Saturday doings

I continue to work on my FAB challenge but the machine appliquing is all complete. I’m working on some hand embellishments today—the embroidery is probably my favorite part and I wish I had had the time to hand applique this project. My machine work is okay but I really don’t care what kind of fusible you use, you still get fuzzies on the edge of fused applique. Or I don’t sew right at the edge of it and then have to try to do a fill line which doesn’t always work either. The parts I turned and basted looks so much better. SIGH. Still, applique used to be something I avoided like the plague so I guess that there is some improvement in this area over the last two years, LOL.

This brings me to my plan for a Personal Quilting Challenge which was something the FABS were discussing in online chat last weekend. Pat spoke about this in her recent post but basically we each were picking some area where we felt we needed a creative push, more practice or stretch of our skills. Sometime during 09 we are supposed to work on that. For example, Norma avoids half square triangles but vowed to make something that included them. Pam wants to work with scraps in a more random manner. Pat had a couple of ideas when we started naming things out as an example but foundation piecing might have been one of them. Cher, I am not sure of what you picked but I know a couple of you thought I should be working on something free form. A week later and I am still resisting that idea, LOL. This project has convinced me that I really would like to get better at needle turn applique. That does not mean that I couldn’t try a few other things this year.

As I work on this hand project I think of what I might want to work on that will incorporate this, The Be Attitudes blocks that I want to do have my beloved button hole applique that I would probably do by hand but that my long abandoned Oxmoor Christmas would be the perfect chance to put this into practice. Long time readers may remember the story behind this one. You can bear with me while I tell it again.

The quilt on the right was one that was started by our friend and fellow Bama Belles Betsy---her 2nd one actually. (Theramae made three of them if you can believe that--three kids.) The first one she did was given to one of her sons and she had two sons. She passed away before the quilt could be completed and I was commissioned to finish it up for her. She had it made and assembled to roughly the first half of the quilt with some odd blocks loose that she obviously wanted to include in the quilt in some way, several not original to the pattern either. She had also made some changed in a few other areas so I felt free to not make an exact replica of what the other son had. I re-designed the original pattern in EQ to include those blocks plus made some of my own choices in the lower half. I thought I had a picture of it quilted but don’t feel like digging in either my blog archives or the piles of pictures to find it. Link to her original quilt is HERE.

So anyway----her quilt got finished back in mid 2006 but my own is still at the top 1/3rd area, LOL. I would say even if I do some sort of combination of blocks, working on it might be give me some opportunities to practice some needleturn. Not those awful candy canes though—that is what drove me around the bend the first time out, LOL. Betsy found that the word “cookies” that went on the jar was the part where she had problems. We joked about it. Notice that she left it off the 2nd time around? I have a feathered star block that I made as a round robin start and then changed my mind that would be a good addition. Well, can’t find that either but I did give up and look in the archives so take a peek if you are so inclined, LOL HERE you go. Shown with a piece of Santa red work that would be quick finish and a start towards tackling some UFOs.

Why is it that I can finish other people’s stuff easier than mine??? People donate things for the kids and those get done, somehow, down the line. Next time I’ll take a shot of the project boxes that are visible and the UFO/kit holder—what a slug I am! Well, that gives me something to shoot for, doesn’t it? A couple of fun ongoing things and some UFOs that could be tended to—good goals. You may need to provide a nudge now and again even if means scaling back on the donation work. It might just be my turn this year.