quilt is not being very quilted very densely, unlike the log cabin quilt which is getting a line of stitching per 'log'. It makes it interesting to go back and forth. On different days of course!

Happy Flowers in the old hoop....

And well, I did leave off stitching those dark patches in the middle of the log cabin quilt. I'm pretty much ignoring them for now--kinda enjoying the way they puff up {a little} if you want to know the truth of the matter. Will have to deliberate more and see what I think later on! Still loving both of these quilts and enjoying every single stitch. It makes me very happy to be working on quilts that are very much 'me' quilts.

The log cabin quilt in the newer hoop.....

Wish I could just write up a formula and get it right every single time, but the process of getting there is never, ever a sure thing. I'm almost ready to launch into a brand new quilt project, or two or three or maybe even four of them. Yes, four.*wink  I can feel it sort of bubbling up inside me and all it's gonna take is the right piece of fabric or some random idea that finally clicks securely into place. I'm sure there are a few of you out there that are thinking, 'yep, been there, done that'. I'm starting to resign myself to the fact that my quilty bucket list never gets smaller. It only expands....

Back To the Hoop

I would love to show you all sorts of progress on my Happy Flowers quilt, but alas, quilting has been rather hit and miss here lately. We survived the yard sale and even managed to get all the remnants bagged up and ready for donation. Yay us! It left me with quite the dilemma though. I can't decide if I want to spend my little bit on quilting fabric or a new spring outfit. Decisions, decisions!

Happy Flowers in the hoop

I have been doing a very basic big stitch quilting on my flowers until I see for sure how it is coming together. I can always come back later and add more if it starts demanding extra stitching!

I'm trying to keep this post short and sweet as being on the computer is cutting into my precious quilting time. For those interested, the voting has started on the Marsala Challenge Quilts. It's rather fascinating what others have done with their version of the very same color. We may be heavily influenced by current quilting fads and trends, but we are all very different!

Time to link up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching once again and then get off the computer and go do what I love to do best. Guess I'll have to catch up with all the other slow stitchers at a later date!

Getting Happy Flowers in the Hoop

I'm in the mood to work on something springy. With everything else going on, I need a quilt that is fun and not terribly complicated. This seems to fit the bill perfectly, although technically it's miles down the list when it comes to priority!

Getting ready to hand quilt Happy Flowers

I finally decided to file an extension for our taxes as I can't seem to to devote enough time to the paperwork as is needed. Ahh.. It is a weight off my shoulders as I have felt horribly guilty about not finishing. Not guilty enough to burn through it all, but still, the pressure was seriously getting to me. I am not nearly as efficient or gung-ho as I need used to be in the office, nor will I probably ever be again. The thrill is um..., shall we say, gone? Transferred elsewhere?*wink

Ready for pin basting.

Last night after the last of our company had gone and we'd made a quick dash into town to see my husbands mother, we had a very relaxed family chat. I pulled out my hand stitching and quite enjoyed listening to my teenage daughters telling us all about their weekend. Their version is always so interesting as the viewpoint from teenager to middle aged parent is like residing on a totally different planet. lol

Another view of Happy Flowers....

I find myself feeling so very proud of my children, watching them grow up and attempting to tackle all the various challenges that kids face these days. It's not always easy for them to make the right and/or moral choices as our current culture tends to embrace a sort of delayed adulthood and a loosey-goosey standard of 'doing what's right for you' {in the moment} no matter what. We try to raise our children to be strong, independent, responsible, and to consider cause and effect in their lives. It's a tough thing when other kids don't react nicely to their confidence in daring {or wanting} to be different. Growing up is hard. Being different is hard. I'm so glad we don't ever have to be 17 again!

Okay, enough about the parenting rant! I'm hoping to hand quilt Happy Flowers with perle cotton as you no doubt noticed. The linen background should be good to me if I remember to keep the quilt slack in the hoop. It feels very soft with a loose weave, something that should work well with the larger thread. No idea what I'll do for the stitching in the border, but hopefully that will come to me as I'm quilting down the center of the quilt. It's a great quilt and I do want it to look properly loved when it's all finished up!

A Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day Newbie!

*This giveaway is now closed!
Since I skipped my 4 yr. blogging anniversary earlier in the year, it seemed like a good time to join up with the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day--something I've never done but always enjoy participating in. Such a fun event! A very big welcome to those coming here for the giveaways, and to my regular readers, I love you so much. Thanks for making my day brighter by coming back to visit once again.

For those that have been here before, yes, I did get that pattern made. In fact, I picked it up one day before our town went up in flames. Uh huh. After all the energy and time invested in preparing the Happy Flowers pattern, nature just kind of stuck a big fat pin in my plans and I deflated like an popped balloon. It took me awhile to get back to a regular routine of sewing, quilting and making, something that I need in my life like others need their hit of coffee in the mornings! In the meantime, my priorities have shifted a bit and my outlook is very different from what it was back in mid-July.

A giveaway!

Primarily, I feel that I am a maker. I do things with my hands in order to still something within my soul, in my very being. It is something that absolutely keeps me grounded every single day in our very busy, chaotic life. For the present, there doesn't seem to be enough time in my day to make those things and then also put the things I make into words and a readable pattern to sell.*sigh  Maybe later. Maybe even next year! If you know me at all, you totally get that I need to be immersed in my quilt projects without getting jumbled up in the paperwork--there's enough of that piled up on my desk already.

But enough about that. I have these patterns sitting here and a giveaway you came here to find out about! I will be choosing three winners: the first winner will get a copy of the book 'Time to Make--Throw Yourself At Your Creative Life' by Ginger Hendrix {a funny and very insightful book about the importance of making} plus a copy of my Happy Flowers pattern. Yay! And because I have so many of these patterns I don't know what to do with right now, I will be giving a Happy Flowers pattern to the second and third winners as well. A bit of a consolation prize I know, but you could always refuse to send me your address if you don't want one.*wink

So... To be a winner of this giveaway, please leave a comment telling me how important 'making' is in your life or what part of your quilting process feels most 'creative' to you. Either one, I'm easy. Followers can have an extra entry, just tell me how you follow! The giveaway is open internationally and will be open through Friday, December 12th. I usually try and answer every comment made to my blog, but for this giveaway post, I may not be able to keep up!

Getting Ready to Take Two Quilt Tops Off the UFQ List!

Okay, this is good stuff. I just kicked two UFQ's off of my list in one day! Actually moved them onto another list, but hey, progress is progress. First up was Muddy Creek. I spent about a half an hour with it spread out on the floor wondering how to add another border. Nope. Not happening. My last border blocked everything in well and good and now it wants to be done. So... onto Happy Flowers.

Happy Flowers

I had wondered if it might be done here or maybe even here. But both times I didn't quite have that feeling. You know the one where everything just clicks into place and you can tell it's time to move on? After adding on this last light red and cream ticking fabric, it happened though. Always a big sigh of relief and satisfaction when it comes together so well. Who would have ever thought it could end up so simple and lighthearted? Not me that's for sure!

The corner of Happy Flowers

It has been mind boggling to me at this how insistent this quilt has been about going in the direction of light, bright and FUN. So not me--not naturally anyway, but I love it all the same. I was really concerned about getting too busy with the borders and crushing the simplicity of the flowers. On the other hand, one fabric (un-pieced) borders can have a tendency to look lazy and rushed if not done with thoughtfulness. And wow!  Doesn't that sound egotistical.....

Loving this view....

Okay, moving on..... This is the quilt that I will probably debut my pattern making skills with. Ha. Que up the panic attack mode. First of all, I have zero places to take a picture of a {large} quilt face on. Sure, I could go to the park and let the citizens of our small town be nosy, but honestly, I'm kind of shy. I'm seriously considering just using one of these pictures. Afterall, I don't think I'm in this for the money--more the opportunity to share my sweet quilt with others that might be interested.

My applique always looks a little bit prim.

And I can already tell I'm waaaay too wordy with the pattern writing. Must. Learn. Discretion.

More Happy Flowers

Another thing I'm sweating over is this: I am primarily a hand quilter. If I wait until this little beauty is hand quilted, the time to draw up a pattern will have passed. But I don't want to rush any part of my quilting process. Can I just use a picture of the quilt top for the pattern cover? Is that cheating? Do I care?

Looks like something to snuggle up with....

Ahhh... So many questions. This is just the tip of the iceberg and all I really want to do is quilt, fondle fabric and do a little stitching with the quilt in my hoop. Bah humbug on all the petty details that I know are probably only agonizing the first time around! How do people do this without a manual?

On a more upbeat note,  look what came through our door just last night! These lovely cherries are in season right now and one of our workers dropped them off for our enjoyment.

Everybody's happy with these around!

Gotta love cherry season. Then everybody gets happy in a hurry!

Little Bits of This and That

Wowsers, I've spent entirely too much time on the Net lately--first to check out the Sew Mama Sew giveaways and then since Friday, cruising the Bloggers Quilt Festival. I have two quilts entered this year, Spring Forward (my most recent quilt finish) and also Dutch Comfort, which many of you have seen before. It looks to me like the number of entries is down this year or is that just my imagination?

My new flowers-to-be

My daughter helped me to plant the flower pots this year. Love getting help without having to ask for it--so rare with teenagers! I don't usually plant very many as it can get expensive, but I do so love pulling up into my drive and seeing the pretty flowers during the dry summer months around here. I went a little crazy with my choices so we had enough leftover to plant two hanging baskets as well. No pictures of them, but hopefully they'll fill out and give us some love later on.

Happy Flowers

Speaking of flowers, I kept going back to my Happy Flowers quilt thinking it could use a little more attention. Finally I came up with the idea (with some prompting from my daughters who didn't like what I was currently auditioning) to add on another simple border. Bright but simple! That acid greenish-yellow print really made the flowers 'pop' which helps as the charcoal gray in the flower backgrounds can really subdue the colors in the quilt. Now the quilt is approximately 46 1/2" x 58". Big enough to leave as is. Maybe. Not sure I'm totally done with it now that I've started playing with it again!

New reading materials

I came home with the most recent Quiltmania magazine when I went shopping the other day. The only place to buy it semi-local is in a bookstore over an hour away from my home so you know I just stumbled across it by accident! This one is seriously loaded with great quilts and inspiration. Obviously I wasn't' the only want charmed by it as it was already a bit dog-eared. My mom also loaned me a new quilting book she got for Mothers Day. Hoping to find time to read through that also here in the next couple days. I can't believe we're already more than half through the month of May!

Maybe I'm in a Pink Phase?

So I went pink with the Happy Flowers setting triangles. It seemed appropriate and very springy all at the same time. The Geese Tracks quilt had to come off the wall though in order to put Happy Flowers up. That was tough because I've been enjoying coming into my quilting room and taking a good look at it everyday.

Next up on the wall....

Some day I will have a larger design wall, but that's so far in the future I don't even stress over it. These flowers are just pure fun in their chunky old fashioned design and I'm wondering what will be next for them. Probably some sort of narrow border to enclose and 'pop' a color and then maybe another pieced border? I'm quite bemused by all my medallion style quilts going on right now. Don't ask me to explain the unexplainable. It just is.*wink

Happy Flowers

What I do find difficult these days is the fact that the RSS feeds are very slow to pick up on my posts lately. Other than Bloglovin', all the other feeds seem to take 6-8 hrs minimum to update. I'm not very computer savvy so although I've done tons of research on-line, I'm no closer to an answer than I was when this first started (a couple weeks ago). Anyone know what I can do about this? Is it a Google or Blogger thing? The only thing I've found to help is if I 'update' my blog a couple hours after I hit publish, but even that doesn't always work wonders. Good thing I'm not dependent upon my stats for a living!

Why Having Several UFQ's Generally Works in My Favor

I don't consider myself to be {naturally} creative. My mind gets full of the busyness of life and I go to the quilt room to escape. When fabric and color work their wonderful magic on me, everything gets better in my world almost instantly! Instead of having to start from scratch (cue the panic!), lots of times it's better for me to dive into something that I know exactly what to do with.

The Pickle Dish/Wedding Ring quilt

Even when I'm not comfortable with the process or it's not my favorite piecing method. (ie: foundation piecing) there is still a plan of action to follow. It's usually just a matter of deciding what I want to work on that particular day and getting on with it.

Here's where it gets interesting for me. When I'm practically numb from sewing my 4th or 5th foundation piecing arc (or whatever other tedious sewing I'm doing), my mind starts doing calisthenics trying to convince me that there are other more fascinating things to be sewing. 'Hey, what about making a few Goose Track blocks--you know you've wanted to make them forever!!' And so it goes.

Geese Tracks

However, when it gets to the point that I feel like I'd rather chop off all my fingers than sew another set, I make myself sew another set. I know. Very perverse of me. But I try to ensure that whatever brilliant idea going on in my head is not just from the fugue state. Think of it as a two-fold preventative measure: 1. Play time has to be earned and 2. There's plenty of time to wake up and think while being tortured.*wink

Partial St. Paul blocks

So.. when I finally pack that project away for the day (big sigh of relief), I often take a moment to look at one of my unfinished quilts. Hmm... What to do? It's nice to check in with where I'm at in the process occasionally. Does it need sashing or another border? Am I stuck over making a fabric/color choice? Sometimes I take the time to audition a few ideas and then, more often than not, I put it all back in the tote without doing anything physical to the project at all. Yep. I know what you're thinking. All I did was look at it, play a little and think. Ha! Not so fast with the criticism there! Now it's very fresh and clear in my mind. What do you think my very curious and puzzle-solving subconscious is going to be doing the next several days while I go through my daily routine?

Random Sampler

And yes, there are projects that are waaay back on the back burner. I check on them occasionally too so they know I still love them. It's good to reassure myself that I'm still feeling the love for the fabric. Hmm... Project ideas? Maybe some more basket blocks, you can never go wrong there. Hey, what about that Basket BOM from Legend and Lace? Can I combine the two projects? Hmm... something to think about although those baskets probably deserve a quilt of their own. I wonder if I'm doing too many medallions right now--maybe this quilt should be more of a puzzle-piece type sampler? Ugghh... so not in the mood for that at the moment. Move on, move on, leaving the decisions for yet another day!

Flowers and Flying Geese

There are projects that I know exactly what the next step is going to be. I even have it all prepped and ready to go, especially in the case of applique work. Just waiting for the right mix of motivation and time.

Muddy Creek

Once in awhile I notice that my applique projects are piling up on me and still there's no burning desire to find the time to do the work. That's a very dangerous area for me. I've noticed that sometimes it takes a brand new project to jump start finishing the work for another. Uh huh. I make deals with myself that I can't start on the NEW work (applique, piecing etc.) until I finish off what needs done for an older project. Talk about brilliant reasoning--you have no idea how much that can motivate me!

Happy Flowers

Ahem. That's how I started my Happy Flowers actually. I wanted to make them soooo much that it made perfect sense to me to do some other applique work that had grown a little tedious to me. What's ironic is NOW I have the Happy Flowers projects hanging out in the wind all because I can't make up my mind about the setting triangle fabric. What if I get it wrong? Then they won't be happy anymore. It's a dilemma.

Hand Pieced Bow-ties

There you have it. Me and my wonderful justification for having a whole lot going on in the quilting room. Most of the time if I'm whining about not starting a new project (because of all the UFQ's piling up), it's because I know I'm procrastinating about something. Seriously, it's rarely about the number. The decision has probably been made, the fabric is no doubt available, and I'm just being a cowardly lion. lol Oddly enough, working on several different projects at once allows me to be more creative as the ideas seem to bounce off of each other, project to project as I work. Whatever works the best, I'm all for it!

Prep, Prep, Prep

So much prep just to get started sometimes! I have been wanting to make another subdued looking applique centerpiece and the fabric I got from Ellen was the perfect spark to get going.

Muddy Creek prep

I love the purpley browns especially--so very wonderful to me. I drew up a basic plan to figure out how many leaves I need etc. and then cut rotary cut rectangles. I cut the leaves out (freehand) from those rectangles, skipping the tracing step completely! Love that, but now I need to go back and trim up my leaves because some of them aren't the exact shape I want--working on auto-pilot will do that to you!

Cutting the leaves

I still can't believe I cut the linen out of the backs of my Happy Flowers. Talk about working on auto-pilot. It took me a little while to get all the fray check on the edges of the linen, but I do think it's going to work out better in the long run. As you can see, I also zigzagged the edges of the block, so it's official now. I don't like the extra steps, the extra thinking things through, being careful etc. Mixing linen and quilting is not my thing, no matter how pretty and supple this fabric feels to me!

Adding fray check to the linen

I've also started cutting out Dresden wedges for my Flying Geese and Flowers quilt. The Dresden block is so timeless, it almost seems crazy to use it in this particular quilt! Oh well, I'm hoping to make them out of this stack of scrappy pinks and that way they will look kinda fun and give the quilt a little extra 'pop' of color too. My red, white and blue quilt has definitely morphed into something a little different!

Cutting out my Dresden wedges

I do love making things as scrappy as possible, adding in the maximum amount of different fabrics I think a quilt will allow. It really gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to dig to the bottom of my totes, find fabric that has never played well, and then give it a good place in one of my quilts. Scrappy quilting just seems to lend itself well to disguising older, less exciting fabrics if you're willing to make the effort. And I am, because it's just that charming mix of old and new that I love the most about quilts!

Happy Flowers and Other Fun Stuff

Still working on my happy flowers. I have the applique done on the blocks now and then I decided to sew a double zigzag around the blocks. It really needed it. That linen--it's definitely going to want to fray on me! I made the mistake of cutting out from behind the applique, which was fine for the cotton. Not so much for the linen though. I think I'd better fray check all those edges just to be sure before I continue on with the quilt.

Happy Flowers

After I put these blocks up on the wall and stared at them for a day or two, I made an executive decision to make five more blocks. Having too many square quilts just gets frustrating to me and it feels good to mix it up occasionally! So far I'm really enjoying these blocks, especially while I'm working on them. (Maybe I'll just keep on making them forever or until I run out of fabric? lol) It's only when I put them on the wall and view them in different light that I start to wonder.  Hmm... You know, these colors could be just a wee bit tough to work with...

My oldest daughter--can't believe she's a senior.....

I wanted to throw in a quick picture of my daughter. She got the first session of her senior pictures done and as she was headed out the door, she turned around and grabbed one of my quilts for a prop--her idea! Guaranteed to make her momma love her pics, no matter what.*wink

Lovely, lovely  fabric!

And then, yesterday this little stack of loveliness came in the mail! Ellen from Little Jewel Quilts sent it to me after I didn't win her giveaway awhile back! hehe Thank you Ellen! She wrote in her note that she hoped these fabrics were something I could use. Oh boy, can I ever! My brain is already spinning with ideas. Gotta love the kindness and generosity of the quilting community!

My Happy Flowers

I am in love with fabric right now. The different textures and prints. How they play so nicely together or maybe even when they don't. Then this yellow! So different from my normal buttery yellow golds I've been buying for years. Occasionally I pick up something random 'just because' and recently I realized that I have a small stack of very odd yellows (compared to my normal stuff, that is).

Prep work for Happy Flowers

Aren't they yummy? I'm so enjoying the crisp, tart, puckered-up look to them. During my recent trip to Portland, I found myself in a JoAnn's one evening and somehow ended up with just over a yard of this black stripey linen. Will it fray badly even though I pre-washed it? It has the very best feel to it and I literally could. Not. Resist. Plus it was 40% off or something wonderful like that. It's definitely destined to be my block background unless I get totally scared away from it.

Yep, gonna go for the bilious green stems

Then I'm seriously thinking about using the weird green/gold fabric for flower stems, which I suppose would be obvious since it's already prepped for that same purpose. When I bought this fabric, I picked it up and set it down at least three times, then showed it to my mom just to see how badly she would gag over it. It's so ugly, it's positively gorgeous, which makes no sense whatsoever.

I cannot even begin to describe how happy these flowers are making me feel even though it's early days for them yet! Sometimes I think we tend to over-think things and this project feels very 'go-with-the-flow'. I'm hoping that will help balance out the tedium of working on some current ufq's.

Rolling stone block with Scrap Basket

Just playing, I decided to make a sample rolling stone block to see how it might look next to my scrap basket centerpiece. Wrong colors of course, but I've been eyeing this block pattern for a couple years now wondering how I could work it into a quilt project. For some reason I started out making my sample block from directions that included TEMPLATES, which generally I avoid like the plague. On the first try I forgot to add seam allowances so the fabric pieces had to be dumped into the scrap basket/garbage as necessary. Second try I did something wrong with the triangles. More for the garbage (now you see why I make sample blocks?). Then finally I got smart and re-did the entire pattern with rotary cutting directions I measured out by myself. Approx. 2 hrs. after initial cutting I had Success! One properly finished 9" block!

Um.. tonight while sitting in my corner of the couch where the lighting is very good for hand quilting, I remembered a book I've had for years (Block Party by Marsha McCloskey). It's currently sitting on a shelf in my quilting room. Oh yeah, and it just happens to have full rotary cutting directions for 9 blocks, including the rolling stone block--I know it does. Yep. I'm the idiot. Obviously much more focused on fondling my fabrics right now than figuring out the most efficient way to cut up my fabric. lol