Flower Bed...

I do have a finished quilt to show...but I'm still sewing the binding and I'd rather wait until I get it all down to take the picture. So for now I'll show you my finished first block of the Flower Bed quilt by Sue Spargo...oh yea, and ME!

All sewn down and ready for assembling. I'm going to wait until I have the top together before adding embellishments and beads.

I did have to teach myself that sewing down wool is a totally different animal that needleturn. When I do traditional needleturn with cottons I slide that needle right up to the folded edge of the applique piece and the tip the needle to the right...making the tip of the needle go left and plant about 1/16th of an inch under the edge of the fold. It helps hide the stitches really well. When I started sewing the Americana Mat in the first class I realized that doing that made the thin one strand of thread cut into the wool with each stitch and it looked horrid. So now I use 2 strands or Sue's wool thread....yummy!...and make sure to put the needle tip in about a good 1/16th to the right of the edge of the wool piece, which holds it down beautifully without marring the edge of the wool. It's fun to learn new tricks!

I decided too this morning to cut out all 11 backgrounds for the quilt so I can plan the layout and which block works best on which background. As you might be able to tell, my backgrounds are all greens and purples. I think I got a very good shot of the true colors in the wool for once.

Now back to sewing binding and putting borders on the Birds of a Feather quilt. Finishing might not be as much fun as starting new projects but I am getting it done one piece at a time as Patti recommended. Go visit her blog. She has a great tutorial on how to make her easy Mile a Minute blocks that's super fast and very easy!