Block 6

I've reached the halfway mark! Running a bit behind schedule, but still hoping to finish sometime in August.

Not so many figurative embroideries in this one, but I like how the spider and her web turned out. It's a redback, of course. (click the picture for details)
 

Now contemplating Block 7, seen here in its naked state... first, I should get those creases out!

Block 5

It's always a bit risky to step away from a large ongoing project - it can be hard to get back into the mood. And indeed, when I had sorted out my crochet dilemma, there were other distractions - a couple of birthday celebrations, a trip to Ballarat, another to Maryborough, a sewing bee, a quilters' meeting...so it took a while to rekindle my enthusiasm for Block 5. Yesterday afternoon it was finally finished.

The central bird is possibly a species of budgerigar, maybe...
There had to be sheep, of course. Usually one uses french knots for these, but french knots and I are not good friends, and I decided that these sheepies should wear 'knitted' coats instead.
The watery blue in the top RH corner just cried out for some fish and seaweed, and the pale blue sequins add a bit of glitz.
The elegant letter P is for one of Liz's sons.

Now to tackle the next block, which will be No 6 - when that's finished, I'll be halfway!

A delicious dilemma

Block 5 is  was coming along nicely, but on Monday I had the chance to visit Bendigo Woollen Mills, and bought an assortment of purple-ish wools for a new cardigan. Five colours, perfect for a six row rolling repeat. This cardie will be worked side-to-side, starting at the centre back.

Spent most of Tuesday setting it up, and was pleased with it, until I discovered that I had some more purple wool stashed away.

Four 50g balls of lovely, deep, dark purple. What to do?
I could use it for bands on the cardie,but it's rather loosely spun, and probably not durable enough.
Add it to the mix? Substitute it for one of the other colours?

This is how it looks with the new colour added in - not sure if I like it?

Oh, and yesterday I just happened to be in our new local wool shop, and I just happened to fall in love with

this ball of Noro sock yarn, which will make a gorgeous shawlette, methinks...

Block 5 is calling me, and as soon as I get these crochet projects set up for car trips/TV watching/coffee outings, I WILL get back to it!

block 4

Finished the fourth block today -

 The chookies in the middle don't show as well as I'd like, but there are some good patches

Don't you love the ants? and the flowers above are based on an Indian embroidery I saw online

The dragonfly turned out well, and the ribbon flowers also (those leaves are painted Vilene)

and the nest is exactly how I'd imagined it - pretty cool, eh?

The next block is waiting  - I have lots of ideas for it!

Block 3

Block 3 is finished, and I'm pretty happy with it -

It's well balanced, I think, the bird turned out well, and there are a couple of nice details. The mauve daisies on the left were hand-painted, my first attempt at shading. (If you look back at the un-adorned block, you'll see that I have replaced the centre patch with a more subdued purple.)

a bunch of cherries and some pretty paisleys

a sweet little mouse, and a very "sixties" daisy.

It's easy to create a "pretty" block, with lots of flowers and butterflies and scrolly bits, but more challenging to work in some pictorial motifs, like the cherries and the mouse. I think it will make a more interesting quilt though.

and here's the next block, all ready for embellishment -

Should be done in a couple of weeks - at this rate, I calculate the quilt will be finished sometime in August...

Block 2

The second block is finished. I'm not entirely sure I like it.

I like some patches -

These roses

and another butterfly

Now to tackle the next block

Wonder how it will turn out?

Two months later...

It finally looks as if I've found a solution to my design problems. I finished the first of the new blocks today, and I'm pleased with it. Have a look -

The bird -a  species of duck, maybe? - turned out well, with a folk-art flavour.

In the top right hand corner is the absolute last piece of the (Hoffman?) butterfly fabric, which I re-embroidered a little.

The patch on the bottom left was originally a rather strident orange linen, so I toned it down with a piece of yellow lace, which I embroidered to define the pattern.

The three yellow flowers were originally white, until I painted them.

There's a lot of yellow in this block, and I think I'll continue that trend, as a way of unifying all the blocks.

This has already been a long journey of trial and error, and usually I'd be sick of the whole project by now. But the continuing challenges seem to keep me from getting bored, which is probably just as well, because at the current rate of progress, I estimate it will take me about six months to finish.