Block # 18 Baltimore Garden

It seems I haven't gotten much done this week.  I have been focused on some household projects that needed to be completed. Of course, those projects use most of my energy and there is little left for my applique.  I did get a start on Block #18.  It is another vase block, and I love doing those.  There are quite a few applique stitches that need to be made to complete one.

It is a rainy day here, and according to the weatherman this will be a wet week, so maybe I can focus on my applique.  Sometimes when too many things get on my mind, I have trouble with relaxing and enjoying my craft.  Does that happen to you?  I will be linking over to Kathy's blog to see what others are slow stitching. It always gives me inspiration. Kathy also mentioned some podcasts that she like to listen to while stitching. That may help keep me focused.

Purple Wonky Star

Worked several hours Thursday in my sewing room. My goal was to finish my wonky star for April RSC2014.  I am really pleased how it turned out.  I didn't have a lot of purple and was worried I didn't have enough variety, but I used the right and wrong side of one fabric to give me the variety I needed.

 I couldn't resist laying out all my wonky star blocks.  I think my granddaughter is really going to love all these rainbow colors!

Block #17 Baltimore Garden

I finished up block #17 of Baltimore Garden yesterday.  I must say those layered flowers do take some time.  But the old saying about applique is so true, it is all about one stitch at a time.  I love the depth that the layers add and am so glad that I attempted to make the layered flowers this time instead of using the ruched flowers.  I think they both give great results, but the look is totally different.  The great thing about applique is you can choose different techniques to get the job done.  I am one that likes to try new and challenging things, but not to the point that they are frustrating.  So glad to moving along on my quest to complete Baltimore Garden.

Still plugging along!

I am still plugging away at the eight layered flowers I need  to finish off block #17 of Baltimore Garden.  It really has gone pretty well, but I have been interrupted by the spring weather.  I was able to get most of my garden planted so that really cut into stitching time.

I also got the bird legs embroidered onto block #16.  It didn't take very long but all these things take time.

Today I hope to find a some time to stitch the last two centers on block #17.  I love the depth that the block gets from all the layers.  As I work on it, my mind starts dreaming about how much fun this quilt is going to be to quilt.   I have to remind myself to enjoy the stitching at hand for now or I will never get the quilt assembled into a top.

I did get a start on block #18.  This is the start of a vase, they are so much fun to stitch! I hope you find some time for a few relaxing stitches today. Happy Easter!

Three Purple Pickledish Blocks!

I was able to finish assembling my three pickledish blocks for April's RSC14.  Each month after I take my picture for the blog I place the blocks in a box.  The second month I pulled out the first months and placed them on the floor to see how they looked together.  Last month, I decided to resist the temptation, and wait till all the blocks are finished at the end of the year.  Sometimes I wish I had a design wall to put my blocks on each month as I finish them, but in this case I am looking forward to the mystery.

So far I like the black and white fabrics with each color. With the gray neutral background they should all play together nicely, but it will be so much fun to lay them out once they are all done. I just hope I can stick to my guns and wait.  How about you, do you keep your blocks on a design wall, do you lay them out each time a new color is added, or do you wait for the surprise?

Wordless Wednesday

Layered flowers

Today I will spend a little time adding some embroidered bird legs on block #16.  I already started and have a good start on block #17.  It is another wreath block with eight layered flowers. Each flower has 5 layers, so they take a while to do.  I tried one, to make sure I could.  The little round pedals are a challenge for me.  But, the flowers in this particular block are a bit larger which makes a big difference.  So today I am working on layer #3.  I decided to work on all eight flowers instead of working on one at a time, which is working out pretty well.

 These Baltimore Garden blocks are so much fun to do.  I love how the block transforms, first it just a block with scattered leaves appliqued in what looks like a random pattern. Then a few stems and it still looks like hodge podge.  But once the flowers are placed it really starts to come together.

 I will be linking with Kathy's blog today to see what others will be slow stitching.

RSC2014 April's Color is Purple

Purple is the April RSC14 color of the month.  Again not a color I use very often but a bit of purple here and there does make a difference.  As you see in the photo below it adds a bit of sparkle to a couple of  Amish mini quilts .

It seems I haven’t gotten off to a good start, I guess I have too many irons in the fire.  I have gone back to work on my Baltimore Garden Quilt and it has been getting a lot of my attention.  So yesterday I pulled out my purple and started making parts for my pickle dish blocks.  I have been working on one block a week in the past few months.  So I thought a different approach may speed things up.  I decided to  make all the parts and then assemble the blocks all at once.  I find that working this way seems to speed things up a bit, but we will see.  So this is what I got done this week.