As I discussed last week, I have been sticking with my plan of devotion to UFOs.
The hand quilting is going slowly, mostly because I'm reluctant to stitch more than 20 - 30 minutes at a stretch. Longer stitching times lead to hand and wrist discomfort - as in carpal tunnel symptoms. One eagle is almost completely quilted, so that's something!
I finished machine appliquéing the first vine block of four needed finish the Gathered Harvest BOM. The block still needs a good soak, then blocking and trimming.
I immediately started the prep work for the next block.
I have a system worked out for prepping the appliqué pieces. I lower my ironing board so I can sit while I'm working, and cover the surface with a large piece of cotton canvas fabric. The fabric soaks up excess starch, and protects the ironing board cover from scorching. I can just move the fabric around when I need a "clean" work area.
Before sitting down at the ironing board, I've already traced, cut and pressed the freezer paper appliqué patterns/shapes to the wrong side of the different fabrics being used. I use my trusty Karen Kaye Buckley 4 inch Perfect Fabric Scissors to trim around the appliqué shapes, leaving just the right amount of seam allowance.
I mix my own starch solution using liquid starch and water. I have no favorite starch brand, I just use whatever I can get at the local grocery store. I mix the starch solution in the black sprayer bottle, then spray small amounts of it in the little plastic medicine cup. Using a very small paintbrush, I brush the starch solution around the seam allowance of the appliqué piece.
Once the appliqué piece has been starched, and while the starch is still wet, I use the cuticle stick and the Clover Mini Iron to press the seam allowance to the wrong side of the appliqué piece. The starch helps hold the seam allowance in place after the freezer paper has been removed.
After working diligently yesterday, I've got most of the pieces prepped for the next block - even the circles!
To help keep me motivated, I cleared off the design wall and pinned up the completed appliqué blocks. The pattern is Gathered Harvest from the book Fresh Picked by Barb Adams and Alma Allen, aka Blackbird Designs.
In other gathered harvest news, we are already in the throes of summer here, with daytime temps in the upper 80s and low 90s. Very little rain, so we've been watering our container gardens faithfully.
The peppers seem happy with the weather, as they've been producing like crazy! This is just a 2 - 3 day harvest of banana and jalapeno peppers. I sliced them all up and pickled them; wound up with 3 pints of each type of pepper. I wish the tomatoes would come in so I could make some salsa!
