Quilt Blocks and Hand Embroidery

I felt like making some random 12.5" blocks the other day. I love sewing with batiks.

I have don't really have any plans for these blocks. I just felt like making them. For now, I'll add them to my other random blocks that I've made in the past. Eventually they will become a quilt or two but for now it's just fun to sew without immediate purpose. 

I spent several hours yesterday working on my Heart Flower Embroidery Design by CutesyCrafts. She has some fun embroidery designs but also wander around her blog for a bit. There are lots of fun things to see and make.    I am working on this design as part of my Hand Embroidery Series over on my YouTube channel.  A very relaxing way to spend a Saturday. The embroidery portion is almost finished. Then I get to decide how to finish the entire piece. I'm sure I will make it into a small art quilt like my other embroidery projects. I just need to decide on fabrics. 

HST 16 Patches

I've been busy trimming, pressing, and sewing hsts for my February UFO project. 

So far I think the purples are my favorite. No surprise there.

I like the blues in general but there's just too many floral prints for my taste but I'm someone will love them. They won't be as noticeable once sewn into a quilt so that helps.

When I started trimming hsts I was feeling a bit cocky and decided not to press the seams open. They came to me already stitched and pressed to one side so I was being lazy. I did end up pressing the long seams open on this group of 16 patches though. As I'm trimming the brown and green hsts I am re-pressing the seams open. For such small (3")  hsts there is just too much bulk otherwise. I don't normally press my seams open so this is a different process for me. It's a necessary step but not one I'm too fond of though.

182 Day Solstice Challenge

I decided to join the 182 day Winter Solstice challenge that Pat Sloan is hosting. There is a blog for the patterns and a Facebook group to show off your blocks. The blocks come out every Wednesday and we are six blocks in so far. Plenty of time to catch up if you want to join.

No surprise that I'm going scrappy with my version.

 block 1

block 2

block 3

block 4

block 5

block 6

Block 5 is supposed to have a basket in the center but I'm not sure if I will add it or not. Some people don't want to do applique but I love applique. I'm just not sure about the basket. While I was sewing the block, I kept thinking that it needed a bird in the center instead. We'll see what I decide as time goes on.

I haven't been sewing precision blocks in awhile so it took me a few times to find the 1/4" on my machine again. I might need to make the first two blocks over again so they fit accurately into the quilt.

Looking forward to Wednesday...