Monday, July 7, 2014

Gaaaak!!!

Kind of how I feel about aaaaapliqué...

I haven't posted since last Wednesday because I have not allowed myself to do any sewing of any kind except for the appliqué part of my Self-directed Round Robin. Note that they've modified the name from Self Round Robin to Self-directed, although it should be Guild-Executive-Directed!

I have been making steady, albeit slow, progress.  Sigh.  I did find some good advice on Alyssa's Pile o' Fabric blog that helped me a lot.  Click here.  I watched the videos and read through her Skill Builder Lesson 9 lesson handout.

This is round 3.  I got 1/4 of my appliqué round done since last Wednesday.  It is time-consuming, that's for sure, and I have questioned my sanity in deciding to do this detailed of a design!  Questioned while muttering some bad words, or many, if I'm honest.  There are 44 pieces in this quadrant, not counting the stems.


The design is from the April 2014 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine.  It took me some time, with lots of searching through magazines, and online, to decide on a suitable pattern that would fill the rather large corner triangles.  I traced all the pieces needed in April before we left our Florida condo!

3/4 of the pieces, since I've now used 1/4
And there they sat, occasionally often making me feel guilty, while I had fun making various quilts and projects over the past 2 1/2 months.

I haven't even allowed myself to look at Cynthia's July Scrap-a-Palooza quilt, nor have I read my usual blogs over the past few days.  Since it has been absolutely gorgeous weather, calling to me to be outside, I moved my work from the basement to the dining table and one end of our kitchen countertop.  I couldn't work outside, as portable as this kind of a project is, and as Hilary does of Hilary Florence Quilting Workshop.  So this was a good compromise to keep me at it.

Here is a not-so-bright picture to show you a bit more of the quilt.  There will be one of these flower bursts in each of the four corners.  Possibly bursts of my brain and patience in the corners of my house too...

I thought that I would work through one in its entirety (and it's not stitched yet, just glued) and then assembly-line work on the other three.  I have the darker stem self-made bias tape left over from a quilt I made my mum for her 70th (that would be 7 1/2 - oh my god - years ago now) and I made some more with a different brighter green.  The pattern calls for two different fabrics for the various flower stems.It was good to use the Clover bias tape maker again.  So slick!

This one flower took me 1.5 hours to make.


I shall soldier on until this entire round is done!

The next round (I am a couple several months behind) says to put some words on it.  I have had some choice ones of late.  They probably wouldn't appreciate it, LOL, and in truth, it would spoil the quilt.  I do quite like it.

Even though I'm telling myself, 'No!! What are you thinking?! Absolutely not!  Do NOT go there!' I think the empty corners of the flying geese round need a spot of appliqué now, so there's a bit of a flow into that round.  What do you think?

Linking up with Marelize's guest host, Diana, of Red Delicious Life for Anything Goes Monday!

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful my friend! It will be worth it all when it is finished.

    As for those blank corners, that is where you quilt in a motif!

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  2. Oh Dear. I've had sewing that made me feel this way too so I feel your pain. The result will be worth it though as it'll be amazing xx

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  3. Weird, it didn't take my comment. Try again! I said it looks beautiful and that there is so much more to quilting than just quilting! No wonder I'm a (happy to be) non-quilter! Lol Looks great so far!

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  4. Thanks for sharing the tips. I am curious about applique myself!

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