Applique Week-ay

 Okay, not the best title rhyme I've ever seen, but I've had a week of applique obsession: a delivery of two second hand books on applique (both by Ellie Sienkiewicz who seems to be a 'Baltimore Album Quilt' (and BAQ style) guru, hand applique, machine applique and a feeling that improvement is just around the corner (or perhaps just out of reach, I'm not putting money either way, to be honest!).

This is my finished 3D Baltimore style block.  I've got stuffed seaweed and clams, stuffed and furrowed coral, concertina pleated limpets and a folded hexagon not-quite-a-sand-dollar!

 This second block was much faster to put together - seaside rather than seashore.  This one was created with fusible applique and sketchy machine stitching.  I was thinking pen and ink and children's book illustrations from years ago.

 The applique didn't stop there.  Another two Dear Jane blocks have been completed for Liba's quilt - and they both had tiny applique pieces.

 Here is the new I-6 one next to my 'old' one which has already been sashed.

 This is my new J-13 next to the one in my scrappy Jane.

So, five blocks made for Liba's quilt, none for my own!  I have a whole row ready for sashing and sewing on to the blocks that I've already completed.  I think that I should aim to do this over the summer and make a few more blocks for my own.

In the meantime I'm working on a 'needleturn with freezer paper on top' block (not my design) I'm trying really hard to get pointy points on the leaves and neat non-frayed corners where leaves met stem.  I think that I still have a lot to learn, and I'm not sure that I'll be able to  improve as fast as I'd like.

Any more applique related things?  Well, there is a new BOM being generously offered by Esther Aliu that is starting soon.  Another historical based quilt, called Love Entwined.  As Esther is a master applique quilt artist I'm pretty sure that this would help to hone my skills.  If you'd like to join, check back through her posts to see how to join her Yahoo group.  I'm not sure if I'm up to an eighteen month long project on top of what I'm already planning, but I love the idea of it!

Finally (!), never short on ambition, I bought the 'Dear Hannah' book on Monday evening at my quilt group meeting.  From the same author as 'Dear Jane' this is a mix of applique and pieced blocks.  Some from historical quilts, some invented.  It's good to have a background project to look forward to once I've finished my Dear Jane (which I'm still thinking will be years rather than months!).

After another three books to fit onto the shelves (ah.  Four.  I've just seen 'Spunbonded Textile and Stitch', which arrived on Saturday and I haven't even opened yet), I should be making time for book  sorting / clearing this week.  I don't know how much longer my DH is going to want to see my stack of books on the living room coffee table, as I haven't been able to fit any new purchases onto the shelves dedicated to quilting since the New Year (and I've bought quite a few books, it would appear!). Ho hum.  If anyone has any tips for Tardis like increase of space within the fixed confines of our house, please do feel free to share them with me!