New Direction

I am hijacking my blog and it will be going in a new direction for the next 18 months. My husband and I are going to be serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We will be living in Sao Paulo, Brazil and working in the LDS temple there.

Since the first of December I have been going to Portuguese lessons with a private tutor three times a week. Oh my goodness, there are so many things I do not know. So many words, so little time. Fortunately my DH does speak Portuguese so we should be able to get along.

I will be taking along a couple of applique projects to work on in my spare time. I am wondering if I can get along without my sewing machine for 1 1/2 years. I guess I will find out.

The first project is Lollypop Trees.

 I love this pattern by Kim McLean. Since the first of the year I have collected a lot of bright florals. Most are Phillip Jacobs designs. Love them. I preshrunk them and had this mess:

After ironing them they tamed down to a small stack:

The second project is Stars and Sprigs also by Kim McLean.

 I will be using the same bright fabrics. If I get all the applique finished I figure I can hand piece the stars. So to prepare for that eventuality I pulled bright almost solids and cut a square to use. Aren't they pretty?

I am trying to maximize the space/weight that this will take in my suitcase. I figure it is about 10% of the weight allowed. I think it is justified. We will soon find out if it will all fit.

So if you want to hang around and find out how I manage in Brazil you are welcome to. I don't know how much quilty stuff will be talked about but I will post my progress.

Bom dia.