July Goals

There are several July goals that I didn't meet. I didn't lose any weight because I didn't walk. I have lots of excuses for that but not one of them is worth a minute's breath. I also didn't start the baby quilt I want to make because I got so involved in these projects. I've shown you this Halloween quilt pattern before. Last month I had done four of the eight embroidered blocks and this month I did the other four. The pattern shows some of them appliqued which I chose not to do because I wanted something simple to work on.
I like all the blocks that I did this month and I'm not sure which one is my favorite though I do favor this owl.
And this little house is pretty cute too!
Early in July I went to the Hot Springs Quilt Show and bought a wonderfu book from Primitive Gatherings as well as the kit for the wool table mat. I'm in love with wool! Some of these are hand dyed and others look like one of my Daddy's old suits but they were all wonderful.
A couple of years ago when I went to Houston I bought a wool wallhanging kit from Primitive Gatherings. This month I finally got around to working on it and I have to tell you I am well and truly hooked on their wools. There are twelve blocks in this quilt and I have nine of them cut, fused, and ready for stitching. Each block takes a couple of hours to get to this point.
Are the colors not just wonderful? These are all hand dyed wools and the feel of them is so incredible - soft and rich.
This is the pattern so you can see that I have three more blocks to get prepared and those beautiful borders.

This is a close up of the one block I've finished stitching. I'm using Valdani #12 Pearl Cotton variegated threads. I'm addicted to them too. I think the variegation gives both light and shadow to the pieces, adding a depth they wouldn't have otherwise. It's a very simple blanket stitch with just a little embroidery stem stitch or a french knot occasionally. There are some smaller stems in some of the other blocks that will need to be couched.

I actually did a couple of other things - a Fourth of July pillow and a patriotic embroidered tea towel - but Blogger ate those pictures so you can't see them. Blogger actually ate all the pictures and I had to start from scratch which caused me to say a few ugly things, not that it does any good. I hope to finish a few of those wool blocks in August but the baby quilt needs to be done soon since he's due in late September so they may have to take a back seat. And of course, there's Winter Wonderland that still isn't together (along with a million other works in progress). I don't know how I ever had time to work!