From the Sewing Room ~ Learning Needleturn Applique

Two or three years ago on one of our day trips, I purchased a Stitchers Garden kit at a quilt shop along the way. The sample hanging in the shop was stunning, so I decided to get the block-of-the-month kit to work on for my little granddaughter, who was a little over a year old at the time. I figured I had plenty of time to complete it before she'd be in a bed big enough for it to grace. Little Anna is now four, and I've finished twelve of the fifteen blocks (there are 3 extras, so we get a choice of which 12 to use in the quilt). I'm almost ready to decide which 12 I'd like to use. I'll probably choose fewer blocks since I'll probably size it to be for a twin bed.

My quilt will undoubtedly not look like the sample, though, because when I purchased it, I didn't realize that it was a kit for a class the shop was offering on learning to use decorative stitches and techniques like pintucking, couching, fringing, using various presser feet. But, not to be undone, I decided to learn needle turn applique on the blocks. Some of the shapes didn't lend themselves readily to needleturn, but I gleaned quite a bit by watching Jan Patek's tutorials on the Missouri Star Quilt Company site as well as some other tutorials. I think I've been improving somewhat block by block.

One of the key techniques for me to learn was using a long, slender milliner's needle. I have a long, long way to go to get needleturn applique mastered, but here are a couple my practice blocks.

Linking up today with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.