Fruit Ladies Recap

Remember these whacky fruit ladies? Well, we finally had the big reveal just before Christmas and despite all the grumbling the QB's rocked this challenge. I have to admit, I had a LOT of FUN with this. Sometime last year the Mistress of LeeHaven was making some very pretty nosegay blocks. Nosegay blocks have always been a favorite and I've had them on my bucket list for years. A little research, a little EQ time and I was ready to roll.

After a lot of creative cutting I had enough for pieces cut out for 24 of these lovely ladies. After attempting to machine piece the first 2 blocks and frogging more seams than I put in, I realized it was time to tackle hand piecing. Between waiting for coats of varnish to dry on a certain teardrop trailer, the nosegays came to life and I discovered that I really enjoy hand piecing. Then they spent way too much time on the design wall while the teardrop was being finished and I tried to figure out where to go from there. Yup, I had no plan beyond the nosegays. I figured the fruit ladies would speak to me and tell me where to go from there.....they didn't -- speak to me, that is.

The ribbon border was another item on my bucket list. Note to self:  next time have odd number of blocks AND rows -- even blocks by odd rows don't let you work the corners nicely.

And just because I want to, here are a few close up shots of the quilting.

The rest of the challenge projects can be found here.