APPLIQUE PAINTBOX-I LOVE APPLIQUE

IN WHICH WE LOOK OUT OUR WINDOW AND SEE A WINTRY DAY

I know the sun will not do its solstice thing for another 22 days or so but, to me, winter begins just after Thanksgiving.  It is grey outside and the leaves which remain on the trees are shivering with the cold.  The squirrels have tucked away all the walnuts and other edibles.  And the landscape is taking on its stark, dramatic winter hues and outlines.

When I was gainfully employed I had a commute of about 35 minutes.  This was my favorite part of the day travelling through rural Missouri. At first the road was straight, running between corn, soy, and hay fields.  And then the road turned into a twisty hilly ride.  Each season was different.  Sometimes ice would cling to the barb wire fences and glitter in the sun like row upon row of diamonds.  Sometimes the new born calves would caper with each other over bright green fresh grass.  Sometimes the trees would be leafless and stark against the blue sky so dramatic with their dark twisting limbs and accented by dull orange and gold of winter.  That is the season we are now-beautiful in a remote, unfriendly way.

Last week was busy for me as it was for most women.  Aside from preparing the usual T-Day fare, I had to spend a day in Kansas city at the dentist dealing with a cracked and broken molar.  I have fragile teeth. On the day after Thanksgiving we had a lovely luncheon (I have to call it that and not simply lunch but because it was such a special time) where we saw friends we had not seen for awhile as well as other close friends.  A delicious meal was prepared for us and we enjoyed a lot of good conversation and reminiscences. My contribution was a french silk pie which promptly fell on its head before serving but was just fine after I rearranged the whipped cream back into order.  Luckily it was still covered in saran wrap!

So, all in all, I, like most, did not get a lot done work-wise. I completed a couple of the pieced triangles for Sweet Surrender.

After some thought and practice, I have decided to make these using the epp method.  I have worked out some angles to make it easier and this helps a great deal.  My main aid has been to use a clip to keep the two pieces together while I stitch.

The clip is very sturdy and holds the two pieces firmly in place while I stitch up to the clip and then remove it to finish.  This seems to be working very well.  This method also keeps everything out of the way of my right hand as it tries to stitch.  

Here is what the back of the pieced triangle looks like after it is stitched together: 

Two of the diamond epp have fallen out.  The next big hurdle with this quilt will be to stitch the pieced triangles and the appliqued triangles together.  All those biases-this has the potential to swoop and swagger.  I hope that does not become its new name:  Swopey swagger!

Free motion quilting?  check! did that.
I finished Lori Kennedy's Sunflower Sampler

I am exceedingly proud of this sampler-not because it is so great or anything but because I am beginning to understand how FMQ patterns are created and to be able to translate this knowledge into thread and fabric.  Here are some closeups:

All the patterns I choose were from Lori's FMQ tutorials (these are great!).  Some differ from those she put on her version but they are all from here tutorials.

This blog was visited by a lovely lady in Oman this week.  I always wonder about my visitors and what their life is like:  what will they cook for dinner, how are they dressed, what their home looks like, how the weather is affecting them, have their children been naughty.

I hope you get to do what makes you happy this week!!

Pinning my work to:

 Slow Stitching Sundays, Bambi's Blog

 Patchwork Times,  Em's Scrapbag,

 Esther's Wow, Let's Bee Social,

 Free Motion by the River, Whoop Whoop,

 and Off the Wall Friday.