An applique piece is for me not a quick sew. After a year I finished this grape wreath block. It is a Elly Sienkiewicz's Baltimore Album pattern. The 108 grapes took me way too long to make to get the size I wanted but well worth the small circles.
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| Before pressing |
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| Done, all good |
That is a wonderful accomplishment! I've not done any hand applique for ages and still have a stack of Baltimore Album blocks from when I worked through the lessons in one of Elly's books. There were a few alternate blocks I wanted to make and I think there is still one or two lessons I didn't get to in order to have enough blocks for a quilt. I want to get back to it someday but fear I have lost a lot of the skill I developed when I was working so diligently every month to finish a lesson. On the other hand, it's a shame to leave those beautiful blocks languishing in a UFO bin. :-) What will become of yours? Will it join others or will it be finished up on its own?
ReplyDeleteI am going to someday make this part of others I have done or will do. Working to get some other UFOs done. I love applique and I am sure it is like riding a bike and you, when you do pick it up again, will soar with joy at how much your muscle memory remembers and then you being a fabulous artist will always make beautiful
DeleteWhat a gracious and supportive reply, Mary. I hope you are right, but I don't expect to soar immediately, based on taking up a very fussy applique vine in sashing back in 2012 after I'd been away from it for awhile. There were very tight curves and pointy points on small leaves on a narrow vine. At the peak of my Baltimore Album block experience, these had become easy for me. Now I fumbled not only with the needleturning but the needle itself! I had a similar clumsy start with a return to beading back in 2014, but as you say, it did not take long until I was handling it like a pro. :-) And I was so pleased with the results, worth the fumbling until I got back into the swing of it. Thank you for the compliment and encouragement.
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