First piece

After my patchwork quilting course in January I haven't felt the pull to do any more patchworking, those small squares and neat lines are not where my hands and heart are right now. The thing that I really loved though was the machine applique we did and so for the last few weeks I've been working away on a little applique quilted hanging. It was meant to just be a practice piece but I find it almost impossible to be patient and spend lots of time practicing. I know I could get better results if I did but my craft time is so limited that I always get sucked in to making it in to something. Luckily this type of piece is very forgiving so it has nicely combined lots of learning with an end piece fit to gift.

 After appliquing hearts  to a piece of calico and embroidering some text on I trimmed down the piece and bordered it with some plain deep blue cotton. I then made a sandwich with batting and some more of the calico. To quilt the piece I sewed a button heart and then just three little embroidered running stitch hearts. I haven't got a hand quilting hoop yet but think I'm going to get addicted enough to this to invest in yet more equipment!

 I then attached some bought bias binding (I couldn't resist this pretty stuff on our last trip to Bath in November though I had no idea what I would use it for - the haberdashery stall in the Guildhall market there has a very tempting range of ribbons and binding). I managed to attach it working backwards because I like to make things trickier! I'd read instructions and watched tutorials, but anyway at least it was small enough to manage it the wrong way round. I really struggle with being able to see ahead to what the practical implications of right/left inside/outside are for some reason.

Which is what I'm blaming my second mitred corner cock up on. Having had beginner's luck and got the first one right I then had a brain fritz and sewed round the whole corner - this of course then doesn't leave you any room to turn it out the right way so the unpicker and I had a little time together at this point.

  Still not perfect but at least it folded back.

 Yay - I can do mitred corners!

 Once the binding was machined on I then folded it round and hand stitched down the back.

Added a couple of loops and a twig from the garden and yay - I love it! Let's hope little Emily Grace is as keen!