Ribbon Winner

This won Viewer's Choice at the Pride of the Prairie Quilt Show.  Pieced and hand quilted by Denise Clayton.  It took her six years to finish all the needle-turn applique and a year to hand quilt it.  It is very impressive.  Outstanding job! 

 Her quilting stitches are tiny! 

The flowing quilt won Best Of Show.  It is also needle-turn applique, pieced by Jo Sheppard and machine quilted.  The judge liked small applique...

More beautiful quilts to follow!

Block One

I really want to hand applique.  I love quilts with applique on them - in the borders, a touch of applique in blocks or those baltimore albums.  I joined a block of the month club for needle-turn applique.  I thought by the time I'm finished with the last block, I'll be so much better and will have really learned a lot about this method.  I can only get better - right?  I worked diligently on block one.  It looks..... okay, and I expected it to be a little wobbly.  Block one is still unfinished and then I get block two in the mail.  Then block three - panic sets in - I'm not even finished with block one yet!  Then I started to feel anxious and frustrated every time I picked up block one.  When I worked on it - it became a job I had to finish!  I wasn't enjoying the process.  I dreaded getting the next block in the mail!  I don't want this to become another project I won't finish - oh no!  I tried and I tried, but I just cannot learn to love it.  What's wrong with me? 

Why can't I get the hang of hand applique too?  I have books on different methods.  I took a class on hand applique (David Taylor) - and that project is unfinished too.

So here's the update.  I have stopped the BOM club.  It was a great relief.  I put away block one and all the others.  Maybe I can try it again after a while.  I need a break.

I still like hand projects.  But simpler, like hand embroidery or knitting dish rags.

I'll let you know when I pick up block one again.