Lollypop Trees by Nancy Smith

I got some more photos from Nancy Smith and today I will show her Lollypop Trees. As you can see, Nancy chose her own fabrics, colors and border. Aren't they beautiful?
Nancy has also made over 110 full-sized quilts by hand with 60% of them being applique. She handquilted all but 4 that I machine quilted for her. She is very modest but has many many ribbons she has won for her quilts.
I will post some of her other quilts this week. Isn't this neat - two Nancys and two Lollypop Trees two days in a row! Judith Lockhart

LollyPop Trees Center

 I finally finished the center of my Lollypop Trees.  Not the best pictures but boy is this quilt big.

I think I am about half finished as there is a lot of applique in the borders but I really like it so far.

Moving right along

Two more Lollypop's completed.  Just a couple more and I can put the center together.  Not too sure about the center circle in the first block..now that I see it in the picture it looks like a mouth full of teeth to me.

Lollypop, Lollypop - My first Lollypop!

Boy -- have I learned a lot.  Thanks to all the helpful hints and trial and error, I'm hoping block #2 makes me a tad happier.  Things I want to remember....

1.  Line up the bottom of the leaves for sure - when they're off, it shows more there (see first set of purple polka dot leaves).
2.  Make sure there's enough seam allowance under the stem.
3.  Makre sure there's enough seam allowance with the little leaves/big leaves (do you sense a theme?).
4.  Consider staying with more of a color theme -- leaves down the center seem to have continuity -- it gets a little wild with the branches and circles.
5. Kay Buckley is a life saver as is basting the center intersections/sewing lines
6.  Cutting out circles and basting at a friends house is perfect way to use time. An "inventory" of pre-made circles makes you feel rich.
7.  Smaller basting stitches make for fewer puckers on circles
8.  Wet toothpicks can be your best friend
9.  No matter how sure your block is safe after you've laid it out, be sure to take a pix because your husband will find it and accidently knock it in the floor.
10.  Circles left unattended after basting around the templates will roll under the lowest pieces of furniture in the house when said husband accidently knocks over the block.

You all are lifesavers and have helped make this journey "glorious"!

Jan

Two More Lollypop Trees

I finally got back to working on my Lollypop Trees after the holidays.  I think this is the easiest applique'  I have ever done.  All the pieces are large and have gentle curves and large points.  Great quilt for  someone new to applique'. I started another project - not one of Kim's - and am finding it difficult after being spoiled by this one.
I have four of the large blocks left to do and then all the small one's.  This has been a fun quilt.

block # 4 of the lollipops

Although it seems absolutely trivial when you read about Adele's problems i would like to show you the fourth block i managed to finish.
And my blocks so far. I have no idea why the letters are blue and now black again or why it is underlined. I'm glad i'm better at appliqueing then i am at the computer.
But i do like my blocks together. Maybe a bit blue so far. But that can easily be helped.

I can take it....

Good morning, experts.

I come to you asking for your opinions and suggestions.  I always make a practice block before starting a big project and if Lollypops isn't a big project, I don't know what is.  It was particularly important to make a sample or two to see if I even remembered how to applique since I've only done a few quilt labels in the last few years.

The bottom sample came first and is the fabric I bought for LPs.  I wanted some color and no directional print.   I like it OK but kept thinking and decided to try black after seeing some of the recent posts which blew me away.

The top sample is a Marcus Brothers deep, deep black with ginkgo leaves (can you see them).  I fell in love with it when I saw it and bought the entire bolt.  I simply had to have it all!!!!  I love the contrast with the black (altho it certainly attracts lint!).  What I don't love is the show through on the pieces.  The bodies of the LPs still have freezer paper in them -- the heads don't.  I've cut away the background on the orange one on the left and you can see the shadows.  The others still have the background intact and you can see the seam allowances which I fear will be more pronounced with a lite batting. 

So -- I'm stumped. I can always keep searching for the perfect background (I certainly need to keep practicing my circles when I look at these up close) or I'm open to your suggestions.  This will be a work in progress for a long time and I would hate to be 1/2 through and decide I've made a big boo-boo.  In the end, I'll choose one or the other (or another) and get started but decided to bare my blocks to you all for any suggestions.  One of the things I admire about you all is that you provide constructive feedback and don't just say "it's lovely" and nothing else.  So -- I can take it.  Thanks a bundle.

Jan

discovery

Hello all of you fellow followers of Kims,

I hope you all had a wonderful Xmas, and now are ready for the ending of the old and the start of a new year ful of wonderful things to do, discover and enjoy? I know i am.

I hope what i am about to do is oké. I got this wonderfull book as a Xmas present from my family.





I opened the book and admired page after page of wonderfull quilts and then got to page 175. And there it was : the original Lollipops quilt.

Kim, i absolutely love and admire what you did with the original. It shows great imagination to do what you did with it. And now i love this quilt even more since i know it is the interpretation of an antique one. Or is that being snob?

More Lollypop Trees

I have finished nine  of my Lollypop blocks.  I was really going strong and then along came Thanksgiving, A trip out of town and now Christmas.  I hope to get back to it soon.  Merry Christmas everyone.

Hello,

As promised i'm showing the update on my Lollipops : my (very small) progress on block 4.
Still hoping to finally be able to work on it steadily. After dealing with daily life and 3 quilts i'm finishing (i know.it's crazy)

Have a super weekend,

Finally!!!

Block # 3 is finally finished. So like you guys i put what i have so far together on my wall. It's BIG. But i do like it. I am quite curious to see where this is going though. Well today i'll have a partial answer since i finally have the time to prepare the next block(s?).
Having fun and wishing the same to you,

Lolly Pop Trees Started

I finished two blocks of my Lolly Pop Trees Quilt.
I believe the hardest  part for me is choosing the fabrics for each piece.
I spend more time shuffling fabric around trying to decide which one to use.

A lot of the fabrics are not available anymore and being mostly left brained - once I see one in the quilt its hard for me to substitute.

Those aqua leaves at the top of this block are bothering me.  What do you think?

How do you do it?

Seriously --- how do you ever get the courage to fussy cut all these beautiful wonderful Kaffe fabrics? I am a hoarder of all my Kaffes, keep them segregated from the rest of the stash and all my scraps in a separate container. While they play well with others -- I don't share them well in other quilts. So -- here I sit with the most wonderful 1/4 yd cuts from Glorious Color, a Lollypop Trees pattern that makes my heart sing, my Kaffe scraps/stash, and all I feel comfortable doing is cutting the 2.5" squares b/c that conserves fabric and doesn't make big holes.

This is a serious question and I know you're going to tell me to just jump in -- but it seems incredibly wasteful and I want to make sure I don't compromise the block b/c I'm trying to save as much fabric as possible. Some of you will "get" this and others are likely to recommend therapy.

All I have to do is get another big project done and then I can have all the time I want to fret about fussy cutting! Thanks for any suggestions (except the therapy!). :0

In the Starting Block

Do you remember, I was waiting for the Piece O'Cake DVD I ordered in order to learn properly hand appliqué method? For your information, the DVD never arrived... Has been cancelled after 3 weeks of mega huge patience!!!

After all this waiting period... I coulnd't just wait one single more minute (!!!) I decided to try the front basting method (thank you Liza) and...





I ♥ it!!!

Lollypop Trees

Here are my Lollypop Trees! This was such a fun, colorful exciting journey and I enjoyed every stitch. I had previously made "Stars in the Garden", an applique quilt by Piece O' Cake, beginning in 1999 with several other friends, each of us making our own quilt. That is when I began to love applique, so when it was completed and I saw Lollypop Trees on the Glorious Color website, I knew I had to jump in and begin another journey. My friend, Ille Waters, joined with me and we sat for hours/days, trying to decipher what fabrics were used. I actually love choosing fabrics for my quilts but since we loved this look, we wanted to make it just like the photo. Thankfully, Liza sent me a much better photo that helped us see the fabrics better, and now there is a really good photo on the glorious color website. I completed the top this summer as I spent two weeks making the sashing and cutting the 500+ squares. Now, I just need to quilt it.
Here are a couple of close-ups. The quilt is so large I could hardly get it all in the picture and be in the same room. Thanks, Kim, for designing such a fun quilt. The applique is so easy to do.
Funny thing is, you feel like you are almost finished when you get the 16 large blocks made but then there are the baby lollies in the border, but they really make the quilt!

Maiden Run

Since a number of you are posting about Lollipops, it is giving me the courage to post for the first time. Although I have been drooling over Kim's designs for several years, this block was the first of her designs I actually made. The impetus was a silent auction for our biennial guild show, and I am happy to say it received a large number of bids! I had so much fun making it that I took the plunge and ordered Roseville. More about that in weeks to come.

My Lollypop Trees Harmony

Id' love to begin my "Lollypop Trees" quilt but...
I'm still waiting for my Piece O' Cake DVD which should help me to stitch this lovely pattern dans les règles de l'art.







2 weeks!

I'm waiting since 2 endless weeks checking my letterbox every single day...
It's coming from US so you can imagine -US-Belgium- even more exciting than a tennis match between Venus Williams & Kim Clijsters;)

A bientôt!
Sonja

Second block finished

Hi,












Proud to show you my second block finished.
Now up to #3!

Have mercy...

Hi everyone,

after weeks of drooling over your exceptional work I finally have a block of my own to contribute! I am doing the Lollpop Trees BOM through the wonderful Material Obsession and have just completed Block 1 from August, my first ever needleturn applique block (hence the post title). I have wanted to do this quilt ever since I first saw it at Glorious Color and I wasn't going to let a little thing like skill level get in my way when I saw that Material Obsession was repeating their Lollypop BOM, lol. So here she is in all her asymmetrical glory!


Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to post on this blog - the inspiration, tips and eye candy found here make it the first update I look for on my bloglines!

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.