Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Catching up.

During the last couple of weeks I have been working on several projects and trying to catch up.

I have finished 2 more of  Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilt blocks.




I have finished one more Tailfeathers Block.


I have been working steadily on hand quilting Little Grace.
 Here are some progress photos from this afternoon..



I finally finished the quilting tonight. :)  I will take a photo in the morning, when the light is better.

I started my first Friends of Baltimore block. There is lots of preparation work before any sewing starts. The first pieces I prepared were the stems. I have never made stems as small as 1/8" wide before!!
I tried a technique I read about recently where, as the fabric is passed under a pin both sides fold towards the centre. You iron the stem as you pull it through the gap under the pin. It worked well.


The pattern has lots of tiny (for me) pieces to be appliqued. I got out my copy of Applique 12 Easy Ways by Elly Sienkiewicz and prepared a small block with practice pieces. I have started with trying applique with freezer paper on top....another new to me technique.


Those leaves and stems are going to be a challenge!

I have all the freezer paper templates prepared and ironed on to my chosen fabrics. The next step will be to make some circles. Hopefully, nest week I will have something stitched on my first block.

I found a relatively new blog during the week. This blog is dedicated to a challenge to make a quilt to commemorate 200 years since the 1812 war in USA. I don't plan to take part in the challenge, but there are some wonderful old quilts shown on the blog.

I will be back soon with more photos.

Enjoy the rest of your week. Happy sewing! :)

11 comments:

  1. I just love all of your projects!

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  2. I love all of the quilts! I have the tail feathers on my list to do one day and the last quilt you showed - what is the name of that pattern?
    Karen
    http://karensquilting.com/blog/

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  3. You have been busy! I love all of your projects. The tiny little stems look challenging!
    Hugs,
    Donna

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  4. Hi you!!! Your Brackman blocks - I'm completely taken with the fabrics you are using. Completely!!! Tailfeathers is pretty. Very pretty. Cute, too. You do such nice stitchery. And my oh my but Little Grace is pure sweetness. Then we arrive at the applique work. I'm really looking forward to watching this come to life. I know it'll be beautiful. As a baby applique-er, I'm always taken with blocks like this! I'm always dreaming...

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  5. Great stuff you are working on Miriam. I too love the fabrics you are using on the Brackman blocks...really pretty!!

    How do you like stitching with the freezer paper on top? I haven't tried that way because I thought the paper would keep coming loose.

    Crispy

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  6. So nice to see you sewing again Miriam, I love your little Grace, so beautiful. xo

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  7. Wow, Miriam, your little Grace quilt looks great! You did the patching and quilting very precise, great work.

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  8. I really admore your applique ambition! That quilt is going to have a lot of small pieces, but oh, it will be worth all of it in the end!!

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  9. Love your fabric choices for the two new BB blocks.

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  10. You have been busy since I was here last.
    I just adore your little quilt. Perfection!
    Great work on the other blocks too.

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  11. Just been reading your posts and looking at your appliqué which is absolutely stunning! What beautiful work!

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