Applique Anyone?

 Believe it or not I have actually made enough blocks for 3 Baltimore Album appliqued quilts and I do not have one finished for me. I gave away two of the quilts to quilting friends and still have the blocks to put together one for me. Unfortunately I work so much on donation quilts that I often don't get mine finished, or if I do, I donate them as well. I've also donated quite a few of my hand appliqued quilts as well to the local women's refuge where the ladies are thrilled to receive a special quilt.
  I really must start working on some for my family to inherit or receive as gifts so I have finally unearthed this one to finish. Why do they get put to one side? Well often there are others which are more pressing or I'm not sure I like the sashing or I've put away the fabric and can't find it ! LOL
  I bought more greens yesterday for this quilt and of course as soon as I got it home I found the original green fabric. I'm not sure if there is enough for all the stems on the borders though so I may introduce a similar green fabric for some of the stems. I use a variety of green fabrics for the leaves as I think it adds more interest- but I could be wrong.

 There's many different ways of appliquing and my favourite is still needle-turn. I trace the shapes on freezer paper and cut them out, then iron them to the front (right side) of the fabric and draw around them with pigma pen, leaving a seam line of approx 1/8th of an inch. I used to use a chalk pencil but I can get a finer line with the pigma pen and the line is turned under so it's not seen. I also trace the pattern on some interfacing which I can pin to the fabric and then slip the pieces to stitch under it and in its right place.
 I stitch with silk thread but when I started these blocks I used cotton thread and it's not visible. I can't find the border pattern yet so I just photocopied the stitched piece I have already completed and made a pattern from that. You can see the problems which result from not working consistently on one quilt at a time? You can misplace the pattern, or the fabric or use the fabric for something else etc.

Anyway I have several green fabrics cut to 1 1/2 inches wide and ironed the freezer paper leaf templates ready to draw around them. They can be re-used several times before they lose their sticky backing. Check back and you never know I may manage to finish this quilt before I lose anymore pieces. This is the second border I've started as I didn't like the first one and can't find it now. Then I wasn't sure if I would prefer to piece the sashing between the blocks but I think it may be better to just "GET IT DONE"!
  I hope to manage some prep work with the applique at work if it's quiet on nights shift for the next few nights. It hasn't happened yet but I live in hope.
Hugs, Jan Mac