Civil War Bride - block 18

I haven't completed many projects, mainly due to work commitments and hand-applique is not something you can rush.

But I have completed my 18th block for the Civil War quilt.  Two more blocks and the border to go.  Would love to finish it by the end of the year... We'll see.

 

 

These are the blocks I have completed so far.  I am happy how they have turned out and when they get assembled it will make a beautiful heirloom quilt.

 For a bit of fun I cut out this wall hanging which need to be blanket stitched..
 

 I just love the beautiful roses blooming in the garden at the moment.  This one almost doesn't look real!

These flowers, commonly known as Pigface, are just about everywhere in people's garden including mine.

 

Signatures Quilt

After coming back from my cruise  I used up the signatures I gathered from the artists to make up this memory quilt for me.

 

 

All the fabrics are music themed, the same ones I used for Dave Koz quilt. 

 

 

 

This is a close-up of one of the blocks, Elan Trotman.

 

 

My first yellow rose for the season...

 

 

 

 And another of my favourite variegated roses ...
 

Double bloom ....

And now for some music...
I saw Paul Brown and Marc Antoine perform this song on the cruise...such fun.

Smooth Jazz and Quilting

For those who follow me on a regular basis, it's clear that Smooth Jazz and Quilting are my passions.  At every opportunity I get, I indulge on these two activities.

Recently I combined these two persuits. I made a quilt for Dave Koz to celebrate the cruise I attended with him and many other of my favourite smooth jazz artists.

 

 He was delighted with the quilt and agreed to have a photo taken with myself and the quilt.

This is a close-up of the quilt... I used a variety of techniques from machine applique, piecing and hand embroidery. I added fotos of Dave and the circular blocks are a representation of his released albums.

 All the fabrics used are music themed including the back of the quilt.

Before the cruise I visited Portugal and discovered this small shop called Loja do Sr Jacinto 
in Caldas da Rainha (appr. 80 kms north of Lisbon).

 It's an old fashion looking store and I believe it has been there for many, many years.

I was looking for "chitas de Alcobaca" which is a portuguese cotton fabric with bright and specific designs which include stripes.  These are the ones I purchased.

Silvia at the store, tempted me with some of her button collection and I could not resist....
  

 The foto also shows the thimbles and pins I managed to collect during this trip.

But the highlight of the quilting part of the holiday, was to meet face to face my quilting/blog friend Teresa Teresa in Lisbon. 

 

We spoke for hours and I promised to visit her again ....

Here are some photos of some of the places I visited in Italy, France and Spain...

Amalfi Coast:

The Vatican:

Pisa:

Palacio da Pena in Sintra, Portugal:

Monserrate Palace, near Sintra (Portugal) which was an exotic palatial villa, the traditional summer resort for the Portuguese court.