Heart and Home Block of the Month Quilt

I was digging around in the shoe boxes full of quilts to be made and came across one that I don't remember much about.  As seems typical of me, I had most of the fabric parts but none of the written instructions.

It has to be a good six to seven years old and I thought I had discarded it into the Quilt Guild Garage Sale.

Imagine my surprise when I examined it and discovered that most of it had been completed and all it needed was a little creative license to insert the middle block into the center of the 80% completed quilt.

After a couple of hours of recalculating the amount of border fabric I needed for the center block (and never getting it right) I came up with this:

I think the Block of the Month program it came from was to teach me applique skills but, from what I remember, all the instructions said were things like like cut out hearts, fuse to block, stitch raw edges.  No real instructions or hints on how to make it better BUT I did try a number of techniques I will never try again.

Look where Kelis is sitting.  That block is supposed to be a Grandmother's Flower Garden block; all hand pieced from little bits of fabric using paper octagons as the foundation.  It should have looked something like this:

Let's just say that mine was a more more free form interpretation of an octagon.  I will probably never try this again but the primitive nature of my work will put a smile on my face for many years to come.

I will add this to my slowly growing pile of of odd quilt tops I have completed lately and finish them up when it will be way to hot to leave the house.  That may be tomorrow!

On a final note... here is Alex is the middle of my dead lawn trolling for things to chew to keep his teeth clean like pine cones, twigs and gum balls (look like thorny chestnuts).

Have a good week!  Mine will be busy with three water aerobics sessions, a doctor's visit, a bone scan, two afternoons at Work Shop Houston, a meeting of the 'other' quilt guild, a meeting of the Knitters North of Town,  relaxing with the Friday Knitters, book work at Sweet Sadie's and, to top it all off, Saturday will see another gathering of the Strip Club.

Now I need a nap!