faulker094

  Two more finished sets of three 6-inch hand applique blocks are done!  Can you tell that my Downton Abbey DVD arrived?!?  The first block is a Rose of Sharon spin-off... ...and the second, Lazy Susans. From time to time, I get emails with questions about using glue for both turning my applique edges under and for "glue-basting" the little pieces to the background.  People are worried that the glue is harmful over time or really stiff-feeling.  Let me explain... For gluing fabric edges under, I use Elmers 'Disappearing Purple' Glue Sticks, usually in the smaller size (0.21 oz). The small size works great for many reasons: The small stick is better on small pieces because it is less clumsy. They are cheap!  If you leave the lid off and it dries out, they are less than a buck to replace.  I go through a stick pretty quick, but if one does get a little old and a little too hard to apply without pulling my fabric piece off the freezer paper, I just toss ...

Downton Abbey DVD's did not come over the weekend, but I still managed to stitch another set of three 6-inch blocks!  These will finish 6 inches square. Then, I finished the stitching on yet another set of three blocks last night while watching this week's installment of Downton Abbey season 6...the weekly dragging out out of the story is making me impatient to get the DVD's!!!  I may just hang out by the mailbox today... I will get the glue soaked out of that second finished set, get 'em trimmed and post 'em directly. I really love having something to stitch on while watching TV...it seems like such a waste of time if I am not doing something with my hands! We spent our Sunday (yesterday) driving to Tuscaloosa and back to visit our college freshman daughter.  It is an almost 5-hour round trip, but worth it to see her and it is a scenic trip on little 2-lane roads.  Unfortunately, there are not many ethnic restaurants there, but we are managing to work our way throu...

Last post I showed you six new little 6-inch applique block sets that I had all prepped and glue-basted, ready to stitch. I have managed to stitch up two sets, or six blocks; my fat, little bunny family and a crazy lily. I have not received my Season 6 Downton Abbey DVD (I hear it's in the mail), so I have not allowed myself enough TV time to stitch more.  When that puppy arrives, there will be binge-watching and stitching! I am getting excited about putting this REPRO MADNESS project together.  I have almost forty 6-inch pieced blocks from my Michigan buddies, and the number of applique blocks is rising.  I want to set them alternately, with or without sashing. Just look at those cute, little bunny butts! I have been working from a small box of reproduction scraps, until I have full access to my stash.  Some of the pieces I save are quite small, but I would want to make things scrappy even if I wasn't working from tiny pieces.  I hate making fabric choices s...

I started working on these little six inch hand applique blocks before the move last year.  I made three of each one...for a total of 36!  I am involved in a reproduction block swap with two of my Michigan friends.   Ola and Mary are fabulous piecers, so I decided to contribute what I do best, hand applique.  I called the project REPRO MADNESS. I made the enclosed grid of 12 blocks with Picasa...it is fun to see them all together!  They will be blended with the pieced blocks from my friends for a project yet to be determined  (we will each come up with our own setting and project). (I made a cherry block to represent Michigan's fruit farms.) I was able to prep enough of the little blocks ahead to have a little hand work to do through all the moving crap during the last half of 2015, once my finger allowed me to hold a needle again. (I made this to represent our friendship...we've been 'partners in crime' for a long time...working at quilt shops together, wo...