Lollypop Trees Completed!

 I was thrilled to be honored with the Best of Show and Blue Ribbon for my Lollypop Trees this weekend at the Pieceful Hearts Quilt Show in North Augusta, SC. It has taken a while to complete this quilt but I enjoyed it so much, from choosing the fabrics with my friend, Ille (who is getting close to completion) to stitching the applique and finally, the machine quilting. That was difficult, even on a longarm, but worth the effort.

 Here are some close up pictures and I have many more on my blog if you'd like to view them. It was SO fun working with all these gorgeous fabrics and the pattern by Kim McLean. Thanks, Kim, for helping us see you can take a simple antique pattern with solid fabrics and totally change the look.

 The judge mentioned the block above as one that she particularly liked on the comment sheet. I just quilted what came to mind and what seemed to work for me through the different blocks.

Okay, now I need to get my Flower Pots completed! It's been a very enjoyable journey and thanks for those who made this blog possible so we can all share these wonderful quilts with each other!

Princess Feathers

I want to share this beautiful quilt with you. My friend, Nancy Smith, gave me permission to share this quilt. She actually made the top, all hand applique, and I quilted it for her. Nancy specializes in hand applique and hand quilting and has made several of Kim McLean's quilts plus many many more.
One of the things that Nancy does on many is choose her own fabrics and colorways and does a beautiful job. She has made Flower Pots, Lollypop Trees, and the Hearts and Flowers quilt and they are all hand quilted.
I hope you enjoy seeing her work. I'll have to check with her and post some of her other finished quilts.
As I was quilting this I realized just how difficult it must have been to make, yet she did a wonderful job! Many pieces and tiny curves, but worth the effort. I'm sorry but I do not have a picture with a full view of the quilt but thought you'd enjoy the close-ups anyway.

Flower Pots Updated

I recently finished the top panel in my Flower Pots applique. I'll admit it was fun 'fussy cutting' the birds to look like the ones in the pattern photo. For close-ups of this panel, you can go to my blog. I am now working on the fun circles in the border.

Flower Pots Side Panel

Wahoo! I finally got another block finished with my Flower Pots. This is the first time I've ever worked with such a large panel but it seemed to squash up pretty well as I worked on the hand applique. I usually just sort of roll it into my hand to get to the place I need to sew.

Nancy from Tattered Garden gave me a couple of tips that were very helpful. She suggested using the "Roxanne's Glue-Baste-It!" to lay out my stems, using tiny dots to hold them in place before I began stitching. It worked so well! I just needed to remember to leave some open spots where I had to tuck a leaf under. Also, she suggested using a toothpick to put a tiny dab of glue from a glue stick when sewing the inner curves - that also worked well. Thanks, Nancy!

Lollypop Trees

Here are my Lollypop Trees! This was such a fun, colorful exciting journey and I enjoyed every stitch. I had previously made "Stars in the Garden", an applique quilt by Piece O' Cake, beginning in 1999 with several other friends, each of us making our own quilt. That is when I began to love applique, so when it was completed and I saw Lollypop Trees on the Glorious Color website, I knew I had to jump in and begin another journey. My friend, Ille Waters, joined with me and we sat for hours/days, trying to decipher what fabrics were used. I actually love choosing fabrics for my quilts but since we loved this look, we wanted to make it just like the photo. Thankfully, Liza sent me a much better photo that helped us see the fabrics better, and now there is a really good photo on the glorious color website. I completed the top this summer as I spent two weeks making the sashing and cutting the 500+ squares. Now, I just need to quilt it.
Here are a couple of close-ups. The quilt is so large I could hardly get it all in the picture and be in the same room. Thanks, Kim, for designing such a fun quilt. The applique is so easy to do.
Funny thing is, you feel like you are almost finished when you get the 16 large blocks made but then there are the baby lollies in the border, but they really make the quilt!

Flower Pots

This is my first time to show some of my applique on this blog. I do needle-turn applique by hand, using freezer paper on the right side of the fabric for my pattern pieces. These are my first two blocks of Flower Pots by Kim McLean. I did order the kit but also have quite a nice stash of Kaffe fabrics so I have used many of the same fabrics as Kim.
The applique goes so easily as the pattern pieces are large and easy curves, yet show off the beautiful fabrics. Thanks, Kim, for wonderful designs! I love viewing everyone's fabric choices for these patterns.