July's 4th Sunday Finish

My evening stitch project this past week was Dutch Treat.
I had been warned about the teeny windows of the School house block.
They were indeed a challenge for me. Barely 1/4" in size, the basting stitches didn't hold.

As you can see - my windows are all crooked. (sigh)
Frustrated with the results, I might remove them and embroider the windows on, at a later date. I'm still very pleased with the process and enjoy each of these little blocks.

Now it's time to pull out my July block for Benjamin Biggs.
The block will seem Gigantic next to these little "treats".

every quilt tells a story.....

July's 3rd Sunday finish

Happy to say that I've finished my very first block of Noah & Matilda!
I worked on it for an hour or so each evening this 3rd week of July.
The original block was created with green stems and green center buds for the tulip-like flowers. After the stems were stitched down, something compelled me to use deep saffron yellow for the center portion of the tulip flowers.

My intention is to respectfully recreate the quilt with color placement as similar to the original as possible. However, I have a finite personality quirk at times - so there may be 1 or 2 blocks in the quilt that deviate from the original color scheme.

The majority of this block was sewn via needle turn applique. For the basket section - I created freezer paper templates of the triangles and machine stitched the pieces and sections together. Once completed, I stitched the pieced basket onto the block - needle turning the outside edges under.

It's already apparent that this quilting journey is going to be a joyful one for me....
Red & Green quilts make my heart SING, but there is something I find especially endearing about this quilt.

every quilt tells a story...

Weekend Finish

I completed block 6 of Ben Biggs over the weekend.
The pattern for Block 7 has already been released, but it will have to wait it's turn in my "to do" pile for later in the month.

I've been anxious to fussy cut this pretty purple fabric that I purchased.
Finally, block 6 was the perfect opportunity to use it.

every quilt tells a story...

Goodbye June - Hello July!

I didn't get much hand work done during the month of June. Mostly because I burned my right hand (grabbing the wrong side of a curling iron) early on.
Happy to say - my hand healed beautifully due to LOTS of lidocaine, aloe & ice.

I did manage to complete 2 of my small 5" Dutch Treat blocks.

I also finished my Ben Biggs block for Month 5 and have Month 6 in progress.

Here's a peek at something new I'm adding to my Applique Repertoire....

This is just a preliminary sampling of fabrics that I've set aside for a special project. Dawn over at Collector with a Needle has a fabulous treasure called the Noah & Matilda Album quilt dated 1851.

She is graciously offering up the patterns for sale. I LOVE this quilt and look forward to recreating it using some of my favorite traditional red & green fabrics.

Wishing my U.S. blogging friends safe & happy Independence Day celebrations!