Turning a Corner

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Tools, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Finally! I have finished hand-quilting all 12 blocks of Sue Garman’s “Bouquet For A New Day”.

Now I can start the border! I had my stencil picked out for the outer border and I was raring to go. I must admit, the half-square triangles had me a bit stumped. I know I could just quilt in the ditch, but I know myself well enough to know that boredom would quickly set in! So I decided on circles. Lots of circles!

The stencil I chose for the outer border did not fit the border exactly so here is what I did to make it fit. The stencil does have a nicely turned corner so I didn’t have to figure that out! First, I drew a line at the centre point of the border.

Next, I started tracing the stencil at the corner, and continued until I reached the centre mark.

Then, I flipped the stencil over and continued tracing.

And this is the nifty little design I ended up with at the centre of the border! Spiffy!

And guess what? When I got to the next corner, it fit perfectly!!

Til next time…

Kerry

17Jul2013

Inspiration is Everywhere!

Posted in Civil War Bride Quilt, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Everywhere I look, I see a quilt, or a block or a border! Our summer vacation has officially started and we are flying to Nova Scotia to visit friends and family. We arrived in Toronto early so we could spend some time at the Royal York Hotel for breakfast….and some stitching!

In the lobby alone, I found more quilt designs than I could imagine. This carpet has everything in it that I love, a centre medallion, applique blocks set on point, and an amazing border. Oh, the possibilities!

These blocks are actually on the ceiling! A quilter must have had a hand in designing this!

And this floor tile reminds me that I would love to make a quilt based on round blocks rather than square blocks!

Til next time…

Kerry

12Jul2013

Lazy Days of Summer

Posted in Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I would love to be getting more quilting done. But, we wait all winter for this hot, hazy weather! So the idea is to be outside as much as possible, because before we know it, the snow will be flying! (sorry to remind you!)

So here is what I have accomplished…I have finished hand-quilting another block from Sue Garman’s “Bouquets For a New Day’.

And I am well on my way to having all 12 blocks finished!

I can’t wait to start the border. I am not going to lie, I can hardly wait to have the whole quilt done so I can start “Ladies of the Sea”. That is the carrot I am dangling in front of myself…you know…. can’t anything new til I finish something!!

I am almost finished the next block of Civil War Bride. I just need to finish stitching everything in place. I previewed a few bird fabrics. This was my first version. (Didn’t do too much for me!)

And this was my second (and final) choice!!

Til next time…

Kerr

7Jul2013

My Kind of Garden!

Posted in Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

It is raining today so I am doing a little indoor gardening. Watch how my roses bloom!

First I added the stem, the tiny green leaves and an outer rose petal…

Next came the inner petals…

..and here are the outer petals….

…and finally, a couple of roses in full bloom!

When it comes to blocks that have lots of leaves and vines, I really struggle with greens. There are so many different greens…there are lush greens, there are yellow greens, there are blue greens and there are a lot of “muddy” greens, that, to the untrained eye (!), might be mistaken as gray. I like my greens to be “green”. I like all of my greens to “go together”. But, that can be a little boring. So, I did a little research. (Actually, I just went in the backyard.) And here are my findings. Mother Nature doesn’t seem to really care which greens “go together”. So if it’s good enough for Mother Nature, it’s good enough for me!

Here are some leaves that aren’t even green! Who knew??

Finally, the other ostrich. When I look at these ostriches, I get the feeling that they are stepping out for a night on the town!

Til next time,

Kerry

1Jul2013

An Intriguing Ostrich!

Posted in Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Tools, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Even in this heat, I am still managing to get some hand-quilting done! Here is another block from Sue Garman’s “Bouquets for a New Day”.

With only 2 blocks left to quilt, I am starting to give some thought to the borders. The half-square triangle inner border has me a little stumped. Not sure how I will quilt all those triangles! The good news is, I found a stencil that I love for the outer border. Not only do I love the cable design, it fits the border perfectly!

Now that I (0nly!) have 5 blocks left of Civil War Bride, I am getting really antsy to finish it! I love this next block! I must say I really don’t know too much about ostriches. But I find them intriguing, just the same! First I started with the stems and some leaves.

Next, I added some pretty pink flowers.

I used Ultra-Suede for the legs and beak.

Next came the fun part! I found this fabric in my stash (of all places)! It is one of those landscape fabrics that looks like tall grass. It has stripes of different colours and shapes of grass, which I think is brilliant.