Row 6 is done! Quick review of small tool.

I finished row 6 on my quilt top.  I have one more row to go.  Then I will applique this top to a grey border fabric.  I bought the border fabric almost 2 years ago so it's been very patiently waiting to be used.  Here is a picture of the 6 rows.  I'll be using the grey fabric for the backing fabric as well.

My quick review is of the cute flower threaders I bought last year.  I have been using the same threader for the last two rows of the quilt and it has held up very well.  The wire is sturdy but its not too big to fit in a small needle eye.  I bought the threaders from Amazon.  The link is here:   Flower threaders for sewing needles

English Paper Piecing.

  I have part of row 5 put together now and I've been busy basting hexagons in my spare time.  I don't have quite enough to finish the next three rows, but I'm working on them. 

   

Getting Back to Hand Sewing on the Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt Top

   I pulled out my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt top on last Friday.  I had to add three flowers to the third row to finish it and I finally finished those tonight.

     I started this quilt top way back at the end of May, 2017 and I can't believe that I am still working on this.  I have never had a project linger this long.  I really, really, really need to get this one done, so I am committing two hours each day during the week and more on Saturday and Sunday to sew on this top until it is finished.  I have four more rows of flowers and path to add.

    I notice in the second row that the half flower on the right hand side is wrong.  It should have an orange outer ring and a pink inner ring.  I will be taking that half flower off and fixing that. 

    I fell out of love with this project before, but looking at this picture reminds me how much I like this and I am excited to work on this again. 

    Here's a picture of the three rows finished.

Still Hand Sewing

    I don't sew everyday, but I try to sew a few days a week.  I get a lot more accomplished on the weekend.  Here is an update on the Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt top.

    I have started the second row.  The second row flowers still have to be attached.

A Slow Start To My Slow Stitching Project

   I finally started my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  I started this on a day I spent at the beach with dear daughter and friends.  I knew I wasn't going to be swimming in the Gulf and that I wanted to spend my time on the beautiful deck with a sea breeze and some hand stitching.  I finished my first flower for my new Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt during that beach trip.  I have since added the green path.  I am totally in love with this project.  I can't wait to see more of these lovely flowers appear.

  The green fabric almost looks minty or blueish, it's not. I tried to get a good picture using my faux Ott Light.    I will try to get a picture where the colors are more life like on a day with more sun.  We have had some rain the last couple of days and it's hard to get a good picture indoors.

    I was kind of worried about the pink and orange clashing but it looks stunning in this picture.  I originally bought a very pale yellow for the center, but I changed that to a bright yellow when I saw how dark the orange and pink are and I'm so glad I did.

   So there you have it, the beginning of a another quilt top.  

 

I Decided On My Next Quilt Project

   I finally decided on my next long term quilt project.  It will be a slow hand sewing project making little hexagons with English paper piecing.  I'm going to make another Grandmother's Flower Garden ("GFG"), but this time I want to make the quilt more traditional.  I will be using three fabrics for my flowers.  The center will be yellow, of course, and the two rows of petals will be orange and pink.  Here are the fabrics I purchased from Fabric.com this week for this project.

     Here is the green I found for path which I think is perfect.  It's a Kona cotton in the colorway Pond.  I can't wait to get started.

    Here's a link to the scrappy GFG I made last year.  It was totally different from a traditional GFG.  I don't know what I was thinking of when I bought the dark green and greyish fabric for this.  I should have made the flowers with two rows of petals and then used a lighter green for the path, but I made only one row of petals then I used that concrete color before the dark green path.  It it unusual to say the least.

My First Hexagon Block For My Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt Top.

   I have to make 34 more of these for my quilt top.  This quilt top will definitely take me a while but it's a lot of fun to make.  I love the scrappy flower center, the third round looks like cement pavers in the garden, and the fourth round is the green grass growing around the pavers and the flowers.  This is my Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt in progress.