Anael...I use the Appliquick method and tools for the turned edge method. There's a YouTube on it. So quick and easy and the appliqués pieces are lovely. You can use any stitch you want on the machine to sew appliqués on. I use a micro zigzag using the same color thread as appliqué because I don't like the stitches to show. I do not like raw edge appliqué. Just a personal preference. Give it a try..

Macybaby....you've been busy again. These look wonderful. Great work.

I completed 4 more today....I was on a roll...then company showed up!!! UGH! They were here for 3 hrs!!!! I enjoyed the visit but I so had other plans today in my sewing nook. Oh well...

C7 - Northwinds
F8 - Ladies Aid Album
L7 - Lemayne Star
M4 - Jack in the Box

Here is one of my appliqué projects I've shared on the board before.. I created this from a watercolor painting I liked.

That's beautiful Teen. You did that with the Appliquick method? I looked into it, the tools are quite expensive but if you can avoid hand appliqué......LOL. Like I said, I don't hate it but too time consuming.

Teen, your blocks are beautiful! I do so enjoy seeing your progress.

Your pillow is gorgeous. Between the applique, the colors and the quilting, I love all your creative choices!!

I looked at the apliquick too. I've got a fondue fork and chocolate dipping tools that look a lot like that, and a good bamboo skewer makes a great stick. Not to mention the metal picks I have for cleaning vintage machines (they look a lot like dental picks).

I've done something similar but with fusible web. I put it on with the paper, the iron over the edge, pull the paper off and iron just the edge to get it to stick down. I would think with this, the glue is the most important part.

I dug out my Pheonix and satin stitched the beak and feet, so it's ready for sandwiching and quilting. Only took me about two years to get that last part done!



http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psxtnqji3h.jpg


Here are more of the SBS blocks. I did up a bunch during the week but didn't have time to post them. I've got 70 of them done in total so far.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psbpt7rxo0.jpg

Macybaby, your blocks are stunning. I enjoy seeing all the different batiks your using.

DonnaPea, it looks like your having great fun making your blocks. They will make a great scrappy quilt.

Anael.....Thanks! You can accomplish the same thing with the suggestions Macybaby made in terms of Appliquick tools. The point is using something to turn and smooth the edge efficiently and glue to make it stick. Interfacing helps keep the edge for ease of turning. I've tried all methods and this was the fastest but also the smoothest edge.

Macybaby.....Phoenix looks awesome....glad we inspired you to pull that out and get it done. Your blocks looks great. You'll be done in no time and assembling. How fun for you!

thank you, Judith...you are so Sweet!

I'll see what I can accomplish this weekend. I need to sandwich another quilt top and clean. I'm at 55 blocks completed. Maybe, I can get to the halfway point this weekend. Woohoo!

Really!!!!!!! You both are halfway there, Macebaby is and no doubt Teen will also be this weekend!!! Wow Wow

Macebaby, that Phoenix quilt is stunning. I'm so glad you finished it. Doesn't matter how long it took, the top is finished now. Any idea how to quilt it?
Your blocks are awesome! Now that you have 70 blocks finished it's time for a group photo :D :D

Ok...my weekend did not go as planned due to family issues. I could only sew a little today...

E10 - Hunters Star
C5 - Lady of the Lake
D6- Odd Fellow's Patch
E6- Jack in the Pulpit

Very nice. I'm just beside myself that you two are racing to the finish already!

the "race" is not intentional, the blocks are just so much fun to make!

Unfortunately for me, I don't have the handicap of "family issues" to deal with. Two adult children live in the Atlanta GA area, and closest other family lives about 400 miles away. DH and I moved to SD for my job, so we have no connections in the area. I also work 85 miles from home, so don't get involved with coworker friends outside of work.

I'm hoping to get some fun sewing time today. Having a blizzard outside, so the schools in the area are all closed. The one I work at has a two hour late start, but I expect they'll close it too. Not that it really matters for me, as I can telework, but if they close the office then I don't have to. . .

I'm up to 96 blocks sewn, so if they call off work, I may get them done today. I'm doing about 18 less than the total though.

I agree with Macybaby....not a race and these are a lot of fun to make. I work 2 days a week counseling so this hobbie is my escape. I have not started another quilt since starting SBS and I'm waiting to take 2 quilts to the LA when the flu has run its course at her house. I'm preparing to be gone for a month in mid-April so my goal was to get as many of these blocks done that I can. I saved some blocks to take with me to cut while gone.

I helped my elderly neighbor at his house today in preparation of his son arriving tomorrow. We are picking him up at airport too so kinda busy....plus the family issues blah blah.... Today, I completed only 2 blocks..felt like appliquing...these take my count to 61...

E4 - Indiana Rose
D10 - Boys Nonsense

Teen - your applique looks really nice - a great endorsement for the appliquick method.

we are having our second snow day. I think half the state is snowed in today. It's still snowing but should stop later today. We have a bit over 6", which is not a lot except that with the winds it all piles up in drifts.

I'm working on my last three blocks. These are ones I messed up on so had to recut and resew.

Wow, lots of activity here and many beautiful blocks to enjoy. I am still plodding along, enjoying the process very much. It takes me a little time to decide just which fabric to use but it's fun to go through my stash and make these selections.
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DonnaPea, your fabric selections are great! I love your blocks.

Teen, more lovely blocks, specially your appliqué one! I really have to try this method. I will have to go on a hunt to get the tools :)

Yea, Macybaby!!! Cannot believe how fast you did this. That 365 challenge taught you some useful techniques in efficiency. Plus your super efficient anyway so double plus for you!! Looking forward to your assembly. I ended up doing one re-do because I didn't like it and was tired of ripping out threads so it was easier to start over. Lol! It's gorgeous weather here so I've worked outside a bit today and did a some more packing for our month long trip. But, I did do one block first thing this morning that I cut out last night. Lol! Whatever works. I have decided to do an applique border for this quilt. I figure I'm spending a lot of time of this baby so why not finish it with a flourish!

Donna....welcome back and hope your weekend was lovely. You are off to a great start. Your blocks look wonderful and fabric choices great. That's probably half the fun when doing the scrappy way, picking out the fabrics. I still enjoy creating from my small pile of specific colors & accent fabric. I will probably be so sick of this fabric when done. So far, I still like it.

Anael...I absolutely love appliqué and a lot of it has to do with the method and machine appliquing. Amazon has a starter kit that includes stabilizer, marking pencils, and tools. Not sure if you can buy Amazon from Netherlands. My friend bought hers at a quilt show so there is another option.

Thanks for for the lovely comments. I should reach the halfway point this week barring any interruptions. I've been staying on top of the excel design layout so I'll post a pic of it

Teen, I'm going to try and find some alternative tools, the real ones are very expensive. I could order them from the USA but the shipping costs are way too high. No problem, I have a few projects I should finish first before starting a new one :D :D I still need to quilt my Sylvia.........haha!

Donna - I know what you mean about the time to select the fabrics. It takes me more time to select fabric and cut them out than it does to sew them up.

Now to catch up on picture posting.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...pstnrzkakc.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psglpkdumy.jpg

And more

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psxt4tzfzf.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psz9xxeusb.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psx4pieqkg.jpg

These are what I did yesterday plus the three I finished up this morning.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psjctbmyk7.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psk2o2nxwk.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psb4cgwfp9.jpg

Here is the start of the quilt. This uses all the "other" background blocks. This will go on point. I'm hoping for the end result to look like this is a smaller quilt that is sitting on top of the larger quilt. I should have enough of the blue background for the sashing for the rest, so they will have the "floating" look.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psbmfayw0o.jpg

Absolutely gorgeous.... With all the colors, it looks like candy.....now I'm anxious to start assembling.... What is the width of your sashing?

I was able to squeeze in 5 blocks today.

66 blocks... Not sure on sashing and cornerstones but I think this will likely be my choice...

My SBS quilt had sashing finished at 3/4" and cut 1 1/4". There is a photo of it on here, post number 1071. I didn't put any cornerstones in. Wow - you girls are on a run !!! Stunning blocks - really lovely colour choices.

Macebaby, do you sleep at all? Wow, so many stunning blocks!!

Teen, thanks for the group photo. I love them together, I think your sashing and cornerstones do work, I like it.

lol! I was wondering the same thing about you - you often are posting in the wee hours of the morning :)

With two snow days, I spent a lot of time at the sewing machine. Probably 2-3 weekend's worth of sewing done, especially since the next two weekends already have other things planned so a lot less sewing will get done.

Teen - that looks very nice! I'm sort of getting sick of scrappy right now - I have a quilt that is all reds and cream cut out, I think I'm going to enjoy something a bit less colorful for a while. But I've used up a big chunk of my batik scraps!

My sashing is only 1/2" for that part. It actually varies from 1/4" to 3/4" because I chose to use it to bring all the blocks to 7" square UF. Normally I'd have just eased in the differences - it looks Ok, in fact it gives it a bit of a "wonky" look in person that is kind of interesting. I needed to keep it narrow to keep the size small so it would fit diagonally for what I plan to do. I plan on doing 1" sashing for the rest.

Haha, I'm in a completely different time zone :D :D Here it's 1.40 pm now.

Macybaby - I am amazed by your colorful quilt. You would never know we are doing some of the same blocks- amazing what a difference color selection makes. Teen - I really enjoyed seeing your spreadsheet and getting a glimpse of how your quilt will all come together. I wish I had the time to really sit down and hit this quilt hard - I take little snatches of time as they come along. Maybe this weekend...

Donna - it is fascinating how color choices can make such a difference. I've thought it would be fun to make one quilt that is the same block, but done with different color combinations and arrangements. Or do something like all the blocks are variations of the 9p.

Thank you, ladies, for the lovely comments on my design wall. I'm not sure yet on sashing width. My blocks are not going to need much nudging since I've been sewing scant and they've turned out 6 1/2 for the most part. I have two that I will be re-doing or disassembling and re-sewing.

Today, I organized my batting to use up for donations quilts. It was getting unruly and I can't concentrate when there is a mess so I pieced a bunch. Then, I cleaned sewing room/office. So, I think I'm good to continue SBS. I function better in clean.....lol!

I am getting ready for my trip so I thought I would start designing my applique border and get these ready to do while I'm gone. So, between that and a few blocks to cut, I should be fairly productive on SBS while gone. I was hoping to get all the blocks done by end of March but I don't think that will happen. I'll still try but we'll see.

So...I'm off to the sewing nook....hope you are all having a good day...

Well, instead of 3 months you can take 4 months to finish..........:D :D :D

In two weeks I have to go back to the orthopedic surgeon as something is wrong with my left hip replacement. The only thing I'm quite sure of, it's not dislocated. I will find out soon I hope. It's quite painful :(

Oh no Anael,
I hope it's nothing too serious. I am due to have mine done on April 10th !

Thanks Dotty, hope not! I saw your post on the QB. Just try to stay in shape, there's really not much you can do before surgery. I'll let you know when I know what's wrong with mine. The right one is still without problems, had that one replaced last August.

Ouch, Anael....I had a hip replacement in 2010 and have excellent results. I wish I would have done it sooner. The field is so skilled in this procedure now that complications are rare. At least you know that it isn't dislocated. My sister had both hips done and recently started experiencing pain but she really over did with lifting when she helped her daughter move. Hip,was very inflamed so she's on med's and it is feeling much better now. Hope all turns out well for you, Anael.

Dotty....most of the pain I felt following surgery was related to the atrophied muscles in my leg and hip that had gone underused for so long. It's like re-stretching muscles when you go to the gym. It hurts at first but short time later feels better and your range of motion improves. I tried to stretch my muscles each day before surgery so it wouldn't be so bad and it did help. I was riding a bike in a month, which I hadn't done in 10 years.

i finished 2 more blocks today and will post pics tomorrow. I may do one more after din din ...

Wow! Love all the colors!! Great job MacyBaby! Looking good DonnaPea! I'm more like you-the snail just creeping along. Think I may try the idea of cutting a bunch out to sew. Maybe I can move along on it then.

Laurafet, you will get there too! It took me at least 2 years to finish mine :)

Managed to get 2 more done today - enjoying the process!
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Lovely blocks DonnaPea! Having fun is good :D

Pretty fabric used in your blocks, Donna!! That first one is one of my favorite blocks so far that I did. There are so many blocks in this project that I have never made before. It's been so much fun. I've picked a couple of blocks to make whole quilts later on when this project is done. And, I'm really enjoying the PP. My skills are improving, too, which makes me very happy. I have an idea for my applique border so this weekend I'm going to draw it out and start preparing applique pieces, too. Onward we go!!!