I've been away

I can't believe how long its been since I last posted! We went for a family holiday to Hawaii to escape some of our long winter. Lots of time went into getting ready to go and now after I have lots to catch up on. It was lovely and relaxing while we were there.
I worked on my applique blocks in the evenings. I finished up this block for my Bird of Paradise quilt.
I dramatically changed the birds. Following Susi's idea I made the "big pink pig birds" as she called them, into bluebirds. They look much more cheerful I think.

I laid out my first 6 blocks to see how they look so far. (They are in no particular order) These blocks are so fun to applique! I have a good start on the next block - block #1.

I am sadly way behind on Lori's Quiltalong. Here is what I have so far. Maybe this weekend I can catch up.

I found this book at the library to take along on my trip. I'm not a Mormon but I sure enjoyed this book. There are some wonderful antique quilts in it and with each quilt there are stories about the women who made them. Some of the stories are heartbreaking. I'm glad I didn't live in the 1800's!

I find myself drawn to the antique quilts with Trapunto in them. I'm going to look around and see if I can take a class and learn this technique. I still want to take a handquilting class too. So much to learn... at least I'm never bored. lol

Happy Quilting!!

top finished - on to the next one

In anticipation of Lori's quiltalong starting today, I finished this top up last night.
Because I resized the blocks I also had to resize the borders. I think the proportion is okay. For me this quilt is all about the fabric. So much color and so much pattern :0)

I would like to quilt this by hand but at 34 inches square it will take some time away from the 4 block applique quilt I'm currently working on so I may just machine quilt it to get it done.

My DH spoiled me again at Christmas with this book. The pictures are fabulous!!

Happy Quilting!!