Clam Flower #8 - Part 1

Clam Flower #8 is one of my favorites.  I love the combination of blue and purple.  Layer one had quite a few pieces.  Those skinny green stems were fussy cut from a vine print.

And the back.

In this picture you can see that I fussy cut the dark blue centers of the flowers so they had a triangle shape in the middle.  It's a small detail, but a fun one that adds sparkle.

And the back so far. 

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Nature Inspriation

I love to do floral applique and snap pictures of every flower I come across most of the time.  Here are a few fun one's I've taken lately.  I seem to like dragonflies.  That might be fun!

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Clam Flower #7 - Part 2

Here's the second part of Clam Flower #7.  If you look at the dark purple tulip shape below you can see that I went with a blanket stitch that was large and contrasted some with the flower piece.  It allows both the flower and the stitching to sparkle.  I chose to do this since the fabric was fairly plain, but just the color I wanted.

The back of the finished block.

And the block complete.  After looking at it further I wish the two green I used for the leaves had slightly more contrast.  But I still like it a lot.

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Free Motion Friday - A Project Found

While cleaning my sewing room last week I found a hidden project I'd completely forgotten about.  I think the top was completed at least 3-4 years ago.  It's about 1 foot square and done with fusible applique and blanket stitching.  I had fun using different colors in a circle to do the lime and red stitching along the outer edge.

I started with the teal you see below.  I did straight lines through the whole piece. 

In the lime teardrops I did some feather quilting along the outside edge and then used a ruler to make a grid on the inside.  In retrospect, I should've marked the grid for more consistency, but I still am happy with how I'm learning to use rulers.  And no, I didn't put my ruler foot on.  It was in the basement and I was feeling lazy so I skipped it.  With such a small area it wasn't a problem, but I sure wouldn't do that with longer lines.

Here are the final lime teardrops.

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Clam Flower #7 - Part 1

It's time for Clam Flower #7.  I had a lot of fun fussy cutting the flower petal for this flower from a striped batik.  If you look at the two outer and middle petals you will see that the stripes are slightly different from the other two petals.  A little thing, but it was fun to do.

Here's the back.

And there's a stem too...

 Additional pieces at the bottom of the flower.  The dark purple was fussy cut so the lines are vertical.

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Post 400 AND My 2nd Blog Anniversary!

It's hard to believe that it's been 2 years since I started this blog.   And today coincidentally happens to be the 400th post as well!  I remember making those first rambling posts having absolutely no idea what I was doing.  Little did I know how much it would change me.

It all started because I was planning to submit a book proposal to the American Quilter's Society (it's available!  Folk Art Quilted Traditions) and they suggested you have a web presence.  There were a few blogs I read regularly and I started thinking about why I liked them.  I really enjoyed the ones where the authors were writing about what they'd learned.  So off I started. 

Blog Quilt #1 was Spring Gems.  It's still a favorite of mine.  It's not done well at show, but I love it and sometimes that's all that counts.  I learned a lot about doing double blanket-stitch applique in this quilt and the kinds of threads I like and didn't.

A friend of mine also suggested that I apply to be an ambassador for Island Batik.  That sounded fun and it sure has been!  I've  made new friends and played with their lovely fabrics.  Here are a few of my favorite quilts I've made for them.

I adore blogging.  It's given me creative freedom to try out new things and ideas without having to be perfect for a show quilt.  It's been really freeing and it's something I will continue into the future.

I hope you've enjoyed the retrospective and that you get to quilt today!
Suzy

Clam Flower #6 - Part 2

The piece added in the first picture below is the large curl at the bottom.  It has some great strip to the fabric.  I fussy cut it from a flower that had a dot in the middle and then radiating lines going out.  I love the effect.  I was trying to decide whether to stitch it in light green or dark green. I decided on light green to let those dark green lines stand out.

The back.

 

And the final block!  I love the bit of yellow just below the flowers and the green at the very bottom is one of my favorite clam shell prints from Island Batik.

I hope you get to quilt today!
Suzy