Roseville Update

Finally finished the top panel.  It took a long time since I worked on it at the same time as the bottom panel and some other blocks, which I hope to finish (and share) soon.

A Few More Flowers

My Flower Garden's been growing......slowly.  (Just realized I haven't posted any photos since last October--whoops!)

Catching Up

I've been busy.  The autumn weather is starting here, but there are still a few flowers in my garden...

I'm sorry about the colors--I'm having to use a different camera, and apparently haven't figured it out.  These are all on Kona Snow, despite the variation. You've seen the one on the upper right before, but it was in the group, so got it's photo taken.

I've also finished a couple more Roseville Album blocks...

A few more flowers in the garden

Just a few flowers....they were done over the past couple of months, but I was too lazy to post them here, and then out of sight/out of mind!

I've done my part now--let's see what you all have been working on please.  (I could use a little inspiration--I'm trying to finish a (20+ year old!) UFO today--ICK!)

Plodding Away...

I've been plodding away on this block on and off for several months--then all of a sudden it was finished!  Hooray!

Another Roseville Block Done

A little more progress--started working on this one back in January, and it's been finished for awhile.  Finally remember to post it...

Slowly, but steadily....

Finally finished another Roseville block.  (If I could just stick with one project this might go a bit quicker.)  But I really enjoy the process, so I guess there's no rush.  Here's my latest block--now I'm done with 5, and I've actually worked a bit on a couple others too.  This is not my favorite block, in part because I'm not wild about some of my fabric choices, but I'm trying to leave them be.

The block also has structural issues (why a person shouldn't stitch so late at night).  I'm not sure what to do about it.  If you look at the basket/bowl, you can see the upper edge bulges up instead of being straight across as it should be.  I was initially just going to rip that part out and restitch it, but I can see it is because I must have been following the design of the fabric as I stitched.  If I straighten it out, I'm afraid it will be odd looking with partial pencils.  (I have no idea how that weird bulge came to be since my freezer paper piece is quite clearly straight and the fabric design is straight. 

Well on looking at it again, it seems to be multiple issues.  Part of it seems to be that I dropped down on the sides where it attaches.  It likely should be reworked at some point--when I have more patience and don't make a hole somewhere!

What do you think?  Should I replace that piece of fabric, or should I leave it alone?  I was initially going to use red scales instead of pencils for the basket.  I also am not wild about the fabric I chose for the side pieces of the basket either--they seem too light.  Now would be a good time to switch fabrics if I'm going to.   How badly weird does it look to you (please be brutally honest)?  I've looked at it too much to "see" it at this point.  What would you do?

Finally finished with four!

I started stitching this block way last fall, but it has so many pieces, I have to admit I got discouraged--the little flowers seemed to take forever, and I know my stitching is less than great in several places. I also couldn't decide which color to make the birds.  (yes, I am an indecisive Libra)  Rather than stall the whole Roseville Album process, I started working on different blocks.

Last night I finally decided on pink wings, and thought I had it finished, but after washing the block, one of the birdy's wings was loose where I had stopped to rethread and forgotten to go back--the downside of using glue since it all looks fine until you wash it.   So I finally finished it for real this morning. Hooray!

Done with Three!

Although this block was partially finished at Thanksgiving, the block and I had a few technical difficulties (I cut off part of one of the pieces by mistake, forgot to add the centers, etc.).  But it's finally done, well more or less....

Looking at the photo, the centers on the blue flowers look really blah. In real life, they aren't that bad, but aren't great.  I think maybe darker would be better?  For now I've decided to leave everything (that's sewn) alone until all the blocks are done, otherwise I'd be forever swapping them around (indecisive is my middle name), and I think for me it's better to finish, than continue to fuss with it.  But please feel free to make suggestions...I'll probably change it (and more) later. ;)

Second Roseville Block

Finally finished my second block, after doing a bit of unstitching.  (I left off the center stem, which I didn't realize until near the end, of course.)  One change I made on the block is on the turquoise flower at the top.  My center seemed to disappear, so I added another slightly larger orange circle behind it.

I'm enjoying working on the Roseville blocks so much (dare I say addicted), that I'm struggling to face the fact that Christmas, Thanksgiving, and my family are all coming soon. And looking around my house at what needs to be done, this is likely the last real stitching progress I'll make for awhile. I have selected fabrics for 2 more blocks, with the hope that I can squeeze in a few stitches...

Roseville Fruit Bowl

Finally finished something--whoo hoo!

Somehow the block seems a bit  busy to me--perhaps the apple or the pineapple should have been plainer with the bowl print.  But I'm leaving it as is, following the principle that it's better to finish than to be totally happy, and knowing I can swap things later.  (Of course, I also know that change is a slippery slope--as soon as you change one fabric, the others will start to need adjusting, so I'm not going there.)  Hopefully as I finish more blocks they'll all blend together.  Now on to the next one....

Roseville Squirrel Panel

I finally finished my left panel (more or less).  There are a couple of pieces that I'm not thrilled with, but I'm not going to change them, at least not now--I'm hoping they'll either grow on me or I'll forget them.  

I'm also working on one of the center blocks, too, so I could have something smaller to tote around, but it's still in process.  (Hopefully it'll be finished quicker than my panel was!)

Roseville Obsession...Confession?

I've no self-discipline--I've started the Roseville, and what fun!

I chose one of the large Roseville panels to start. I'm not sure why other than I was drawn to the basket of eggs. The pieces are only glued on (except for the bird's nest), and it is still very much a work in process.  I've been moving the berries and leaves around quite a bit, so several are in the wrong locations but are merely "auditioning" fabrics for that spot. If you see anything you think I should change at this point, PLEASE let me know.

Also, I'm stumped as to fabric for the birds in the upper right corner (see the empty spot!). The fabric that Kim used on hers is so wonderful that I am having a hard time seeing the birds in any other fabric, but don't know which fabric she used, and doubt that I have it. (Would love if someone could identify it for me--I am interested in the bird body fabric of the two larger birds with the worm in the right hand area) I realize that even the exact fabric wouldn't look the same on mine since the other pieces are different, but for some reason it is just stuck in my brain, and I think if I could see the fabric, I could move on. Do you ever have that problem when working with a pattern?

 

The method I'm using is to glue freezer paper on the front, then to crease the seam allowances and glue to the back of each piece, then I pull the paper off and lightly glue the pieces into their places with some freedom so I can stitch the adjoining pieces where they need stitching. I haven't ever done this method before, but it seems to be working ok except on the pieces with the tight curves, which I've left alone and will do as they're stitched. Hopefully this will work--will likely experiment with other methods as I do other blocks--a true learning adventure!

As far as advice for this block, I would recommend you either start at the top, bottom, or middle (choose one) and work from there, but not to jump around from top to bottom like I did.   Also, I would choose fabric for all the birds/squirrel/cat items first, then fill in with leaves and berries.  I have a couple birds in the middle of the panel that are unfinished because I cannot figure out a fabric for them that makes them fit in with the bird on either side of them. (Sadly, I may need to buy a little new fabric!)