My Latest Project

This is the beginning of my newest quilt project; I had started it almost 2 years ago and then stalled in my progress because the design just wasn't working for me.  I brought it to Quilting By The Lake and received invaluable suggestions from Philippa Naylor, and my enthusiasm came rushing back.  

The image at top left left is the section of the quilt with which I started -- it's easier to applique small pieces to a portion of the quilt, rather than the entire quilt top, which I anticipate 

will measure about 40" by 60".  Fusible interfacing has been ironed to each of the flowers; these are then machine-appliqued to the black background, which has also been interfaced.  The circles have been fused to the background using WonderUnder.

Here's an image of the back of the quilt, showing where I've cut away the black background behind the pieces that were interfaced.  The purpose of this step is two-fold: it reduces bulk in the quilt, and it allows the appliqued piece to show its color more brightly, since there is no black fabric behind it.  This is a technique I learned from the very talented Jane Sassaman in one of her many workshops.  The threads from the applique are pulled to the back and woven into the stitching so they won't show through to the front or get in the way of future stitching.

More to come as I move forward in the days (make that weeks) ahead . . .