Applique Project(s)

It is no secret that I do a lot of hand applique. You have seen some of the quilts I have appliqued over the recent years. (or you can look here, here and here). It started as I needed something to do while my students were taking exams. And then I got so I liked doing it in the evenings because I don't want to leave my husband on the couch alone and go to the basement to sew (where all my machines are set up). Without something to sew on at night after the kids are in bed, I will just fall asleep in my chair. And that is pittiful. This is my latest and probably wildest creation. I have had these boldly colored hand-dyes for a couple years. My husband bought me a stack of 24 FQ for my birthday a few bdays back. I used all the purple and aqua ones on one of the quilts shows in the above links, and needed to find something for the red, yellow and orange ones. As you can see, I have used a good bit of purple as well. I guess it is just in my blood. All of the tans are really scrappy (as in there are 5 or 6 different shades actually used)...they were left over from my Sea Glass quilt.
I have finished stitching the border "ribbons" and am now making all the necessary adjustments to them as I miter all the corners and attach the border triangles to the body of the quilt. I have a number of tiny circles to still add after that is done. My hope is to get this done and into the quilting queue so it can be finished by the mid-Summer, but I'm not sure that's in the cards. Quilting at Casa Quilts of Love is fairly busy right now, and this is a large quilt not to be rushed.

In the couple days of downtime lately, I started another broken star, this time out of batiks. I really love the way the first one I did came out, and thought it was perfectly suited for a watery look. The setting squares are paper pieced, which you should know by now I loathe paper piecing. It's a pain, and is slow, and oh, so messy. But, nevertheless, this is how these "reed"like blocks are done. Two down, another 6 needing the 3 parts assembled. You should know to expect from me that there will be hand applique on these squares...something to jazz these up a bit, and give this smewhat traditional type star a personal and unique twist.

As one that does a considerable amount of applique, I must make sure you are aware of a wonderful pair of scissors. These are serrated-edge scissors, that were developed by Karen Kay Buckley. I learned of these 18 months ago when I tookher hand-applique class, but being cheap, I didn't buy them then. I actually go them for Christmas from my mom this year. I have the larger size, and they are a perfect size for hand cutting fabrics. They grip the fabric and give you a perfect cut. Trust me, these are a great thing to have if you applique. Not sure how I made it without them this long.