A Gardener's Journal

As soon as I saw this book I knew it was for me. Stitchery, patchwork and quilting, all combined into a gorgeous quilt... and with a garden theme too - perfect!  It will take me some time to complete but that's ok, I have lots of other projects I want to do whirling around in my head. So this is my long-term project. I work on it in between other things, picking it up whenever the mood is right. I know that one day it will be finished!

I decided to use fabrics by Nancy Halvorsen. I love the colours Nancy uses and have been collecting them for a while. I now have a box full - lots of scraps to use up and some larger pieces too.  I also have some lovely fabric left from my Welcome Home pillow that will blend in perfectly!  The DMC shades from the book match well with the fabrics, so I don't need to make any substitutions there.

The quilt is made up of 9 blocks and this is my progress so far on the first block.

I've traced all the stitcheries for the first two blocks and ironed on the stabiliser so that they are ready to pick up and stitch. I'm using a lovely oatmeal cotton fabric with a thin iron-on fleece (Vilene H630) as a stabiliser. It gives the fabric a lovely body without being stiff or hard to stitch through... and it's great for hiding all those ends too!