In answer to Amy's question

 I use a firm high quality felt in a neutral color or a color that blends...I use felt that is readily available at fabric or craft stores.. I find bags of it at thrift stores after the holidays...  Most any felt will work but you don't want something cheap that will pill or too stiff as some squares are....  All the directions are on my tutorial. http://olderrose.blogspot.com/p/bird-on-felt-tutorial.html

Another happy dance!

I posted about Gayle's block on Block Talk yesterday and  so delighted with her birds and the fact that she used my "birds on felt" tutorial...

 And today I see Flora used it also for this gorgeous bird.  Made my day!!!  Flora is working on a hanky block for Barbara in a CQI round robin and you can see it on Flora's blog..  Flora actually lives in the same state (albeit the opposite side, but the same state anyway)....only about a 4 hour drive.

Blocks #4 and #5 with Images....

Well I finished  my goal for this week.... sorta...  This is block #4...middle left side.  the outer edges of the outside blocks are all black... It look odd looking at them individually but it will all look OK when pieced together....I am happy with all the choices I made on this block and it is ready for embellishing.

This is block #5 and will be the center of the quilt and is overall lighter in color. I am not happy at all with the piece of lace down the right side of the main image...  It is too large and overwhelming and merges with the lace at either end of it.  But I went through bags and bags and drawers and bins of lace and didn't find the "perfect" one for now... So will move on and am sure I will find something I like better to replace it. When frustrated, just quit for now is my motto...  So then I started looking for black glass vintage buttons on ebay...equally frustrating because all the ones I liked were too expensive.  I have a LOT of fabulous vintage metal ones but wanted a few black glass to mix in...

Block 9 and a new trick for this old dog!!!

I've finished stitching the images on block nine...  Don't you just LOVE those posters... considering the importance of the bicycle to the suffrage movement, it was so appropriate to have a brand marketed to women entitled "Triumph"  Tonight I will finish the images on block four and should have block 5 done by the weekend...  Then they will be ready for  final touches on seams,beads, buttons and other embellishments...  I have been saving stuff for this specific quilt for ages and can hardly wait to start using it all

Then as often happens to me I discovered something I had been doing for years and years could be done in a better way... so I am sharing.... I have always basted down my desired images and then proceeded to embellish around them...sometimes with three layers of trim and then beading...  After about the third time sewing around the same images it is often not flat as I would like or with a slight. bulge or bump...

So this time I did NOT baste it down.  Instead I stitched the three layers of trims to the image  off the block and it is still flat and perfect ....  now I will stitch the whole assemblage to the block.... much better.

I should also mention that thanks to Allie I used lightweight fusible KNIT interfacing on the back of all images and what a difference it makes.. 

Addendum:  In case you miss the post on the bicycle and the suffrage movement:

For fascinating reading on this subject go to Women on Wheels: The Bicycle and the Women’s Movement of the 1890s.  And a book that I found invaluable is Wheels of Change: How women rode the bicycle to freedom by Sue Macy. This is a National Geographic book that I love and would be a perfect gift for a teen or preteen girl. If you have a daughter, granddaughter or niece of this age I highly recommend it and they will look at their bikes differently for the rest of their life.

Morris and his Stash!!

If Morris were human he'd be a crazy quilter...  He's 18 months old now and, except for the occasional paper plate, has outgrown the chewing stage...   But he's a corgi and a herding dog by breed and takes this breeding seriously... 

Every day he starts "herding" his stash into the living room...  Today (so far) it includes 3 blankets from the various dog beds, 1 leash, 1 DH's slipper, 3 toys, 1 Molly's bowl, 2 socks and a plastic clip...  Some things like the blankets are from other rooms and awkward to pull around corners and through doors... By the end of the day he'll add his bowl, the other slipper and probably one or two of my shoes at least..

He'll guard it for a while then gets up and wanders around the house until he finds something else unattached... At bedtime I put it all away and the next day he starts all over again.  He doesn't chew or destroy anything... just collects his stash...  Sound like anyone we know!!!! 

I readily admit I'm an out-of-control, compulsive collector and I truly believe it's an addiction... I have more lace (fabric, trim, wood, kitchen gadgets, dishes, etc.) than I can ever use in two lifetimes but will buy another piece in a minute if the price is right... Rationally I know I should stop...  If I don't have it already, I don't need it .....but.......  So somehow it's only fitting that I have a dog who compulsively collect things also....