My next UFO to be tackled is this applique project from about four years ago. While I adore hand applique I hadn't done much for a long time, and I wanted something easy to get me back into the swing of it. This photo in a book caught my eye, and I decided to make small blocks, and only twelve, just for practice.

(the book was this one..)

It was a great plan, but somehow when I was drafting the leaves the points got a bit sharp and it turned out that they were a bit of a pain to do and the whole thing got a bit unenjoyable and it was thrown into a container at the back of the cupboard.

Every now and then I'd pull it out and tell myself sternly "It's only twelve blocks, and they're tiny! Come on, pull yourself together." I'd add a few leaves, hate it all over again and back into the cupboard it would go.

Eventually there were only three blocks left to do and I bribed myself with all sorts of rewards to finally get them finished. YaY!! Lesson learned I hope, don't draw shapes that I'm not happy sewing. I don't know quite what it was about these leaves, I've sewn many skinny points before but this shape was not nice to do.(Perhaps the fabric was too thick to turn under easily, who knows.)

I spent a couple of hours finding a faded pink for the sashing, and now I'm trying to work out the colouring for the nine patches in the setting, and whether I'll have solid green pieces in the border. Finally I'm having some fun!