2015 Easter Project from Esther Aliu Designs

Gotta love this bunny couple!  This is the center of Esther Aliu's 2015 Easter Project. 

Here's the entire piece.  It is a nice size...not too large. 

I decided to add a lot of embellishments to my version.  Quite a few beads along with some wool felt accents and some embroidery, as well.  A fun project, just in time for Easter.

 

I know the black egg may seem a bit odd.  However, I have always been fascinated by  Ukrainian Easter eggs.  Those are a bit more colorful than mine, but I wanted something 'similar.'

 

 

LE Update

Bad picture aside...here is an update on my Love Entwined progress. 

Lots of wrinkles, too...but still have a lot more work to do before I want to press it again.  The corners need doing, two more six-pointed flowers at the top and another heart motif. It's getting there, little by little.

Polka Dot Flowers

48 teeny circles..no, no, not again!!  There were 32 teeny circles in Part 1 of Love Entwined (Esther Aliu's freebie BOM).  I tried the first time around...I hated my circles.  I decided to make them out of felt and attach with a black bead for Part 1.  Phew!  Done...but no...Part 3 has 48 more of the little (buggers...oops!) circles. ;)  I knew I was not going to be a happy camper if I had to keep making all these tiny circles.

Thing is, if the circles were the same size as the flower centers in Part 2, I would be fine...grumbling, but fine.  For some reason, I cannot get the tiny ones to turn out nice and smooth.  I have tried washers, the tiniest of the Perfect Circles and hand basting them in place.  Still not happy.  :(

I finally found a solution.  And it is something Esther has done on previous quilts....stenciling those little ___, guys!  I tried it on one of the leaf shapes that had not been attached yet.  Perfect!

So how do you get 48 little circles in an hour?  Stencil them!  Yeah!!

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I still need to attach two more of the green leaves  for this one.  The next four polka-dotted flowers are ready to be appliqued!

Chateau Hexagons & Love Entwined

Two cute little birdies with a pretty pink flower pot for the second block of Chateau Hexagons by Lynette Anderson:

I have done a bit more on the next portion of Love Entwined by Esther Aliu, as well.  There are still the remaining diamond borders to attach.  You can also see the six-pointed flowers.  I intend to add a bit more color in the coming parts, more reds, greens and golds.

Love Entwined....again!

OK...just too addicting already.  I don't know what happened!  I usually do not do this, but something called me to make a second Mariner's Compass for Love Entwined! 

A quick peek...the little circles are not sewn down yet, but you can see the overall choices I made.  I haven't posted a picture of this one on the group yet...waiting to finish making the rest of those tiny circles!

Very nautical, don't you think?

Love Entwined

Love Entwined is a new free BOM from Esther Aliu.  The first part has just been released, and has created quite a stir in the Yahoo group.  If you are interested in checking it out, click on the box on the right-hand side.

I made my fabric decisions for the first part, a compass.  Take a peek!

Of course, the circle will look more circular once it is actually stitched to the background fabric. However, the first part is to complete the compass, only.  

I decided to use wool felt (Surprise!  Surprise!) for the little circles. My circles are slightly larger than the pattern.  I used my Go!Baby! cutter to make them and this was the smallest circle die I had.  I am going to leave them 'loose', with only the bead holding it on...like a sequin.  I also decided to add one circle to the center.

Here is a close-up of one section:

Peonies

My first peony.  This is from Esther Aliu's free BOM entitled Forget Me Not.  You are able to get two flower patterns each month and decide which one you would like to use.  I had decided to use the sunflower.

But...(you know how that goes)....the peonies kept calling out to me, too.  On the block example, Esther has used some rich pink batik fabrics.  One, I do not have that many pink fabrics from which  to choose my flower.  I also did not want to go out and buy 'pinks' as they are generally not something I use in my projects.  So I 'googled' peonies to look at all the different colors.  I decided to try and convey the idea of a cream colored peony.  I am not sure I succeeded, but I do like the flowers. 

I also decided to go a completely different colorway for this block, as compared to the sunflower.  Blue greens, a natural grey-toned linen and the cream fabrics. Also, since the fabric is a linen, I decided to try and cross stitch my little bee, which is a little critter I decided to use (not a part of the original pattern).  I used the little bee graph from Flower Power by Crossed Wing Collection.  I really like how it came out.

Here's a close-up of the second peony, as well as the label I created using my printer for the lettering.

Finally, the entire block, with some fabrics placed around the perimeter with the shape of the arch, so as to give an idea as to what the finished block may be.

Going Gangbusters!

I have thoroughly enjoyed working on the first applique block for Forget Me Not by Esther Aliu.  Another freebie BOM!  I had to make a choice between a peony and the sunflower.  I really did like the peony, as well.  Both are gorgeous. 

This is sort of a 'rough draft' as far as the outside border goes.  At this point, it is unknown what the frame of the block looks like, since this is a mystery BOM.  However, in the pattern sheet for the blocks, it shows an arch.  I made a temporary kind of arch, so I could get an idea of how the finished block might look.  The fabric with the block at this point, is not the one I intend to use for the frame.  These were leftover pieces from cutting the sashing. 

The scroll with the flowers' names remains to be made.  I am trying to decide exactly how I want to do those.  I almost forgot!!  I did try to take a few close-ups, but they did not turn out too well.  Look at the little 'extra' on the leaf.  Esther had said on her blog that she considered adding a few little things.  I decided to try one on my own. :))

Here's a close-up of the second sunflower:

A close-up of the second cornflower (I added the extra stitching between the flowers and the base.)

And...the second sunflower:

What happened?

I did not realize until I looked at the date, that it has been a week since I posted anything!  The reason, however, is because Esther Aliu's newest mystery BOM, Forget Me Not, Block 2,  came out this week.  Actually, the project started in February, but did not have any actual 'work' involved for Block 1, other than deciding on fabrics for the various borders and background.

For my block, I chose the sunflower.  Sunflowers are pretty abundant here in Maryland.  I have always had a fondness for them, so my choice was simple.  The block is not complete, as yet.  However, here are a few shots of what I have accomplished as of today. 

Yes, I did say Sunflowers, didn't I?  There are some little cornflowers in this block, too.  You can see the petals of my sunflower on the very edge.   The little flowers were made with two different colors of wool felt; tacked down and then a few beads were attached.  The bud is held in place with all the backstitching. 

Here it is!  A little bit of brown braid to accentuate the center, and some pretty beads scattered about, as well.  You can see the top of the second cornflower below the sunflower.

A closer look at the beads for the center.

There is still a second sunflower, slightly larger to be completed.  It's all ready for the applique as of this morning!  

Oooohh!! Gettin' Excited!!

Now that we have received the final layout for the entire quilt, I worked on the little leaves, the embroidered stems and circles for my central block.  I decided to add the flange to the perimiter of this block as well as the other two flanges recommended by Esther.   I like how it gives my central block a more finished feel.  Of course, there are still two sides missing.  I have also stitched together the three blocks in the center row.  Now I am really starting to get excited to be able to actually see something that looks a little more complete!

Take a peek!

(sorry about all those stray threads...I told you I was getting excited to see how things were starting to work together. )  :^}

Another Wednesday!

Shhhh!  my little mouse is sleeping! 

A bit of a change of pace...this is the bottom portion of Block 5 of Night Before Christmas by Bunny Hill Designs.  There are a few very tiny pieces in tis one...that little mouse head is probably about the size of a quarter. 

I needed a little break from Heart's Desire, as I have been going pretty strong on that one for a while.  The last portion will be released on the 15th!  Can't wait to see what's in store for us!

WOW!

WIP's on Wednesday....or in this case, WOW!   I am actually stunned!

I finished  (phew!) all four of my Block 4's for Heart's Desire.  The last little circle was attached last night.  So....since I have the majority of the pieces, I decided to do a quick layout of how I thought everything might go together. 

Oh..My...Goodness!!  I have impressed myself.  Although this is an extremely rough layout (with none of the border actually stitched yet...I am very happy with how things are looking at this point.  Don't get me wrong....still lots more to do...but seeing it all together like this actually makes me want to hurry up and get all those little leaves ready for the border.  My baskets still need all their flowers and leaves, too.

I do have to say that I have actually inspired myself to keep going on this.  (Oh, and I did add the little leaves to my center block (ala Esther's "oops" picture), although not attached permanently yet, since I wanted to see how everything worked together first.  I have all the tiny circles ready to go for the center block, too. Here's another look:

It is upside down in this angle (you can tell by the bird on the left)...but this was the best angle I could get, as it was on the floor.  Speaking of which, as soon as I was done with the pictures...someone came up the street, which caused Rusty to get all excited and dash across the center..messing up the layout.  I guess he wants me to get to work on it right away, too. :)

Once again my thanks go out to Esther for a wonderful design!

Leaves, Leaves and More Leaves!

Phew!!  The leaves for the inner portion of all four of my Block 4's are done!  Two blocks stitched down - two to go!  And...I started on those leaves on the stems that hang into the border and the bordering block (which I think may be Block Two).  Two blocks of those done...one stitched and one (this one) glue basted in place.

That large flower you see  at the top of the picture is not part of the block.  I was laying it out on the background fabric next to Block 4 along with a portion of my scalloped border to see how I liked it.

Here's a better look....remember, glue basted together and laid out on the background fabric with the scalloped border.  There will be four of these in the outer border with the scalloped edges.

(*** so sorry about the poor quality of the pictures...my camera batteries were on their last legs! ***(

A Tisket, A Tasket

I love my little basket! :))

Not stitched down yet, just starched and pressed, ready to go.  There will be a vine with some flowers wrapped around the handle. Each basket will occupy a corner of the outer border of my Heart's Desire Block 5.  Once again, a lot  of pieces and work for this part.  I haven't finished all four of the Block 4's yet...but I'm workin' on it!  I couldn't resist starting at least a small portion of Block 5.  Lots of scalloped borders and little flowers to come for this one.

Thanks for stopping by!  I really do appreciate everyone's visit. :^)

~ Tangent ~

Yep....I went off on another one today...tangent...that is. :)  I was trying to be good and straighten up one of the piles where some papers and quilting books were accumulating.  What do I find at the bottom?  The 12 Days of Christmas pattern I had printed out after I had ordered it from Esther Aliu. 

I had already pulled some nice green fabrics for the diamond log cabin blocks to be used for the background/tree part of the design.  And, I had already printed out a couple of the pattern pages for the paper piecing on said diamonds....you know what happened next. ;0)

Yep....that SADD (stitcher's attention deficit disorder) or should I say, QADD (quilter's attention deficit disorder) kicked in, and I was off!

I told myself as I was piecing these that I really should be working on my block for Heart's Desire....it's sitting there, all ready, waiting for me to applique. B U T, I merely want to see if these greens all worked together.   Just one more strip, then I'll work on it, I kept telling myself.  The results of these 'inner discussions' are below, two diamond log cabin blocks,  placed on the red background fabric I intend to use for 12 Days, too. ;))

~ Bits and Pieces ~

It seems like all I have been doing lately is working on "pieces" for my four Block 4 of Heart's Desire.
Lots are ready, but there are still many more to do...all the leaves and flowers.  I am trying to take
Esther's suggestion and have an "assembly line" type production of all my pieces.  As of today, all flowers baskets - done.  Corner circles - done.  Sawtooth (eight of those paper-pieced buggers) - done!

And I have all my other blocks complete with the exception of the eight scalloped borders (which I am working on now.)  Now to tackle some flowers, stems, thorns and leaves!

Where did it go?

It seems like it was the beginning of May yesterday, doesn't it?  Where did the past two weeks go?  Well, for me, the time has been spent working on my three blocks that consisted of Part 3 for the Heart's Desire quilt by Esther Aliu. (no pictures, just yet)

  On the fifteenth, Esther released the next part.....FOUR blocks for Part 4.  Yikes!!
And we cannot assemble any of the parts yet.  Esther tells the group that all will be revealed next month....I have my doubts as to whether I am going to be able to complete all four blocks for this part by next month.  B u t.....I did make a start. Finally.  I was so overwhelmed by the amount of work for each block...I think I got quilter's block....is there such a thing?  You know, like a writer gets writer's block and cannot write?  Well, when I saw the new block (which is beautiful, by the way), I froze.  Literally, my brain could not come up with anything.  It (my brain, that is) finally relaxed.  I chose some fabrics from my choices for this quilt for the corner flower pots.  Here are all the pieces, not assembled yet, but ready.

I have used the black/gold checkered fabric only in the center and here, as it does tend to really draw your eyes to it.

Now!  Time to work on some bias stems. :)

Heart's Desire

This portion of Heart's Desire has the  same block repeated three times.  Here's my first one:

And a little bit closer: