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!