W4Me, congrats !!!!!!!

Thank you. They have an odd number of blocks so I have agreed to do a second one for them. It, too, will be applique and nature themed so it fits in with my other block. And the curves will be less intense so I can applique on the machine, I hope.

Oh you can do intense curves on the machine too.......one stitch, turn, one stitch, turn.......:D :D :D

Correction Anael. YOU can do curves. :) :D Me, it's a new machine and my confidence level is not there yet. Baby steps.

Great way to build that confidence .... just jump in and DO IT! :D:D:D

How kind of you W4Me, to gift them with an extra block. Look forward to seeing what it might be!

Confidence will come with the curves :D :D :D :D

Works4Me ... congrats!! Some lovely prizes! As for machine curves on the next one ... it's easier than it looks. Like Anael said, stitch/stop/turn/repeat.

OK ... I'm waiting for the weekend to cut the borders for my King quilt, I want a fully recharged brain because I have just one shot at cutting the borders right. In the mean time I made a test DJ block!! I used two of the colors from my sample that I knew I would not be using. They're sooooo ugly together (think ice blue and baby puke green) but I wanted to see what it was like to work with the shot cottons.

They're gorgeous to work with!! When I iron a seam it lays sooooo flat and it STAYS flat (I love flat seams - see my siggy line!). I do have to make sure that I trim the darker fabric shorter than the lighter fabric (I did a PP block) as it will show through. I also have to watch that I'm placing the fabric in the right direction. Even though the shots are 'solids' some of them are made by using two completely different colors for the warp and the weft (the baby puke green for example is kelly green weft and orange warp - yeah .. baby puke green). So when you look at it one way you see more green, and the other way more orange.

On the downside I can see that it will fray. Not as bad as homespuns or silk, but a bit more than regular quilting cotton.

So ... that brings me to a question that I would have had regardless of what fabric I chose to use.

How are you guys stabilizing your blocks once they are done and waiting to be sewn together?? I'm not going to be pinning mine to my design wall. I plan on keeping them in a box until they are done and ready.

I was thinking of basting 4 blocks to a single sheet of 8.5X11 paper (just regular copy paper). The bonus is that I can write the block number right on the paper.

Also. Are you removing the paper (if PP) to store them?? Thinking if I baste them to sheets of paper I may not have to leave the PP paper on the block.

I almost always remove the paper unless the size of the block is a bit off (too short). I store my blocks in a box too but before I do that I pin them to the design wall to admire what I did :D :D

I will add a few hints for the recipients. Pincushion, part of arm chair caddy, potholder, towel border,
eyeglass, phone, pen-pencil case,
credit card holder,
checkbook cover, wonder wallet can even make 2 if well cut.

well you all must get ideas now...
would love to see what happens.