Another Applique Block

Started another applique block yesterday afternoon and finished it today. Three more to go I think. The bud on this one was a bit of a challenge but I am satisfied with the way it turned out. Not perfect..but that's okay.


We were supposed to go to a quilt guild board meeting this evening, but we had precipitation in constantly changing form all day..snow, sleet, rain...back and forth. By meeting time the temps were dropping to below freezing again and we figured it was going to turn into a skating rink outside. Apparently it did, so I'm glad we didn't attempt to go out. As my friend Jacquie, is discovering, storms aren't nearly as bad when you are retired and don't have to go out in them!

Hope all my friends in the Mid-west are able to stay in and stay safe. It's a big storm system.

Blooms

My Christmas Cacti have all been busy putting on a show the last two weeks. I have five and four of them bloomed in late October/early November as they always do. I usually get a smaller bloom mid summer as well. But all five surprised me by setting buds in early January and they started opening by the middle of the month.

I didn't think about taking pictures until a couple were almost done but here's an idea of the range of colors among the plants.

I love this red



Salmon/cream

white with light pink

I was ecstatic when I saw the buds appear on the next plant. It's a start that I received from a cousin in Iowa about four years ago. The mother plant belonged to her grandmother and is probably close to 100 years old. I took about 3 sections of leaves and rooted them in water, then set in potting soil and I've been waiting and waiting. This is the first bloom and it had about 6-7 nice big flowers. I'm thrilled!

I guess the hoya was trying to keep up with the cactus as it started blooming again too. Or maybe it's the other way around since the hoya has been blooming about every 3 months for the last couple of years.

Here you can see three flower clusters, each in a different stage of opening, one fully open, one formed, but not open and one just beginning.

I tried to get a close up and don't know how to set my camera so that it's not blurry, so my apologies. These blooms are just gorgeous! And there are going to be at least 8 of these this time around.

While all that was blooming in the kitchen windows, I've been making blooms in the living room recliner as well this week. Since my goal again this year is to dig into those UFOs and unquilted tops and get 'er done, I decided to work on some applique started in 2006. A group of online friends worked on a Baltimore Album quilt project that one of the members designed using EQ blocks as a starting point.

I made 17 blocks back then and set them aside. I thought I wanted three more to have 20 blocks for a good sized wall hanging. But now I've decided I may do 25. We'll see when I run out of blocks I want to make. I've added a few to those in the original project.

This is what I got done this week:

My design with a little embroidery thrown in:

Don't' those birds look familiar? I told Tom I didn't want to put the date on in case I didn't actually get the quilt finished this year. He suggested I should do exactly that as an incentive to get it done! So I did. We'll see if I have to rip it out! LOL.

There's a link to my earlier blocks on my sidebar (look under the UFO list). Or just click here


Now ask me why I'm posting this at 3:13 in the morning. Another night I can't get to sleep!

Oh What a Relief It Is!

First of all, thank you to everyone for your comments, suggestions and sympathy! Most of you felt that it wouldn't be noticed by many people. But most of you also felt that I had to do what made me feel comfortable.

And that meant fixing it! It actually was much easier than I had feared. I imagined having to take out all of the cross hatch quilting. But believe it or not, most of the rearranged leaves not only fit well between the existing cross hatching, but did so in a way that I only had to add more in two or three places.

I picked out the outline quilting around the leaves; removed them; re-appliqued in the right positions; and then outline quilted around them again. And there were only a few places where I either had to remove some of the cross hatching that now was behind the leaves or add additional.

All together it only took about 4 hours.

I just couldn't imagine feeling regret every time I looked at the quilt in the future..not after all the work I'd already put into it. And I am so happy I took what is really a very little bit of time to fix it.

Now it's still far from perfect. But it's my best and that's all that counts.


Doesn't it look better?

Arrrgghhhh!

My Dutch Treat has been laying on the living room floor as we continue to look at it and admire it. Hey, I worked a LONG time on this...I'm entitled to admire my diligence.

Then this afternoon I noticed something that made me feel like pulling my hair out.

Did any of you notice?

Because some of the center blocks are clearly directional, I so carefully planned my border since it would hang in one direction only.

The leaves in the bottom point out from the center, towards each side.....



They went around the corners and continue UP each side towards the top....


(Yeah...that's my toe)


And then they were supposed to round the top corners and point IN towards the center.....

But this is what I noticed the this afternoon......

The birds are flying correctly..TOWARDS the middle. But the leaves on the right side were appliqued in the wrong direction.

Can you hear the gnashing of teeth going on here?

You of course know that I will have to remove the appliqued leaves and take out all of the quilting in that section of border, re-applique and re-quilt. If I don't it will drive me nuts!

Or should I say this is my "quirky" quilt?

After 21 months of work, I don't think so...........

I think I have to fix it.

Last night and today I've been working on other applique...leaves actually....on a long set aside Baltimore Album style project.

It may take a day or two before I start....but I will fix it.

Can you feel my pain?

(And before somebody points it out, I know the birds in the bottom border are flying towards the center..unlike the leaves...but it's my quilt and that's the way I wanted it....LOL. They didn't look right the other way).

It's Done!!!!!

Much as I wanted to be able to say I finished my Dutch Treat quilt in January, I just couldn't get all of the binding done in one evening. But I did finish it today!

21 months..April 23, 2008 was the date I made my first 4" block. I started hand quilting in October 2009 and didn't really work on it much all of November 2009 as I recovered from the flu. It's been a long process, but I've loved every minute of the journey.

I will never be an expert hand quilter but I am so proud of myself for doing this and it will be one of my treasured quilts.

It's hard to get a full picture but I may be able to get one tomorrow when my oxygen delivery person is here and can assist Tom in holding it up (he's a kind and generous person). It will be laundered by then as well.