I have making very steady progress on my “Hugs and Kisses”, a quilt designed by Sue Garman.  I have chosen this quilt because it is a good example of a quilt made of very simple shapes, yet appears more difficult than it  really is.  Trust me!

All of the shapes are symmetrical, so that means I don’t have to trace a thing.  I am simply photocopying the pattern onto freezer paper to make my templates.  It is that easy.

Also, I am not tracing the pattern onto the background.  I am placing the background on top of the pattern and gluing all the shapes onto it before I take a single stitch.  Very efficient.

First, I started with the stems that I made using a 1/4″ bias maker.

Next, I added some leaves.

Then I prepped the large and small flowers.  This fabric is directional so I made sure the grids are all going the same way.  It’s all about the details!

Next I prepped the yellow flower centers and glued them in place.  As you can see, I don’t clip right to the freezer paper.  And I only clipped once in each curve and never on an outer curve.

I prepped these pieces and glued them in place.

Sweet!

Freezer paper templates can be re-used many times.  So when I am doing units that have more than one layer, I trim away the outer layer (in this case, the orange circle) and use the template again (in this case, the yellow flower).  Saves time and freezer paper:)

So here is the (almost) finished block.  Now I can go make a pot of tea and stitch the day away.   “Hugs and Kisses” is a Block of the Month that will start in January.  Each month for 12 months you will receive the pattern and fabrics to create all 12 super-simple blocks and the swag border.  Details are on the website.

Speaking of stitching the day away, I have become addicted to hand stitching these 60 degree diamonds together.  I am not sure what I am going to do with them, but does that matter?

Til next time…

Kerry