You Heard It Through the Grape Vine?

Did you hear it through these

grape vines

 

that I've been getting some sewing done?

I have.

These may not look like grapes,

 but they will be.

 Very tiny ones that are 3/8" wide.

According to the pattern

of Noah and Matilda,

they're suppose to be smaller, but that's

as small as I can handle.

 Mine might have come off of a gnarly vine.

But at least, they're done!

 There's more news

  along these grapevines.

The center is complete

 on my never ending quilt,

The Roseville  Album Quilt

designed by Kim McLean.

I've been playing around with borders

and I think I have the solution.

I just couldn't do anymore applique,

so I laid the top over another quilt of mine

 

and I think using 

this kind of pieced border and

a spacer will work.

Anyway,

I'm going to give it a try.

Keep your ears to the grapevine.

Until Next Time-

Hitting the Target

This past week it 

was 

 keeping my nose to the grindstone,

keeping my sewing blinders on,

knuckling down,

getting serious,

staying focused

and hitting the target!

Next panel:

50 circles to go.

I think I can...

I think I can...

I think I can!

Until Next Time-

Roseville Album, Again

There are some quilt projects
that are quick and easy.
Then there are others that
are a very long term commitment.

Over the past couple of weeks,
I've continued to work on the
Roseville Album Quilt.

Mostly because I'm committed to getting
this done...sooner than later.

I'm at the point where there are
two side panels left to do.

I decided to do them both at the same time because
1.  the designing process would be easier,
2.  it would help to keep the color selection balanced,
and then the third reason is
 so I wouldn't have cut any more pieces
and that step would be done!

I started with the branches
and thread basted them in place.

The next time I worked on it,
I began adding the 90+ leaves.

Of course, that meant tracing the 90+ leaves

on freezer paper,

cutting out 90+ paper leaves,

auditioning fabrics,

tracing the leaves one more time on fabric,

and finally, cutting them out

one more time!

Still more leaves to add.

This work day was fun.

It was time to start adding the birds and animals 

living in the branches.

Each panel has about 15 birds and a few other animals.

It all continues to be a slow process.

But it means the designing process is almost done.

Along the way, of course,

some pieces were rejected and others

substituted.

Sometime first choices don't always work out.

With the first panel done,

it was time to concentrate on panel two with

more birds plus a couple of squirrels

and a cat.

All the main elements have been cut out
and are ready to applique.

 The animals are taken off now

and I've started stitching the branches and leaves.

I'll let you know when that part 

gets done.

Don't hold your breath. 
I don't want anyone to pass out.

Of course, when all of these pieces 

are appliqued, guess what's next?

About 70 circles!

Eeee gads!

Until Next Time-

High Kickin'

 I've been doin'

some high kickin'
and dancin' and prancin'.

 Why?

I'm so happy.

I finished another panel

on the Roseville Album Quilt!

It's the top panel

with lots of leaves and circles.

Now I have two panels finished,

 but still two to go.

This one was done in record time

because of all the encouragement 

from all of you.

Thanks!

Until Next Time-

Renewed, Well, Slightly

The last two weeks

have been super productive.

My applique quilt has really moved forward.
It's funny,
if you actually work on something,
you do make progress.

I taped all the blocks and the first panel

 

 on my daughter's kitchen wall on Monday.
It gave me direction for the week.

Monday

 

I was quickly reminded that I never had
appliqued the circles on these two blocks.

 So Monday was a two step backward day.


But now these blocks are finally finished.

Tuesday

I got out the freezer paper
and traced the top panel and

cut out all the shapes.

Wednesday

 Out came the picnic baskets
that I've been using to store my fabrics
just for this quilt.

It was a day of auditioning.

Thursday

The first pieces were glue basted to the background.

Then a few more.


I even had a few moments to start appliqueing

Today

It's a short day because it's my
day to head home.
So I'm going to just make more circles.

My experiment
was certainly positive.
And I definitely feel good
about the progress I made.
It actually helped to renew my desire to finish.

I want to keep it
center stage, at least for awhile.

Just think if I did,

I might surprise myself how 

quickly I could actually finish my Roseville Album.

Until Next Time-

Because One Week Wasn't Enough

I kept myself busy

last week limiting myself to

only working on 

The Roseville Album Quilt

designed by Kim McLean

I realized that 

one of the reasons I've neglected this project
is that I don't want to
 applique the last border.

I know I can change it,

it's just a pattern, not a requirement.

But 

I just can't figure out an alternative.

One idea would be,
not to do an outer border.

It would still finish at 80" x 80".

Or possibly 

quilt the last applique design in the border instead.

Or

find a large bold print,

that pulls all the colors together,

and add it as the final border.

(If I was good with EQ, I'd be able to show you!)

Also my fabrics are not like what's shown
in the pattern, so that may alter anyone's opinion.

Or

come up with a pieced border.
 Would a simple design look out of place with

the intricate applique?

Or would it need to be something complicated?

Would it need to be scrappy to blend with the applique?

I'm really not sure about a pieced border,

because nothing else is pieced in the quilt.

So I've pretty much scraped this idea.

Or

A simpler applique patten might also work.

Can you sense my lack of direction?
I've actually been mulling this over
for a long time.

My latest consideration is using 

a Chintz border fabric.

The large patterns give the appearance 

of applique

 

 without the stitching.

I'll be thinking more about this one.

The main thing is

I don't want it to look like 

I copped out at the end.

I want to make some more progress this week.
I have plenty of circles to applique
and I can audition pieces for the top panel,
and even start appliqueing.

The main goal

is to get it done

while my fingers still work and 

my eyes can still see.

Until Next Time-

How Did My Experiement Work Out

My experiment this week

was to work on only one project.

A project that had lost my affection.

A project that has taken hundreds of hours 

of my time and 

will probably take hundreds of more

hours to complete.

Not to worry,

 I'm not giving up.
I've put in too much work into it already.
I keep reminding myself...

I finished the big animals

that I had already started on this panel.

And then kept going and added a few plants

 

and lots of little birds.

There's a few more to stitch down.
The panel is 16" x 48".

One of the best things

was cutting out this pile of circles

 

 that will be eventually added to the blocks.

I pinned a bunch in place to help determine

 size and color placement.

It's good to get a second opinion
just to make sure your
colors are being evenly placed. 

My helper was taking his job
very seriously,

 

 no smiles.
He gave an honest critique.

My experiment, actually, has been pretty successful

and has made me feel less guilty for

turning my time and attention to other projects.
So.....
I'm going to do it again,
 for at least for one more week.
We'll see how it goes.

Until Next Time-