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The latest update on Flowerdale (pattern by Gail Pan Designs) - Section A and B have been stitched together. This has been machine pieced and hand appliquéd. Fabrics are from the Blueberry Crumb Cake collection by Blackbird Designs for Moda. Hoping to make a start on Section C at the weekend. 
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This gorgeous kit (Flowerdale by Gail Pan Designs) had been in my sewing box for about 5 years, as when it first arrived I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of applique that it involved. Now I've made a start on it, I don't know what all the fuss was about! Using the applique paper and a glue stick together with the apliquick rods really suits my style of sewing. The important thing is to be accurate in the tracing and then the cutting out of the applique shapes...
...I use a few small spots of Roxanne's basting glue on the back of each prepared applique shape, and then press the shape into position on the background fabric. Once the glue is dry, I can then hand stitch the applique into place using a very fine thread - my favourites are YLI silk thread or Bottomline thread, in a neutral colour. Once all the applique has been completed, the blocks can be machine pieced together...
...and here's the completed Section B, combining the applique with the 9 patch blocks. I really love these fabrics (they're from the Blueberry Crumb Cake collection by Blackbird Designs for Moda) and can't wait to make a start on the next section at the weekend.  Yesterday I shared a sneak peek of Section A, and here it is in all it's glory! All the applique blocks have been machine pieced together, along with some 9 patch blocks. This pattern is Flowerdale by Gail Pan Designs, and was bought as a kit about 5 years ago from a quilt shop in Australia. This had been in my sewing box for all that time, and I finally decided it was about time I made a start on it! This kit uses gorgeous fabrics from the Blueberry Crumb Cake collection by Blackbird Designs for Moda. Now I just need to make a start on Section B!  Don't you just love it when you find hidden treasure? I was sorting through my sewing box and found this gorgeous kit that I'd bought way back in July 2011. It's called Flowerdale and is by the Australian designer Gail Pan Designs. The kit uses fabrics from the Blueberry Crumb Cake collection by Blackbird Designs for Moda. When it first arrived I was a bit daunted by the applique, but as I've been practising my technique with other projects over the past couple of years I don't think I'm going to struggle too much!...
...I used applique paper, a glue stick and apliquick rods for the applique, and each shape was hand stitched into place with a very fine YLI silk thread and an applique needle. The stems were made with strips of fabric cut on the bias, and Karen Kay Buckley Perfect Stems. Then once all of the appliqued blocks had been completed, they were machine pieced together along with some nine-patch blocks and 2.5" squares. This shows a sneak peek of Section A. This is the first quilt that I've made with a pattern by Gail Pan, and I'm absolutely loving it!  On Friday evening the last 2 stitchery blocks of my United Stitches quilt were machined into place. All the "fabric" blocks had been made several weeks ago, and as each row was finished it was machined into place. Finally row 9 was completed!. This this gorgeous BOM is by Rosalie Dekker Designs and was bought from Under The Mulberry Tree in Australia. The quilt top has been hand embroidered with Cosmo threads and hand appliquéd, and the fabrics are from the "Chirpy Lola" collection, also designed by Rosalie. I'd bought the border and binding pack (also from Under The Mulberry Tree) simply ages ago. I was so excited to get this machined in place at last, and so glad that I'd made each row as I went along, as sewing all these 4.5" blocks together would've been a mammoth task...
...as you can see it was rather blustery when I took some photographs in the garden on Saturday morning! I can't believe it was back in Feb 2015 when the first stitchery block and the fabrics arrived all the way from Australia - I have absolutely loved every stitch in this beautiful quilt! As usual, this is will be going for a little holiday with my wonderful longarm quilter Janette at J-Quilts (she really does do the most amazing work!) and she will work her usual magic with her superb custom quilting.  Ohhhh look what was waiting for me when I arrived home from work on Friday! Block 3 of "Leanne's House" by the Australian designer Leanne Beasley. This was bought as a BOM from Cross Patch in Wales, and with month 1 there was a beautiful fabric pack for this quilt, along with a selection of DMC embroidery threads. It didn't take long to prepare the appliqué ready for block 3 of Leanne's House. I used the appliqué paper as a stabiliser for the stitchery on the "roses"...
...the applique shapes were hand stitched in place with a neutral coloured YLI silk thread, and embellished with some hand embroidery. I really love this basket of roses! Once all 4 mini-blocks were made they were ready to be pieced together...
...and here's the completed block 3. I really love these fabrics, Julia has put together a really great fabric pack for this project. Only 6 more blocks to go and this one will be finished!  The final 2 stitchery blocks of United Stitches by Rosalie Dekker Designs arrived in the post from Under The Mulberry Tree in Australia and I couldn't wait to get started stitching them. These designs have been pre-printed onto handkerchief linen, so just needed some interfacing to be fused on the back (my favourite is weaveline, available from Patchwork Chicks and The Fat Quarters, both shops have excellent websites) and they were ready to go! I always use a wooden embroidery hoop to keep the linen taught. And here are the finished blocks. These were stitched very simply with Cosmo embroidery threads, using back stitch, chain stitch and satin stitch. Now I just need to stitch the final row into place along with the 2 borders, which I'm planning to do at the weekend.
One of the wonderful ladies at Sewing Group brought in a HUGE bag of threads tonight and asked if anyone wanted any. Well I almost squealed with delight, I was just like a child in a sweetie shop! I couldn't resist this really old silk tidy, filled with beautiful threads. These will be perfect for stitching a special vintage project!  Block 8 of Flowerville by Rosalie Dekker Designs arrived in the post a few weeks ago. I've fused a piece of weave line to the back of the pre-printed linen, and this will be my hand sewing project for the next few evenings. This BOM has been arriving every month from Under the Mulberry Tree in Australia, and included all the beautiful Cottage Garden Threads and Tilda fabrics to make this quilt. After a week of stitching in the evenings, the stitchery was completed. This was hand embroidered using back stitch, chain stitch and satin stitch. Block 9 is on it's way from Australia, and when that's finished I'll make all the Dresden plates for the embroidered centres to be appliquéd onto.
 Well I had a very unexpected treat yesterday. I had a mid-week day off, with no definite plans to do anything, (don't you just hate it when friends make half-baked plans to meet up and then never confirm anything!!) and my youngest daughter is at home as she has finished her uni course - so what should we do? We decided to go off on a jaunt to the sea-side. We're so lucky living so near to the coast, and after a drive we'd arrived in Aldeburgh, and were perusing the delights of the high street. We've walked past this retro-looking diner "Delphine's Diner" several times in the past, and never had time to call in before, so as we had plenty of time to spare we decided to call in for lunch. Well we certainly weren't disappointed with the huge selection on the menu - and had the yummiest lunch, whilst listening to lots of 50's music in the background. We'll definitely be going back, especially we want to sample some of the lovely desserts too!
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 About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! 
 
 
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