Back to the Flower Garden

I finally got back to working on my Flower Garden quilt after many months and managed to finish two blocks this past weekend.  That brings me from four to six!  There is still a long way (and many little inside curves) to go but just working on these bright and cheery flowers makes me happy.

What is a girl to do

Look what my lovely postman brought me today....

So wonderful! I am in heaven. Now, I have to stick at Stars and Sprigs until it's finished before I start on this baby, but I can have two of these going at once don't you think?  :) Ok, ok, back to my stars I go, I haven't pieced in a while, but I think I am getting the hang of it

Cheers...Kelli

Lollypop Cushion in Quiltmania Magazine

This is the summer edition of Quiltmania, thank you to Quiltmania for supplying me the photos!

                                        
And in it, is a Lollypop Cushion, as well as other gorgeous projects.

A good little project if you are new to doing applique! It is a new Lollypop block.  Really easy ....
But, if you are like me, when I do applique, the background fabric somehow shrinks when all the elements are stitched down, might be a good idea to start with a 20" x 20" background fabric and then trim down to the size indicated in the magazine. When I started quilting years and years ago, I bought a pattern and there was applique in triangles, unfortunately because I didn't know any better, I cut the triangles exactly as per template with 1/4" seam allowance, anyway to cut the story short, my applique background shrank after completing the applique and the triangles were a lot smalller than what it should be. I can't remember what happened to that project, but the lesson was learnt though, now I tend to add a decent seam allowance to applique background fabrics!
I used the KF Spots in Apple Green and at the back, I used the KF Marquee fabric, really enjoyed making the cushion, first time ever. K                    

Update from Kelli

Hey there fellow applique admirers, I have some pics to show you!  I am doing the Stars and Sprigs quilt by machine applique.  I am tracing the shapes onto Floriani stitch and wash, then fusing to the fabric, cut around the shape with about a one eighth allowance, then, I use Elmers glue stick (the purple one) around the shape, then, using a finger pressing tool, shape the seam allowance over the edge of the stitch and wash, this is such a delightful process for me, I love this part more than the sewing :)  I have all the shapes made, I have some gluing to do though, I have used Roxannes baste it glue to tack down my applique.

 Cut out, ready to go yumminess!

  I am starting to sew up the stars now, I just have to look up how :)

Watch this space.................

My friend Julie did this glorious Lolly using a brass color fabric as background. 

First outside border

first border finished and sewn on.  Yeah, I have the second marked and fabric chosen.

Hi, my name is Kelli, and I am a sewaholic

Hi everyone, I am so happy to be here, I haven't known about Kim's quilts until recently.  As you can appreciate, I fell in love!  I decided to start by making Stars and Sprigs, and I am waiting for Pandamonium and it's accompanying fabric pack any day now.  I haven't taken pics of my progress yet, (I just moved, bad time for a sewer) but I do have a pic of the fabrics I ordered from Glorious Color (so cheap to buy it from her, but the wait is almost unbearable!)

Aren't they delicious?? I bought half meters for this project, and believe it or not, it was an awesome guess!  I have a nice amount left over after cutting all the stars and all the applique, astounding how some things just work well, I have enough to take care of any errors I might make (I hope!) I can't wait to show you pics of my progress,  busy time for me at the moment, you know, end of business year.  Oh, a little about me, I am 43, married for 21 of them, my son Benny is 20 (Autistic, barely verbal) my gorgeous daughter Caitlyn,19 , pianist and sometime pizza maker, and the little guy, Curtis, 14, aren't the teenage years a joy?  I hope this post goes down well, tell me if I said too much LOL, I work alone and I am a people person.

 Chat soon, xx Kelli

I haven't posted my progress here for a LONG time,  but I've been working it,  in the midst of many other projects.   I have one border,  the top with the horses nearly done,  but the blocks were all scattered.   A few days ago I decided to trim them up and assemble,  and just see how it would look.   Much brighter than I thought it would!  

Thanks to Liza for suggesting this black/white spot for the background,  after trying out several other choices.  I'm loving it and am now psyched to keep it going.  I was a little bogged down.

It's all machine done,  blind hem stitch with invisible thread,  with turned under edges.    The nice smooth shapes lend itself to this technique.  

I don't have a place to take a good photo so it's outside in BLINDING bright sunlight, on a little hill.  I'll do better once it's all done.    There really is a lot of contrast in it.  

Bobbi