This is what my sewing room looked like the day before Christmas Eve… And it looks exactly the same going into the New Year! A toothache that started on Christmas day turned out to be a sinus infection when I saw the dentist on Saturday… Which somehow became the flu! So no end of year looking back, or planning or sewing but I know there are some things I am looking forward to.
I haven’t turned on a sewing machine all week! I’ve been getting ready for Christmas… a little of this, a little of that, and a lot of rest! That means I did applique. Completed three Summer Dance (Rachel’s Reel) blocks.
And finally made a decision to at least start on an idea. Part of my problem when deciding on another applique quilt was that I’m trying to use up my repro scraps…most of which I feel I’ve used and used again. But I found a 2 yard piece of shirting with a tiny red print which as a background fabric made things look a little different. Margaret Docherty’s Hearts and Tulips book was in my stack of possibilities I have been considering. I could use the red (that has shown up in far too many quilts) with some blue and pink, which are not used much at all in other quilts, to start making some of her tulip designs…those colours plus the shirting background makes a combination that makes me feel that I’m not quite repeating myself over and over with my quilts! I’m particularly interested in doing the round or wreath designs in the book, there are 6 of those I think, and I’ll just work away and see where it takes me. I haven’t been very good in the past with just starting something without a plan for a whole quilt but I realized that I made I think 3 quilts this past year that evolved from not much. So this is how far I’ve got on one block.
Meanwhile, my shopping and wrapping are done! Baking is done..well, almost…one small batch of cookies this morning, and the sticky buns to be made tomorrow. Plans for getting together with my kids and extended family are made. So, today I might just do some piecing!
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Today I ended up planning an applique quilt using Nana’s Pantry fabrics from Connecting Threads. I had bought a layer cake, then a couple of charm packs, not knowing what I’d do with them but definitely knowing I wanted to make something with brighter fabrics, different than my usual civil war and traditional fabrics. Those fabrics will always be my first love, but in the past year I enjoyed using the modern fabrics in the Schoolhouse Quilt and wanted to do have one project like that again this year. I thought maybe I’d make a sampler, but I still need an applique project. Still sitting on the fence about Dawn Heese’s Rhapsody, and the Benjamin Biggs quilt looks good but not sure I want to do that one, already having so many red and green applique ideas.
Eventually, I came up with the idea of using Jo Morton’s Rachel’s Reel pattern and drew up this in EQ.
I then matched all the layer cake pieces with a charm pack piece…it worked out that one layer cake and two charms will make one block.
And here is how far I got with sewing the first one!
Meanwhile, I finished unit 8 of All Roads Lead to the Sea, and tomorrow I’ll be working on December’s Whoo Knows block. And, trying to come up with an idea for the sawtooth borders on Jacqueline’s Album!
A Quiltmaker's Album, Book Two 