Simple Folk Month One

I signed up to Sarah Fielke's 2018 Simple Folk BOM so I thought I'd share my progress in a regular monthly post; this one is for January's blocks.  I love folk art motifs and I wanted to improve my applique so this seemed like the perfect project. Each month a set of patterns and videos are released and Sarah shares all her techniques and tips. If you've experienced her Craftsy Big Techniques for Small Scraps class, you'll be familiar with her silver pen, template and finger pressing methods. I'm trying all the things she suggests and then adapting to other techniques where it feels comfortable.

It is quite challenging stuff but I'm happy so far. The only real issue I had was the applique block fraying around the edges.  Usually, I would cut a larger background block and then trim back but these are already cut and corners added, so I followed a great tip from the facebook group and machine sewed 1/8" from the edge, worked a treat!

It's been a strange week.  The weather has been exceptionally cold and snowy for the time of year and from Thursday afternoon, everything ground to a standstill, no traffic could move and it was too cold to do more than the shortest walk outside. Our little dog Lottie had a heart scan which has shown up some advanced issues which are very common in Cavaliers. She's fortunate that she's 10 1/2yrs old and this is only recently starting to affect her, even if it has been building for some time.  She's now on lots of meds but the benefits will only be short term.  We're making the days count. She is still a happy, spirited little dog. She has struggled in the cold and her very brief trips outside. But, it's starting to thaw and we cannot wait to get onto grass again and wrap her up for a trip to the beach.