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Monday, April 11, 2016

The Dice lands on Number 1

I can swear till I’m blue in the face that I’m certainly not a gambler, don’t play cards, go to the casino, or bet on horses, but there is something addictive about rolling the dice every Monday morning to see which UFO I will be working on for the week.  I rattled that dice around in a coffee mug before throwing it on the floor and what did it bring up?  Number 1, first time up on the list - which is my caravan quilt.  That sounds a bit bland, doesn’t it?  Here’s hoping a much nicer name pops into my head before the quilt is finally finished.

The quilt started off like this.  I used to love watching Alex Anderson and her quilting show Simply Quilts on TV, and would rush home from work, make a cup of coffee and sit down enthralled in front of the TV in the late afternoon.  Then the show disappeared from our screens, and I heard that Alex was offering a free download of red work patterns.  “12 Days of Redwork” features different flowers inside a heart shape.

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12 Days of Red work

I got the patterns enlarged at the local copy shop, and set to and traced them onto fabric – just the sort of easy stitching I like to do.  These stitcheries got taken away on caravan weekends and longer holidays, and I had many pleasant afternoons stitching outside under a shady tree at various camping venues.  I decided to colour in the flowers and leaves with fabric pencils and assembled the top with alternate nine patch blocks.

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Stitchery blocks and nine patch blocks

So where am I up to on this UFO?  Working on the border, which has simple appliqued flowers and leaves around a ric rac “vine”.  So it is all coming together nicely.

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Working on the border

This quilt was planned to grace the bed in the caravan,  when it is finally completed.  Like most of my UFOs, it has been hanging around for quite some time, so I’m pleased to get it out into the light of day once more.  I’m happy to see you again, UFO number 1!

7 comments:

Nancy J said...

Looking like it will be a wonderful addition for the van. We have warm weather, a little breeze and all is well in the garden.Hope you are enjoying the "'Rapa " as Jim Hickey would call it, just like the " 'Naki".I do hope, that like us, he is enjoying his retirement, but like us, has heaps to do every single day!!!

Razzle Dazzle Quilter said...

Very pretty! I hope the dice rolls to 1 again soon. Can't wait to see this finish.

Janice said...

It will be lovely in the van. I'm sure you will get it done.....so long as the gambler in you keeps rolling Number 1.

Kate said...

I've got these designs, Jenny, but have never stitched them because I didn't know what to do with the finished pieces. You've shown me the light, thank you. lol Your quilt top will be beautiful.

Jenny said...

Thank you ladies - I'll enjoy working on number 1 this week. Inbetween going on not one but two day trips, and a morning out with the Sew Wots - life sure is hard when you are retired.

Katie said...

I don’t even like to buy lottery tickets! But I do like your dice rolling. I may have to try it! :-)

Lin said...

I love those flower hearts Jenny. xx