Major Project for 2010

Last year, while recovering from a particularly bad time in my life, I learnt to applique and I made this quilt block with beautiful liberty fabrics. I loved doing it and would applique all day long if I could. It is medative and relaxing. It is an old skill with an old action that makes me feel connected to the women who have done this before me. I didn't worry too much about fabric placement - there is a lot of theory about where on a quilt block certain colourways should be placed and how they should be balanced. Instead, I choose my fabrics for the shape I was doing. Flowers for flowers, paisely for birds, my favourites in the centre and randomness when I couldn't decide. It came out reasonably balanced, I think.

It was compeltely handstitched. Each shape was traced, cut, folded, tacked, placed and then appliqued with silk thread using invisable stitching. The steams were made with a tempramental bias tool and an iron and were my least favourite to make but my most favourite to stitch.

It isn't perfect - there are some little untidy bits here and there (not to mention my pigeons have club feet!). It didn't really look good until I finished it and ironed the whole thing. It now hangs on my wall above my sewing table.

So, the major project for 2010 is to do the patchwork so it can be on my bed by next summer. I'd like it to be a summer quilt - just light - and am considering using an old rug for the back. I'm not sure what fabric to use for the patchwork. If I was doing it properly it would be Liberty, but I worked out that would cost about $200 and that is not possible right now. So I will either be using random fabric that I have here already, or...not sure. It will come to me I suppose.