Some time ago, our local quilt shop asked me to help one of the staff with CorelDraw so she could improve their newsletters. What fun! She was an eager learner, a delight to work with.
The shop paid me in gift certificates. I bought a new book, but then pondered what to do with the rest of it. Then, a couple weeks ago I was looking for a pattern for someone else and found one called "Splendid Stars" that I liked myself.
The LQS had a Christmas quilt on display with a lovely wintery border by Jayson Yenter (In the Beginning, no link. I may have bought the last yards left on the planet)... so putting the two together, I have a king-size in mind... and used the remaining certificates for the fabrics below. Maybe it will be done for next year?
The top is pieced so I'm working on the Japanese crests. There will be seven of them, one red on black and the rest are black on red. I'm using Steam a Seam II to lay down the pieces, then going around them with a tiny blacked stitch. This isn't as 'soft' as hand applique, but it will be much sturdier for this bed quilt.
The top one is finished and ready to sew on the background. The bottom one has more leaves and some cherries to stick down. Then I'll do the blanket stitch, then put a freezer paper circle on the back, trim and turn under the edges.
I still don't have a name for this quilt. One suggestion was nice, but since the cherry tree on the right side of this page is also for this dear GD, cannot call it that. Maybe the GD will have an idea.
