Hearts & Flowers for Barbara

2014.08.24BarbaraBlkDYBHeartsbyLisa04
Some blocks are easier to work on than others and Barbara's block for the Hearts DYB Round Robin was one of those!  It was a joy to stitch and just seemed to flow effortlessly from my needles!  Barbara chose a theme of hearts and flowers and asked for the heart to be outlined with either black lace or stitching and for the rest of the block to be embellished with flowers.  

2014.06.13HeartDYBforBarbara
I chose this block because I loved the heart in mauve and sunset tones and the lovely mix of ivory fabrics the Barbara pieced the background with.  Because I was running so far behind on this round robin, I sent the other blocks ahead and unfortunately don't have a photo of all the blocks together.  

2014.08.23BarbaraBlkWIP01
My first step was the black stitching around the heart.  I love this pattern for the way it goes around curves and how easy it is to adjust in the corners.  Plus it has a lovely lacy look to it!  

2014.08.24BarbaraBlkDYBHeartsbyLisa03
When I thought about embellishing the rest of the block with flowers, all I could think of was my flower gardens and all the lovely clumps of things blooming in it.  So I added a flower garden around the heart.  There are roses, echinacea and foxgloves...

2014.08.24BarbaraBlkDYBHeartsbyLisa02

Penstemons and Baby's Breath...

2014.08.24BarbaraBlkDYBHeartsbyLisa01
as well as some Carnations.  I'm so pleased with how this block came together and hope that Barbara loves it!  

2014.08.23JulyPC
I've also been running behind on the CQJP 2014, so I've pieced a couple of new pincushion blanks for that.  This seaside theme will be for July.  I originally thought of the wedding pincushion done for my Daughter's wedding as the July pincushion, but Kathy put it down as my June entry. 

2014.08.23AugustPC
August to me is the month of sunflowers.  They are blooming in my garden and I buy bouquets of them at the grocery store to brighten up the dining room, so this will be a Sunflower pincushion!  

2014.08.22NewProject01
I've also been working on a new big project.  I have several photographs that I gathered through Flickr and Pinterest that I choose because of their colors.  Turns out that most of these have a Highlands of Scotland origin, so I'm thinking of it as my "Highland Dream" ~ or maybe "Song of the Selkie".  

2014.08.22NewProject02
When choosing fabrics, I gathered two stacks.  One of silks and one of cotton batiks.  In the long run, I decided in favor of the silks, though I think I need to get some more brown in order to finish it.  

2014.08.23NewProject01
Here are the first two strips of blocks.  I'm hoping to use the many seams as a sort of stitch sampler.  There will be many more blocks to come, including some pieced on the diagonal and some that are true crazy quilt patches.  It's good to have a new long term project to work on, though I hope this one doesn't take me three years like the cream and white crazy quilt did!  


Comments

Renee said…
Barbara's block turned out lovely! I look forward to seeing your pincushions.
Laurie said…
I love seeing your work on these blocks! Barbara is going to love it! It will be fun seeing your cushion creations come to life, I can say first hand they are gorgeous.!
WOW! I love your work and the black stitching around the heart is fantastic. How on earth do you get it all so evenly? Do you have a template? Your flowers surrounding the heart are sweet and lovely.

You have a beautiful choice of fabrics and I look forward to seeing your projects in progress and completed.

Have a GREAT week ~ FlowerLady
Nancy said…
Wow!! Absolutely LOVE the black stitching around the heart, actually all your stitching is beautiful, but that black stitch is just striking!!

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