My accounting software refused to function, I need a new lisence number, and I will have to wait till Monday to ring and get that.  I took that as a sign that I should be working in the garden, and sewing, instead.  So now my veggie seedlings are planted, and I've made more progress on the Snowflake quilt.

The applique blocks had met with a mishap somewhere along the way, and there was a strange mark on one corner of two of them.  I thought I would just soak that area of those two blocks, and if the marks didn't come out, then I would build the quilt anyway, and embroider something over the stains at the end.  Didn't quite go to plan though.  I must have marked one of the blocks with a blue washout pen, and the  block went blue wherever the water touched it.  The other block went blue too.  Panic stations!!!  I filled up a tub with clean water and let the blocks sit overnight, changing the water before I went to bed.  This morning both blocks were lovely and white again, but I then had to wash all of the others, as I couldn't remember if I'd used the blue pen on them.  Oh well, they probably needed a rinse after sitting there all those years. 

 I love taking a crumpled block like this,

and turning it into this.  It's like magic! 

Pressing applique blocks on a folded towel means you don't flattern the applique, or iron creases into it. 

It works well on the finished Sunflower blocks too, sometimes the top fabric can get a bit shiny over the seam allowances, the depth of the towel stops that happening.

This morning I have to finish the last applique block, (I'm only using 9, can't afford the time to do more) and then I'll have to rinse that too, and I'll be done with the applique part.  Except for the centre of this block,

which will only take a few minutes.  I still have all the templates I used for these patterns, just shows you can never throw anything away.

I've cut the blocks and the setting triangles for the Sunflowers, and picked fabrics for the centres,

so my next task is to get them appliqued together.  I know from past experience that my piecing isn't accurate enough with these blocks for me to piece them into a background, so I'm quite happy to applique.  I'll trim the final blocks down to the same size as the snowflakes, and then it will be time to put them all together.  That will be exciting. 

I'll have about 20 sunflowers leftover, but I'll put them together into another quilt, as I originally planned.  I stopped working on them because I couldn't find the fabric I wanted for the backgrounds, but I've found something that will work in the stash, so it will be fun to get started on that.  Only took me 15 years.

The fabric I have is not this pattern, but it's from the same range.  I just wish I could remember where I put it for safekeeping.......