Bringing up the rear...

I finally finished Shelly's block. I want to thank Shelly for being so gracious, kind, patient, and understanding with my tardiness. It really wasn't that this was too difficult. It was just that my life went haywire with all my traveling at work over the past few months. I knew it was coming....it wasn't unexpected. My inability to "handle it" was somewhat unexpected for me. I apologize to everyone for getting so behind....especially to Shelly and Jessica.

I used scraps from the cowboy quilt I made a few years ago. I blogged about it here, if you want to see it. I thought these scraps should belong to Shelly. It just seemed right. :-) I hope you like it, Shelly. I'm sending along some of my little leftover scraps. If you need more, just let me know.

I really think this is a beautiful block, and I cannot wait to see how Shelly puts it together. It's going to be amazing. I loved sewing all the applique parts on by hand, too. I love handwork.

We had a long car ride to Florida for the holidays. I had already had all the leaves sewn on one branch. I did the second branch in the car on the first day of driving. That night in the hotel room, I made the rest of the leaves (I use the starch method...sorry, Shelly, my needle-turn skills really suck). I finished sewing them on during the second day of our trip. It really helped make the car ride pleasurable. So, thanks, Shelly!

Now, I'm on to Jessica's blocks. I am in Florida and forgot to bring some blue scraps with me. So, I had to go shopping today for some fabric for you. Oh, darn! (LOL) Found a GREAT quilt shop here, so thanks for that! I sewed up all the half-square triangles tonight and have two of the four rows put together already. I should have your block done in the next day or two.

Next, I need to find a post office so I can get these blocks off to you gals. More soon!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Stephanie

Shelly's Block

Your block is in the mail, Shelly!  This is going to be one gorgeous quilt!!

Leaves for Shelly

Hi Shelly,  Here's a crummy photo, just to let you know that your block is coming along.  Sorry it's late!

Are You Ready For the A-Word?

I do realize it's already October 5th, and I'm just now posting my block instructions. I should have done it at least a week ago (before I got sick -- whoda thunk?), but the packets are in the mail as I type, and I'm finally sitting down to type up this post.

I'm asking for an applique block . . . I hope you don't mind . . .

The block I've chosen is the traditional block called Laurel Leaves:
I've always wanted a quilt like this, and now's my chance to get one without having to do ALL the work myself! Plus, it'll provide me with great memories of good friends with it having blocks made by others in it -- it'll be even more special than if I just made the whole thing myself, don't you think?

So . . . what you'll find in your packets is the following:

A piece of white background fabric. I sent the background so it would all be alike. I wanted a KONA or Bella white, but those are hard to come by where I live, so I made do with what I had.

A paper pattern representing 1/4 of the design, and a plastic template for the leaf. The template is heat-resistant plastic, so if you use a method that requires ironing around the piece, you're good to go. You DO need to add seam allowance.

A red strip to use for the vines. I just included this because I thought it'd be easier for you to get started if you didn't have to make your own vine. That way you can concentrate on leaves . . . 32 of those buggers, to be exact. Please don't panic!

Here's what I'd like to have happen:

I'd prefer the needle-turn method of applique, but if you just can't stomach that, use your own favorite method -- really, I won't mind. If you haven't tried needle-turn applique before, but would like to give it a shot, I wrote a tutorial in preparation for this post that shows how to do this particular leaf: How to Applique a Leaf.

Use your red scraps to make the leaves, and use all different sorts of reds. I don't care if another color creeps in. As you can see from some of mine, they have specks of white or black in them. Just as long as they read mostly red, they'll be fine. Variety is the main thing. AND . . . feel free, in fact, I'd love it . . . if you piece some of the leaves from even tinier scraps, as you can see that I've done here:
And finally, one more favor before I go . . .

When you send your finished block back, can I ask you to send me a few red scraps along with it? Something you might have been going to just throw away anyway? I'm planning to put an applique border around the edges of the quilt when I get all the blocks back, and if I have some of all of your scraps, I can make some of my leaves for the edges of the quilt out of them and carry lots of the colors from the quilt's center out to the edges (so all the leaves are not just from my fabrics). Totally optional, and not necessary, but I'd really appreciate it . . .

So . . . there you go. If you have any questions, or your packet doesn't arrive, or you don't understand something, or I've left out something important, let me know . . . and Thanks So Much, all of you!!!