07 April 2013

Starting something new ...

It has taken me a long time to give myself permission to hibernate a project that I am not enjoying working on. This is meant to be a hobby and if it isn't fun then I am doing something wrong! I started Sue Garman's 'Friends of Baltimore' at the end of last year, but I did not really enjoy the amount of small pieces in the first block! I had not appliqued anything in a while and doubted my ability to get the result I wanted. I soon stopped work on this quilt and started Birds of a Feather and Vintage Valentine, both of which I am really enjoying working on. I will come back to FOB once I have finished these two.
This morning I finally decided to hibernate it for a while and bundled all my chosen fabrics into ziplock bags for storage. I know I will come back to this quilt and will probably love working on it next year, when I hope my applique has improved. I don't want these fabrics to be appropriated for something else in the meantime :D
All of which means I now have an empty WIP basket, which is against the rules right? So inspired by the lovely (finally arrived!) spring weather and the sight of my first butterfly of the season. I decided to start this quilt - a combination of piecing, applique and embroidery. I have had the pattern for several years, it is 'Butterfly Garden' by Leanne Beasley
The pattern calls for 50cm of a large scale floral which can be fussy cut for some of the squares, but in my hunt through the stash for a suitable fabric I came across this...
How fun will this quilt be with fairies and flowers and butterflies?! I also found a couple of fabrics that might work for borders. The top one is 'Quilter's Shadow Style' by Stof.dk and the other is from the 'Fleur d'Paris' range by Michelle Blackhurst of Morning Glories for Henry Glass.
I bought a yard of this floral fabric along with a Fat Quarter bundle of the entire collection online thinking the colours were more muted :( They have been sitting in my stash every since. Most of the quilts I make are soft antique style. These are way out of my comfort zone! but inspired by my success with the colours I picked for Birds of a Feather, I have decided to go for it! I pulled the FQ bundle and some other scraps and came up with this...
They look a bit washed out in this photo, but I have lemon, green, pink and purple/lilac as my basic pallette. I need to subtract a couple and add a couple of fabrics but overall I think this will be a fun happy summer quilt project. Now if the weather would only cooperate, I could even stitch in the garden :D

7 comments:

  1. that will be a fun new project. When I get tired of a project I too bundle things up in baskets or bags and set it aside until it calls to me again. I have been doing that a lot with the Common Bride quilt and the applique that I started several months ago - William Morris in Applique Fantasy Garden - I really thought I wanted to do that quilt and have barely touched it.

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  2. Ooooh fun! Friends of Baltimore is gorgeous -- that first block and the colors! But I totally understand the need to hibernate it for now. Love the new project and the colors and fabrics! So much fun! Looking forward to seeing it progress!

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  3. Looking forward to watching your progress on your summer quilt project. Friends of Baltimore is beautiful and you'll return to it when you're ready. Like you said... this should be fun, not a chore.

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  4. Your fabric "pulls" look so pretty--love that flower fairy fabric!! i am thinking of breaking my rule of "no buy" to get some for the new baby expected in August--another girl--I think that makes it ok, don't you??? Love your applique, too--but totally understand-(-I am a lousy appliquer--and get frustrated)....Julierose

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  5. Friends of Baltimore is Gorgeous! You do beautiful applique work. Love your colors of fabrics you pulled for next project.
    love Annette

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  6. The eagle is spectacular!

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  7. Looking forward to seeing your new project emerge. I love reading your blog and seeing your beautiful quilting projects.

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