I finished the back of the pink quilt I’m making for my aunt at the weekend – feels like a lifetime ago for some reason! The pink on the top right is too purpley, really, but it does at least go with the butterflies next to it and I felt I did need another bright one amidst all the more ‘ditsy’ florals. Also, have spent a fortune on pink fabrics and couldn’t bear to waste it! The corners match a lot better than they did on the front, with only one square that’s off and fortunately not by much. My measuring wasn’t brilliant on a couple of the outer pieces, but it won’t matter once it’s quilted and they’re trimmed.

Below is the best of the six needle-turn applique flowers I did for the front, once I changed technique after the first couple. Glad I’ve tried it, but would be in no hurry to go down that route again! (And hoorah, I’ve rediscovered how to make images smaller on the website).

Now I’m psyching myself for the actual quilting. I’ve been reading up and decided that I definitely need a quilting / even feed / walking foot for my machine. I’d been put off because one person I know told me she’s never needed one, and another told me hers had cost £100! But everyone else says they’re a must, and when I looked online you can get them much cheaper. I’ve opted for an unbranded one that’s meant to fit most machines, so just hope mine’s one of them and it works okay. I didn’t want to spend loads of money so took the cheap option, but we’ll see how it goes. I’m hoping it arrives by the weekend. I feel reassured by people saying that rolling up the quilt will get it through the machine, because one my main concerns has been how to get the bulk of it through the gap between the needle and the main body of the machine! I read that bicycle clips are good for keeping it in place.

I’ve made a small square of nine 4-inch blocks from left-overs and a piece of a bundle I think I was given or bought from somewhere like Hobbycraft when I first started, to practise tension and stitch length on and get a feel of what the walking foot is like; though realistically I don’t think such a small trial will be terribly helpful. I couldn’t face the thought of just wasting the wadding as part of the trial, but don’t really know what use a small pinky-purpley square mat is going to be, it’s not a colour scheme I’ll be putting in my sitting room, and I don’t know any little girls who might like it!

Now to hope foot and machine-quilting thread I ordered arrive by the weekend so I can get on with it…