Starting a Claddagh

Hello!

I decided to start some handwork. I found a lovely Claddagh stencil at www.quiltingstencils.com (The Stencil Company).

I traced the Claddagh onto a big square of the pale yellow Fairy Frost. Then I found scraps of green blender and the gold Fairy Frost, fused them on scraps of Wonder Under, then traced the heart and  crown on the paper sides. Cut out the shapes, removed the paper, and fused the shapes into place on the tracing on the background. Then I sewed a tiny blind stitch on the machine for the appliqué stitches, but it was too raw edge for me. So I switched to a satin stitch. Much better!

Now I'm ready to outline stitch by hand. I found a nice dark green embroidery floss and away I go!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Top o' the afternoon to you!

I'm so excited to be able to wear my Claddagh ring today. It's the first time I've been able to fit it on since last summer, since all the pregnancy swelling started. Not bad for having a two-month-old baby.

I'm so proud to be able to wear it again, symbolizing my love, loyalty and friendship to my best friend, my husband!

Yay!

One of these days, I'm going to make the Ireland Block of the Month quilt from McCall's Quilting. The patterns are all free!

http://www.mccallsquilting.com/mccallsquilting/articles/Free_Ireland_Quilt_Block_of_the_Month_Patterns

And I ordered this pattern from Creative Quilt Kits:

Now I gotta put the baby down for a bit, to scrub potatoes (for twice-baked), start the coleslaw marinade, and check on the corned beef in the crockpot!