Orange’s Last Hurrah!

I kind of hate to see Orange leave for this year.  It’s been such a fun color to play with :*)  

I am combining my posts for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Kathy’s Slow Stitching on Sunday.  It’s Ryder Cup time in the golf world, so hubby and I will be cozied up to the TV most of the weekend, watching to see how the US fares.  Which is of course a perfect time for me to do some really relaxing slow stitching :*)

This is the block I am working on today.  It is part of The Blue Collection, an old project that I've been stitching on for years now, in an off-and-on fashion.  The below picture is the designer's quilt... isn't it just so gorgeous???  And with all those blues, it was way too tempting for me to not attempt it!  =^..^=

The Blue Collection, designed by Maggie Walker
Photo from maggiewalkerdesign.com

Sometimes I put it down for months, because I can only handle so much needleturn applique without a good long break.  But I always pick it back up because I love it so and would love to have it hanging on my wall! =^..^=  And since I finished up my Orange mini-pineapples earlier in the month, I thought this old UFO would be perfect to work on today.

Almost all of these fabrics are from my scraps.  I bought most of the patterns as BOM sets from a friend who sold some of her stash when she moved north.  Then I contacted the designer, Maggie Walker, to purchase the remaining 5 patterns.  She was so warm and helpful, delighted that I loved her pattern of course!  Most of the fabrics in the kits provided by the quilt shop to my friend were not fabrics that I would have chosen, so I have mostly replaced them with my own, and many of my replacements have come from my scraps.

I thought this might be a good day to show off my Sewing Basket too :*)

I made this basket last year in a class taught by Donna Christian, a local award-winning basket & quilting teacher.  Thanks Donna!!!  Isn’t it amazing!?!  I never thought I could make such a thing, but I learned that basket making is not really that hard when you have a great teacher =^..^=  As you can see, it has everything you need for hand stitching!

And I love the different compartments which keep me from having to dig out the tool I need from a jumbled up mess in the middle of the basket!

I put my silk threads for applique on the bobbins - all the thread ends held neatly on the bobbin by little pony tail holders! - and then add other spools as needed for colors since I don’t have a very wide variety of colors in the silks.  The bobbins & spools are held in place on dowels that run through the handle.  And on each side of the dowels, are these cute little decorative charms!

My initials on the left.....

And on the right a lovely red heart & a musical clef symbol for Music City Quilt Guild

So it appears I am all set for some lovely stitching this weekend!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and fun projects to play with :*D

As for Stash Enhancement, there was no fabric in and none out this week!  Be sure to go to Patchwork Times to see what lovely fabrics others added to their stashes, and maybe I'll do better next week ;*)

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=