What I'm Doing...

 A Gift for Kate...I made this for a long overdue Birthday.  It was in May, but I couldn't decide what to do and found this pattern at a local quilt shop.  Kate loves lily of the valley.  It was a redwork or embroidery pattern, but I wanted more color, so I appliquéd the tea cup and leaves and then did the stems and lily of the valley flowers in embroidery.  I added the words and hand quilted it.  I think she likes it.  I photographed it outdoors in the herb garden with the thyme flowers.  It seemed appropriate.

 This quilt is just for fun.  I started the needle turn appliqué as a class at a local quilt shop last year.  The pattern had a pieced border, but I had seen this border done on an appliqué quilt at a quilt show and wanted to try it out.  The quilt turned out an odd size, so I'm probably going to add another green border to the outside and then machine quilt it.  The pastels aren't my usual color palette, but somehow seemed to suit this appliqué.  

I finished a trio of baby sized scrap quilt tops tonight.  Please excuse the terrible photo, they are really primary colors with white Kona.  These are scraps of a bunch of fabrics that I purchased last year to make 2 baby quilts for great-nieces.  I clearly overbuy fabric, since I have done those two, another one, and now 3 more from the same fabric and still have enough to bind these with...  after machine quilting them.  They are 35" x 50".

I am doing basket weaving with friends on Thursday nights.  This week, I made this basket from a kit that a friend had had for 20 years or more.  The basket is 11" across and I stained it.  I'll give it to her this week at quilt guild.

I'm behind on the baskets.  I said earlier in the year that I needed to make at least 12 baskets this year to call myself a basket maker because only a couple got done last year and I have a whole cabinet of stuff...  I think I may be up to 5 this year... better get moving.