They wanted a wilderness theme and specifically named the animals I put in this quilt… then used a pattern I found on Generations Quilting website HERE to make the chain pattern blocks and designed the rest myself using the excited couples requested colors of a smoky grey navy color, blush pink and silvery grey 🙂  This quilt completion is a goal met for Julie’s UFO & WIP List goal post.. I am linking that that HERE.

Friday I got a delivery of Aurifil for this and future quilts for me and my bestie Connie from Hawthorne Threads…

 That background is some sale fabric I ordered too… it will become a doc bag for traveling for my honey to use for his shaving gear 😀

So while I enjoyed pulling out the Garden Bouquet Queen Whole Cloth this past week… and made great progress on it…

 I decided to focus whole heartedly on Elliana’s quilt…

Can you see that view that I see every single quilting session!!!

So it got loaded & the first row marked with blue water soluble marker yesterday!!!

Here are my gathered supplies for this project for threads and marking and even the binding is done and ready to add…

 Here is a better photo of the first 3 blocks I will be focused on ….

And an important start is basting the edges so that it is hidden under the binding when done… this basting holds all 3 layers together where initially there were flat headed pins….

This trivial seeming edge basting is now something I do on every hand quilted quilt I do… it adheres the edge so that there are no puckers or pleats or waves in the edges when all hand quilting is done and it is time to add the binding… it is just a professional way to quilt I think 😉

I am linking all this hand quilting progress and helpful tips this week to Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday HERE and to Wendy’s Peacock Party fun HERE … take a minute to see what each blog linky party has to share!  LOTS & LOTS OF FUN… Kathy is located in cool Canada and Wendy is enjoying the onset of autumn in New Zealand! 🙂

I also have some other things brewing in the sewing room to give me some variety because I love variety :D…  I am making new ironing surfaces and covers for the new ones and the old one.  Also I am making a bag for a customer!  I have also done a bit of the rooster EPP but no photo to share yet… Hopefully next weekend I will though!

My honey has been sick most of the week… he started outpatient physical therapy despite this and we both were sick soon after then pushed on… but he succumbed to more days of feeling under the weather until the weekend.  We are both back on top again… He even fashioned another medallion to sell to a lucky girl 🙂

So I hope you are not under the weather but enjoying April where ever you are… take time to smell the season of flowers blooming near you… or if you are like me … enjoy waiting for the blooms to burst open to share what lies inside!!!