Starts a lot

Prior to this year I must have been subconciously trying to take out the tiltle of Queen of Starts. I now call a lot of the projects practice pieces.

The Lollypop Trees is the first pattern I got of Kims and I didn't have any Kaffe fabrics so I ordered a pack and started a stash. The problem was that I didn't have a clue how to cut them up or use them to get a good effect. The fabrics were so different to what I'd worked with before.

I have to admit to being a copy cat and using Kim's quilt to guide me and that's my excuse for the blocks being pretty much the same. I know better now with the three quilts I have at various stages. I can cut away with gay abandon so I guess copying this one served a purpose.

This is the one that I want to go back to after Stars and Sprigs, I still love it and would like to see it finished.

I didn't do perfect circles, I did blobs and I loved not having to fuss over them. I think it adds to the whimsy of the quilt. Photos can be clicked on for a closer look.

The fabrics I used for the backgrounds are Moda Marbles. They fray a lot at the edges and you may notice the edges of the small untrimmed blocks. I like to use a wave blade to cut the backgrounds, it prevents the loose threads getting caught up with my sewing.

Hi,
Sorry for the lay-out, i'm not a computercapable person.

The lollipops with the yellow leaves is my first block so far. The blue leaves i managed to prepare to take with me to Birmingham. To my disppointment, no quilts from Kim McLean, a lot of Kaffe Fassett though : quilts, fabric and even the person : tall, smiling, relaxed.
The dark red leaves are my third block. Now i would like very much to have your honest opinion because i am doubting myself very much at this point.

Meanwhile i am stewing over Kims heart quilt in the romance book. I found those background fabrics : 4 almost identical kaki background with pink spots. The layout of the spots is different in each one. With a Kaffe border (once finished), the right hand one probably, and i am thinking with repro's and japanese taupe.And maybe tht at kind of soft orange for the heart. But for the moment just stewing, to much other things going on.

About a week ago i read an entry on the blog from someone (couldn't find it back) who was talking about doing the circles from lollipop without the precut circles preparations. I just want to say i totally agree with her that it is more suitable for this pattern to do them without the templates, because then you have more of the oval shape as on the original pattern. I also think it takes a lot of the possible boredom of sewing that many circles away. I trace my circles from the pattern and then just crease the sewing line between thumb and index. I also crease the sharp points of the leaves.

I do have a question though : how do you put your shapes on the place where they belong, do you eyeball it or is there a method to get them on the right spot?

Could i also ask you, since i have the impression lots of you are using the blue watersoluble pen, to watch out with that : 2 of my quilts i made years ago, after rinsing them in the washing machine, show yellowish lines instead of the former blue ones. So i don't use that pen anymore, unless i can wash the lines out the same day i put them on.
Sorry for the layout again, have no patience now for searching everything out, but i do want to tell you how much i really love this blog.