Sentimental Stitches

Clutch and I have been in Traverse City since May 20th. The days just seem to fly by. We've had hot weather, cool weather and a little bit of rain. There's been a bit of excitement with the furnace and plumbing acting up but it's all worth it. I'm just grateful to be here. I can't speak for Clutch who is hiding under a couple of quilts and glued to my body because it's a chilly morning.

I added this month's Sally Post Floral Sampler block which is one of my favorites because it's a water lily just like we have on the lake here at the cottage. I hope you enjoy making this block.




This month's Beyond The Cherry Trees block is a bit of a mystery. See the little red dot in the picture? It's actually a tiny appliqued circle!

And that circle is a perfect little eye. You can see what looks like quilting showing the shape of the bird.

Closer inspection shows not only the quilting lines but also the applique stitches that once secured the fabric chosen for the bird. All that remains are a few little threads in the tail area. There isn't enough for me to determine what the fabric might have been. Looking at the other fabrics which have broken down in the quilt our options are green, yellow, cream or purple. I'll let you decide which one you'd like to use in your block. I'm tempted to use the purple to balance the purple fabric used in the grape vine block (we haven't done that one yet).

I've been working on other projects too. Sometimes Clutch gets pretty frustrated with all that stitching and puts up his own blockade of sorts - right on top of the pins and needles!



Here he is looking mighty disgusted on top of the quilt I was working on for baby Olivia in my Kenny Chesney "old blue chair". What a guy!




Now I don't want anyone to drop their laptop or fall off their chair but..............I've finished the design work on the Shipshewana Amish Mystery Quilt. I uploaded Section 8 this morning and will try to finish the rest of the pattern instructions over the next week uploading them as I get them done. I brought a small basket of Amish solid color fabrics with me so I'm working on the blocks too. As soon as I'm sure I won't be tweaking the remaining sections I'll post a picture of the whole quilt. Hopefully you'll think it was worth the long wait. I am pleased with how it's turning out.

More news later about the second line of fabric "Lady Grace" that was released as Quilt Market in Minneapolis, MN and three new patterns to go along with it. Right now I've got to crack the whip and get back to the Shipshewana Amish patterns.