Lullaby...

Way back in January 2011, at the last Summer School hosted by Susan Smith in Wodonga, one of the quilts started with Karen Cunningham was "Lullaby".  It had been ages since I'd opened that box, thinking I had an issue with one of the triangle borders to figure out and a heap to do to finish the centre.  Getting ready for Scrub Stitching I opened its box to find it not so far off to finish that centre - the two cactus (which were ready to be appliqued) and the circles.  Right, get it ready to take on holiday and maybe get it a little closer to being finished.

 

After laying the cactus pieces out, I was pinning away and huh! one of pieces had gone missing - I have no idea where it went and it hasn't been seen since (I actually lost two pieces, from separate projects, that day and the other one turned up in a really weird place but this piece never has)...a frantic rummage through every box and project and miraculously I found a piece of the fabric and could re-cut the applique piece..whew!...

 

It didn't get finished at Barradine, it went to quilting group a few times but it didn't go back on the shelf...plugged away and eventually a couple of months ago...ta dah!...a finished top...

Karen used a plain white for the background and heavily quilted border...I didn't want white or the heavily quilted plain border.  The border is the fabric the centre square was fussy cut out of, the width determined by the piece of fabric (which was missing a corner square).  To bring it up to size needed a spacer...I was going to use the blue background fabric - it didn't look right...OK, make it smaller and ditch the spacer...nope too busy...needs a spacer but what colour...rummage through the scraps and find the perfect pink, of course nowhere near big enough to do anything with...that scrap took a trip to the shops for the closest to it pink homespun I could find...

 

Entirely hand sewn, borders as well...it is only a wee quilt a metre square-ish (very roughly measured - it is supposed to be 39" x 39").

 

No idea how to quilt it...that's a ponder for another time...for now, wahoo it's a finished top and a project box emptied...

 

Happy Stitching...

TQWNICR ... A Finish ...

It's taken me a bit of looking to find which year of Summer School this quilt came from but I've found it - Summer School 2012 ... have to admit I have enjoyed reading those old posts.  Also found the post from when it became a finished top...the same year! It was sandwiched and has hung over the hand quilting frame with a couple of lines of quilting done here and there ever since ... I guess I just became so used to it being there I hadn't realised just how long it had been.  In about February this year I picked it up to do a line of quilting and so enjoyed doing the hand quilting I left it on the couch and did a row here and there (between going to work and getting study modules lodged there aren't a lot of stitchy hours) and last weekend the final stitches were put in the binding!  Now those aren't words I type very often...final stitches put in the binding!!!

So to prove that Summer School Quilts can get finished...Tah Dah!... TQWNICR - The Quilt Whose Name I Can't Remember...

Hand quilted with a Valdani pink/green variegated embroidery floss that were just the right shades that I bought from the lovely Michelle from The Raspberry Rabbits all those years ago.

It still needs to have take a dip in the bath, hopefully the weather will co-operate this weekend.

Happy Stitching...

Summer School 2019...

Summer School has come and gone for another year...five days of fun and friendship...stitching, talking and learning...Wednesday and Thursday were spent in Karen Cunningham's workshop starting her quilt "Alice"...

Friday was sit and sew and I worked on a component of a very very old quilt project of Karen's quilt "Bumble Bee", which out of context of the whole makes no sense, so, no pics of that progress...

This year Karen had a guest tutor in Judy Newman...she had let us know last year that she was planning to have Judy come along...I didn't want to make Judy's quilt but I was keen to have the experience of taking her class...her quilt was a two block (repeated) design and I was happy to just make a block and leave it at that - and to my great relief Judy didn't take exception and was happy for me to do just that...she is a lovely lovely lady and a great tutor, I came away with learning of her techniques and tips and that was my aim so mission accomplished...the block was finished too!...

The quilt is County Clare and the other block has a shamrock applique but I've decided I don't want to make that one.

Happy Stitching...

Summer School 2016

Mid-January means my annual favourite stitchy adventure - the Blue Mountains for Karen Cunningham's Summer School. It was a quick trip this year and I was exhausted when I got there but at least I got to go.  I started this year's correspondence quilt "Little Tree" in the first workshop on the Wednesday & Thursday...

...and just keep on going...the quilt pattern for the second workshop is happy to wait its turn...doesn't look like much for five days work, but what with socialising, shopping, eating, socialising, shopping, eating, the days are full...he he he...The applique is only back basted as I was soooo tired that when I attempted to applique my eyes just couldn't deal with concentrating so I moved on to the hand piecing of the border instead.

Luckily I was passing through Bathurst on the way to the mountains during opening hours so I didn't miss out on my annual visit to The Home Patch - yay!  A copy of Anni's new book - The Story of My Day - just might have followed me home.

Another fabulous Summer School, it really is the best medicine..countdown to 2017!

Happy Stitching...

Welsh Medallion Top...Done!...

Two weeks since coming home from the trip including Summer School and the Welsh Medallion Quilt started at Summer School is a completed top...I wasn't at all happy with the fabric I'd used in the corners of the triangle border while I was away, so I unpicked the corners and replaced with a happier choice...because I mucked about with measurements to resize the quilt, the borders of on-point squares weren't quite long enough so I used strips on each end to extend, they worked to create half frames for the corner squares (the fabric in the outside corner squares looks blue but it really is cream, it is the lighting inside)...

I didn't want it as big as Karen's original quilt so I sized it down...not very well, it still measures 80 1/2 inches!...mind you that is a whole foot and a bit smaller than Karen's 93 1/2 inches!!! As I don't have anyone to help hold things up for photo taking I've had to employ a couch and the coffee table just to be able to almost spread it out for a picture (it is way too windy for an outdoor photo shoot)...

How to quilt it is way too much like rushing things for now so it has gone to join its mates in the Quilt Top Cupboard and think about how it would like to be finished...one day...

Next!

Happy Stitching...

The Sun Came Out...

Finally it stopped raining, the sun came out and shone in the blue sky...the whole time the Human was inside at Summer School!! After Wednesday's mammoth effort she did even less on Thursday...drew a line, pinned a seam and sewed maybe six inches of that seam on her Anna quilt...but there was a reason for abandoning quilting projects...The Stitching Post shop was at Summer School and Karen bought along some cross-stitch from her other shop Linen and Threads...an impromptu cross-stitch on linen lesson was scheduled Wednesday afternoon for Thursday.  Karen's husband Brendan put together kits for those who wanted to take part and 8-10 patchworker/quilters became cross-stitchers for a couple of hours...the Human enjoyed revisiting cross-stitch after not doing any for a number of years and managed to stitch a stem...Oh yeah she is speedy....not!

Friday was a sit & sew day (or in the Human's case, sit and socialise!) so she fluffed about a bit more.  For the second workshop on the weekend she chose Miss Emma, which can happily be made from stash and scraps, and managed this...

She did machine sew when she came home in the afternoons and by the end of Summer School the Welsh Quilt started on Wednesday looked like this...

 

N came back down for the weekend, as she wanted to got a festival that was on in Katoomba, but the Human didn't get to see much of her as either N was at the festival or the Human was at class/Saturday night dinner and N had to go home Sunday before the Human came back from class...oh well, they did have a short further catch up and maybe next year can work it out better as it was great to see her and chill out together...

There was a scheduled recovery day on Monday for maybe a little bit more shopping or sight seeing but it rained so so hard that we stayed inside all day except for a very short excursion...the Human worked a bit more on her Some Kind of Wonderful quilt that she had also been stitching each evening...it had come on holiday as strips and pieces and by the time we left Katoomba it looked like this...

We left Katoomba on Tuesday morning to start on our way to a very exciting destination...

Woofs and Tail Wags...Jindi...

And All The While It Rained...

A few Saturdays ago the Human starting packing "things" that smelt of her taking off for a while...I was not being left behind so I hopped in the boot and off we went (Larry is a station wagon so the boot is my travel kennel)...Larry drove a very long way...in the rain...more rain...and more rain...*sigh* no opportunities for park plays for a long time...we stayed overnight in Cowra at the most awesome motel unit where I was very welcome and it stopped raining long enough to go for a walk up the road to see rabbits (she wouldn't let me chase them, spoil sport) and a couple of wallabies checked us out...back on the road Sunday it was, surprise surprise, raining...no stopping at the off-lead park I had been very much looking forward to...finally, there it was, our destination...

Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. The Human was very excited as that meant Summer School!!!

First we had a very special visitor...the Human's friend N, who lives further north in NSW was travelling back from Sydney and took a detour for a couple of days...very exciting and a lovely way to start the holiday....it rained Monday and Tuesday, a lot, but we walked to the shops Monday morning and in the afternoon they walked from Echo Point to Katoomba Falls along the cliff walk (I had to stay home it is in National Park)...at the end of the track when trying to figure out which road to take back to town the Trolley Bus came...a fun way to ride back into town, like a vintage tram on wheels instead of tracks!...when they sat down at a picnic table to sort out their directions this fellow came down to keep them company...

Tuesday saw them offf down the mountain to Glenbrook to meet K at Post Office Patchwork, lunch at a vegan cafe in Leura, Rubyfruit, declared as delicious and an afternoon browsing the Leura shops.  Of course, they left me behind but I had a lovely backyard all to myself this year so it was OK.

Wednesday morning N headed north to her house and the Human went to Summer School.  When she came home P-faff was set up for the duration of our stay. This year's quilts were based on English Frame Quilts...during the day fabrics were cut and once P-faff was ready she even did some sewing...amazing isn't it!....strips sewn on a square...really, I don't know why it takes her so long to do so little and goodness knows how it took her all day to cut out one square and some strips!! *sigh*...

Framed Centre Square

More on Summer School later...and the very exciting thing we did after...stay tuned!...

Woofs and tail wags...Jindi...

A New Puppy...

Well a felt one that is…

Last year at Summer School one of Karen's (the tutor) friends especially came to visit and kindly took orders for custom made items to be collected at this year's Summer School.  This post here shows the lovely birdie she made that I won at last year's Summer School.

I ordered…well…um…well…something…I knew I ordered something…had absolutely no idea what it was…simply could not remember if it was one thing or five or what it/they might be…so figured, surprise!

On the way to Katoomba on Tuesday I called in at Blackheath to say hi to Karen and she gave me my Alex goodie bag…inside wrapped in a sheet of dressmaking pattern tissue….O.M.G. what a fabulous surprise…

 How Gorgeous…I just LOVE IT…

Strike a pose...

With a twirl…

Haven't given him a name yet…he is a Scot so mmmm…ha ha a bit of Scot/Gaelic name research and I think this may be pawfect…

Pàrlan (m)

Tr

PAWR lun

from Hebrew Bartholemew, "son of Talmai (abounding in furrows)"

Bartholemew

Stitchy and puppy all in one…so that's it…meet Pàrlan…too fabulous to stick pins in, he is looking forward to helping out in the sewing room supervisory department…

Happy Stitching...

Summer School Workshop 1...

Setting off from Yass Tuesday morning a few hours of meandering through the mountains from Goulburn to Crookwell to Oberon across to the Great Western Highway bought Jindi and I to Katoomba, the destination until Tuesday next week for five days of play at Summer School 2014.

Yesterday concluded the first two day workshop.  Split into two x two day workshops and one sit & sew day I have chosen to just do one quilt this year - May Baskets, a lovely English style medallion quilt.  Wednesday I prepared the centre square background fabric and made templates and chose a couple of the fabrics for the appliqué. For me, that was actually a whole lot of achievement in class.  Day 2's task was to start the tessellated first border and work on a corner...I actually sewed! In class!! Miraculous *LOL*

There was one…

 Then two…

  Then three…

Ready to be joined together and create the first corner…

A few lovelies have found their way into the fabric pile...

The little bundle tied up with string is from Karen's Sewing Room (the tutor made up some bundles from her own fabrics) and the others from a very successful trip down the mountain with Summer School buddy "S" to Glenbrook and the awesome treasure trove that is Post Office Patchwork, which as can clearly be seen did not disappoint - especially with a 50% off most fabrics sale! The paisley (paisley? really? me? so not a paisley lover but this one just wouldn't take no for an answer) is to form part of the outer border of May Flowers and the stripe had just the right amount left on the bolt for the backing.  The selection of 30cm strips (which I've washed but not ironed hence the raggedy look going on there) are to fill out the fabric selections for the various components of the quilt top.

Sit & sew day today with Workshop 2 over the weekend….three more days of fun, fabric, food, laughter, sitting and general happy…and maybe even a little more progress on May Baskets!

Happy stitching...

Summer School - The Days 4 & 5 Report...

I gave up fighting the crappy internet connection while I was away so a couple of days behind but anyway...the final two days of Summer School 2013, Saturday & Sunday, I spent in an appliqué workshop with Rhonda absorbing her tips and tricks.  Rhonda is an amazing tutor and it was two days well spent (oh I just read that back, the first three days with Karen were definitely well spent too!).  For the class Rhonda designed an urn of flowers that can be used as the basis for all sorts of projects such as the centre of a medallion quilt, a cushion cover or, as Rhonda had done, quilted and framed in a nice wooden frame. Being a stitcher of amazing slowness in class  (I get distracted so easily by socialising, shopping, cuppas, any excuse really) so knowing from the get go that there was no way I'd achieve great and wonderous progress I asked Rhonda what to concentrate on...

Ironing the background for a photo would mess up the tracing...
that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!...

...the result being a slightly more than half appliqued urn and some petals...I stitched the petals on Sunday when I was using most of my energy resisting the urge to crawl under the table, curl up and go to sleep - relaxing had taken a turn for the ridiculous! - and they should have been in remedial class.  Seriously hoping by the fifth incarnation of this flower in the design there has been improvement.

So that was Summer School 2013...wahhhhhh! sob sob it's over...reality is rushing back in but in the meantime...

Happy Stitching...

Summer School - The Days 2 & 3 Report...

Still at Summer School...still having fun...Day 2 (Thursday) was the second day of Karen's quilt workshop and I worked on "Anna", surprising myself by actually stitching in "class"...imagine!  I've now assembled two x three rows of coffin shapes for the side borders of the centre medallion...Day 3 was the hand quilting class with Karen - the class that involved Wretched. I was consoled by learning that everyone, including the tutor!, had trouble with this little quilt top that looked ever so easy and was completely the opposite.  I loved seeing the different fabric combinations and colours as well.  I managed to pin baste the quilt and then marked and stitched one motif...didn't want to over do it...

When Karen asked for help with Show & Tell after lunch I was happy to play hold up quilts (really, any excuse to stop work!).  She has had the most gorgeous little bird pincushions made, one for each day, as the daily door prize.  As I was on stage I did the draw...I scrunched up my eyes, turned my head away from the box of names and rummaged around as Karen remarked "wouldn't it be funny if she pulled out her own name"...and...I did!!! It was hilarious, I was laughing so much I couldn't even pick which little birdie I wanted for a couple of minutes.  The one I really really coveted was chosen by the day before's winner so I went with this sweet little blue bird...

Isn't it just divine, hand stitched and gorgeous....lucky me, he is way too beautiful to have pins stuck in him and will join my little china thimble collection and have the job of adorning my sewing room.

Today starts an applique workshop with Rhonda, only ever so slightly terrified - her work is amazing! 

Happy Stitching...

It must have been my lucky day yesterday...I've just discovered I also won one of Fiona's gorgeous thread catchers! Thank you Fiona, you know how much I loved your versions and Mr Random must have too!

Summer School 2013 - The Day 1 Report...

Summer School 2013 began today yesterday (thanks to Blogger and dodgy internet it's now tomorrow)...after the initial annual catch up with Summer School friends it was time to start.  I'm spending the first two days with Karen Cunningham in her quilt workshop but, I don't want to start any new large complicated quilts, I'm filing the pattern and brought along "Anna" (a previous Karen Summer School class project) to work on.  The first quilt Karen is teaching  this year focuses on the appliqué technique of broderie  perse.  After listening to Karen's description of the technique and how it was employed by stitchers of bygone days I decided that, rather than working on Anna for the morning, I'd pilfer some fabric from the project box and "have a go". A 5" charm square and some motifs cut from a toile scrap were pulled to sample stitch the three methodologies of this type of appliqué and see which, if any, I preferred or even liked doing...

For the rooster in the centre I used the usual blind (appliqué) stitch, for the little urn underneath the rooster (the detail is lost in the stitching), blanket stitch and for the bit of tree at the top (which looks suspiciously like a blob), running top stitch.  None of these methods are raw edge, in all three the seam allowance is neatly turned under. Immediately I started the urn I knew I wasn't enamoured with blanket stitch for the type of 18th Century reproduction quilt designs that Karen produces.  The blind (appliqué) stitch method is well, nothing new, and I didn't mind at all the running top stitch which is done in small even stitches using cream thread regardless of the fabric colour. I changed to a cream thread and the stitches blend right in even though they are on blue.   And when it all comes down to it, it's just applique, nothing mysterious at all.

So the votes were 50/50 for the blind (appliqué) stitch and running top stitch and a big fat 0 for the blanket stitch (prefer to use blanket stitch on raw edge appliqué projects).  The ladies of old would then highlight aspects of their motif with little bits of embroidery like french knots or feather stitching but I didn't go that far on the sample.

Before we knew it the day was over and I hadn't put a stitch into Anna, oh well there's still today for this class.

Happy Stitching...

Wretched...

Wretched 

Pronunciation: /ˈrɛtʃɪd/

adjective (wretcheder, wretchedest)

• of poor quality; very bad:
• used to express anger or annoyance:

Oxford English Dictionary 

Yep I've named the crib quilt...or rather it has named itself...I don't do the quilt naming thing well and there is generally no sentiment attached, as evidenced by quilt tops being known by monikers such as The Quilt Whose Name I Don't Remember, The Never Ending Wagga, The Red Quilt...but this one is...Wretched.  Wretched it is and wretched it makes me feel...it is so not getting its outer pieced border...even with the borders on it isn't stable...the fabric seems to just give and stretch in every direction, it's like it has no grain and is 360 degrees of bias...might has well have made it out of jersey...the horror of the prospect of trying to deal with the outer pieced border is just beyond my endurance so I've made an executive decision to piff it...call it a design modification...it so isn't flat, it so isn't square and I so don't give a rats...after all it's for a technique workshop, a square of calico would have served the purpose...which if I'd thought of a square of calico earlier I would have cut one out and drew on the patchwork design!  But on the plus side it is the perfect size for my little camping table and I do so like the colour/fabric combination, just not the fabric behaviour.

Happy Stitching... 
 

A Little Crib Quilt Top...Almost...

After months of waiting, time has flown by and now it is nearly time for the quilty highlight start to my stitchy year...Summer School starts Wednesday week, wahoo!...it seemed Sooooo Far Away, I blinked and now...It Is Almost Here!...this year I'm booked in to a couple of technique classes...applique and hand quilting...I've had the requirements for the applique class packed for a few weeks having found supplies in my travels up to Singleton in November.  For the hand quilting day we were sent a pattern to get to top stage in readiness...a small crib quilt...I'm not keen on machine piecing, never have been and this little disaster zone is just proving my point, let's just say that it looked simple enough but it has had other ideas...grrrr...I wish so much I'd had time to hand piece it but alas the calendar just didn't have room to indulge...

But onwards we forge, after all I'm leaving on Friday to travel to Blackheath via I haven't decided yet and the machine isn't coming with me, so there isn't any option of chucking it in the corner or starting over, I simply don't have time...thank goodness the quilting workshop is with a tutor who knows me and will understand when I just want to hide under the table...it is destined to be a bit of a table cloth so for the intended use it will be fine...

OK, now to face the pieced border...can only imagine what new horrors await me with that part of the exercise!

Happy Stitching...

TQWNICR....

Friday the calendar told me it was the day to pack a stitchy bag and wander up to Castlemaine for our regular(ish) 6-12 gathering...yay!...well I had one of "those" Fridays and there wasn't a whole lot of time to pack my stitchy stuff before my ride arrived - usually I drive, out of choice, but my co-pilot offered and I was happy to accept on this occasion to just sit and be the passenger. Knowing that said co-pilot is very prompt and not waiting to keep her waiting I abandoned my usual dithering about what to take and quickly packed the projects that were already out on the table...the hexie quilt top and the appliqued but not yet embroidered Some Kind of Wonderful blocks...both hand stitching, I'm not keen on carting my machine around...

Well...are you sitting down...this is rather amazing...after all this is a Summer School quilt...from this year!..tah dah!...the top is a done deal...

I had the two side borders left to stitch on and I was convinced I'd do the seam to extend one border piece, stitch that on, get bored and move on to the stitchery...but no...I finished the first side and moved straight on to the second...finishing right on pack up time...I didn't even wander the shop drooling over the new fabrics I was so keen to get the second border finished!

It looks a bit "wavy" in the photo but that is just because I had to hang it from the architrave to get the picture. So there we have it, TQWNICR (the quilt whose name I can't remember) is a finished top...yay!...

Happy Stitching...

Sparrows Nest...

The Sparrows Nest block started in Susan Smith's class at Summer School back in January is an orphan block on longer...it was finished last night but it needed a bath before going out in public.  I always had it in mind to hand quilt the block with orange perle thread which I had yet to find in my travels, so coming across the spool of orange hand quilting thread at the charity quilt-in day a couple of weeks ago was close enough...

I used three different quilting stencils...starting with a circular petals design in the centre and dragonflies on each corner then decided it also needed something the sides and added a round petal flower...a bit of fun playing with different designs. Self-bound with the backing fabric instead of a separate binding, a thin poly batting and finishing at 13" square(ish) (it's a little bit not quite square).

A finish for OPAM for July...yay!...

Happy Stitching...

Bumb'le Happy Dancing...

There is a little happy dancing happening in my sewing room right about now...the central medallion for Bumb'le Bee is...

all stitched together! (for the purposes of photo pinned to actual background fabric) Cue wild applause and general merry making...what? a bit of an overkill? probably, but I'm just a wee bit happy to finally have it together (what you can do when you obsess for a week on one thing)...now I can actually unpin it from the design board...wahoo!!!! Next step is hexie papers to be popped out and ironing/starching to take place so it can be appliqued to shown background but that can happen another day...

Oh and the TAFE assignment was duly delivered yesterday...so that is two ticks this week for "just get it done will you" tasks...cue more happy dancing... :)

Happy Stitching...

Friday Night Stitching...

6-Midnight class last night at Threadbear, always good fun...and despite me leaving behind essential equipment and having to borrow from the shop's class supplies...sheesh, suppose I should be impressed I remembered the fabric!...I managed make a little progress on Anna's Quilt by Karen Cunningham (my other Summer School 2011 project)...at the beginning of the evening the count was 1 1/2...

...now it is three...six to go...there are nine of these, sashed together with more 1/2" hexies, that make up the centre medallion.  I'm using the Rural Jardin by French General range for this quilt and I love it, there is not one fabric in the range that I don't like.

Well the sun is actually shining, even though it is darn cold, so I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get the lawn mower out...then I can reward myself with a little stitchy time...

Hope your weekend includes stitchy time...

Happy Stitching...

Happy New Year!....Huh?...That's Happened Already??...

So January has been and gone...who knew!  Whoosh...it's all a bit of a blur...boring real world stuff intruded on my sewing space...a space I definitely need to re-acquaint myself with...and I've tried to catch upon almost two months of blog reading - finally admitting failure and resorting to scanning of posts with proper reading and commenting to recommence shortly.

There hasn't been a lot of stitching going on but I managed to keep my date to attend Patchwork on Stonleigh's Summer School in Wodonga.  Love Summer School, this was my third year.  I had a grand time in four days of workshops, starting two quilts by lovely Karen Cunningham, who made her annual trek down from the Blue Mountains to play just over the border here in Victoria.  The sad thing was the announcement though that this was the final year of trekking to Wodonga for Summer School, Patchwork on Stonleigh is closing - waaaaahhhh!!!! - Susan and Christine are packing up their fabrics for the best of reasons but they and their wonderful shop will be sorely missed...

The workshop for the first two days was "Anna's Quilt"...nine large hexies surrounded by 3/4" hexies make up the centre medallion...I started one...

I'm using the beautiful Rural Jardine range by French General for Moda as my basis for this quilt - love love love this range of fabric.  I had it in mind to just use a single range...well, I gave it a try but nah, that isn't working for me...I found other yummy fabrics in the shop that just had to make their way into the Anna's Quilt project box...I did more than this in the two days as I spent the first day doing preparation on previous Summer School quilts that I would work on if I just had "here's some I prepared earlier" going on and this is was a great opportunity to use a chunk of time to do just that...

Here is Karen's version of Anna's Quilt...sorry it is sideways but you get the idea...lots of opportunity for fussy cutting in this one... 

The second workshop was "Lullaby"...Jindi showed it last post...here it is again...

That's not a white patch on the centre square, it's a hexie paper (I think).

Prepare to be amazed at what I am about to tell you...are you sitting down because it is truly shocking...  I. Did. All. This. Work. In. Class. ... I know! Told you it was amazing!!  There are some small circles to be prepped and then the whole center of the quilt is cut out.  All the pieces are pinned on ready to be appliqued down.

This is Karen's version...

Isn't the quilting gorgeous...it is more gorgeous in real life, photos don't do justice to the overall gorgeousness of Karen's quilts...

A Gardener's Journal has been severely neglected but I am plugging away...

Hope you are getting to spend more time in your sewing space that I've had lately...

Happy Stitching...