OK It's Monday Night Time for a Tip

Recently I've been working on this little project.

Sunflower applique

I finished doing the leaves and petals and am about to do the center. As I looked at it I realized the fabric I had originally intended to use for the center just wasn't working for me. It seemed too busy.
So I selected a few other choices from my stash but was having a hard time deciding what to use. So I thought it would be a good idea to make a color copy of my work and also a second copy of the black and white pattern I had been using. With those in hand I thought I could cut the middle section from the black and white paper and use it as a guide for cutting out the center of the color copy of my work. Then I could audition fabrics until I found one I liked.
Well because I also make a lot of fabric yo yos I could have just cut the circles from the fabric and made yo yos from the ones I didn't use. But then not everyone likes to make those and I thought this would make a great idea for my Monday night blog post. So here are some photos to show the results. (Sorry the photos are not that great but I think you will get the idea.)

Photocopies of the project and pattern

Original fabric choice

Fabric is too light

Color doesn't seem right

Fabric is a little bit better

Maybe?

Planning to use this one because I want it to be dark.

So there is where I'm at. I think I may look through my stash for some more dark browns to try. I definitely want a dark brown.

I could also have just scanned the fabric in and used my computer to try out different ones but I didn't have my computer with me so I did it this way.

Happy Monday

Rose

Just Another Friday Post At Long Last

It’s Friday Again! Let’s Move It Forward and Finish It.

Oh hello there!

I haven’t been around blog land for some time now. Some of you know I’ve been going through some different seasons in my life and well blogging just got moved aside. But I’m back!

Seasons have different phases and this season is no different. From caring intensely for a loved one to losing that loved one to a better world to trying to find where I want and where I need to be, this has been a trying season. I’m not sure where my writing will lead. I may even start a new blog, a new page so to speak. But for now I think I will just try and get back into the habit of blogging.

So since it is Friday here’s where I’m at stitching wise. I haven’t finished anything but I have moved forward on a few items. Funny when I started my Finish It Friday posts based on words of wisdom my paternal grandmother imparted to her family (see this post) I thought I was being different. I almost wrote unique but really is anything really unique? Since then I have found other bloggers who have being doing a Finish It Friday style post for years.

Well back to mine. I didn’t do any stitching for about 3-4 months. Why? I don’t really know. But I finally did get back to picking up needle and thread. Hand-stitching is my focus right now because my sewing space is in a mess due to reorganizing and relocating it. My machine is not set up so I can only move things forward to a certain point until I need to sew on the machine.

I took a workshop class through my quilt guild on back-basting applique taught by Barbara Eikmeier. I pulled it out and started working on the class project a little bit at a time. (Well I’m trying to do my 15 minutes a day method but some days I don’t manage any stitching and other days I’m at it for an hour or more.) Here it is in process.

Sunflower Applique

Today I will finish appliqueing the petals down. Next will be the center and then some embellishment. You might notice in the lower right hand corner that I have a little challenge. When I was adding the border applique I cut it in the wrong place and so I have a little dip that should not be there. What will I do? The choices are:

1. Leave it
2. Cover it up with some embellishment/applique
3. Un-stitch it and redo it

What will I do? Stay tuned to find out.

Summer Hexagon Wall Hanging

Next up is my Summer Hexagon Wall Hanging. This I started a few years ago with embroidery designs from Wild Olive to which I made my own changes. I’ve now finished sewing the hexagons together and will be layering it with batting and a backing and then hand quilting.

Hand Embroidered Doll Faces

Oh yes and I’ve embroidered some more doll faces. Just need to rework the body pattern, cut and sew.

Shashiko and Butterflies Wall Hanging

While moving things around in my sewing room I came across a piece I had started when I still lived on the Big Island of Hawaii. I’ve decided to continue on with it since it requires some handwork. I’ve debated back and forth about the butterflies. Should I embroider them or should I applique them as the pattern called for? When I took it out to look at I was surprised to see that I had started to back-baste the pieces down just like the workshop instructor I mentioned above taught. I know the original instructor for this piece had us using a different applique method. How did I get started back-basting it in Hawaii? I don’t know. But I’m moving forward with it.

Until then,

Happy Moving Forward and Finishing!

Rose