Coral Collection

After finishing up my Ebb pillows a few months ago, I was anxious to start on a new handwork project, and it wasn't long until I made the decision to go big, this time with Carolyn Friedlander's Collection quilt. I debated buying the full quilt kit and using the same fabrics Carolyn used in her original (which I love) but finally decided I wanted to do my own thing. I'm going mostly monochromatic in shades of coral and pink, with a few pops of light gray and aqua. So, for obvious reasons, I'm calling it the Coral Collection quilt.

The pattern is broken down into nine "collections," which each focus on a different skill and build in difficulty. I knocked Collection 1 out in no time, as it consisted of just a few straight lines.

I loved picking the fabrics for Collection 2, which included a ton of small molehill-like templates. The nice, gentle curves were easy to applique, though the sheer number of them meant they took a while to finish.

I'm now on to Collection 3, which introduces reverse applique. I have one of the rows done and two more have been basted.

I made some excellent progress on Tuesday night, when the STLMQG had its first hand sew happy hour. About 16 of us met up at a wonderful local bierhall and chatted and sewed for three hours. It was such a fun time, and I can't wait for July's meetup! Beer, poutine, and applique -- sounds like a great combination to me!

June do.Good Stitches blocks

Whew, where did May and June go?! I have so much to catch up on, so let's start with something small -- my June blocks for the do.Good Stitches Emerge Circle. Allison asked for two Autumn Chain blocks (using the tutorial on Sew Mama Sew by Alyce of Blossom Heart Quilts). She wanted one in pink and one in orange ("summery sherbet colors" in her words) with white or low volume for the background.

The block, composed of HSTs, flying geese, and squares, went together pretty quickly. There are a lot of pieces, but nothing difficult. The funnest part was choosing the fabrics.

 

I'm excited to see this quilt come together. I love the colors, and I think the final quilt is going to create a really fun secondary design. Now, what am I going to do for July? ...