Hand sewing is perfect in Winter

At long last, I finally got going on my applique quilt again.  I have been at a standstill on this project for months, putting off doing this house shape, mostly because the size of the fabric pieces were larger than I am used to managing in my lap.  I would love to say that I have finished the entire quilt, but alas this is only one block.

But at last this central block is finished, and measures 20" x 20".

This square will eventually be the centre square of a nine square garden-themed quilt.  The pattern design is by Anni Downs, an Australian quilter who has a sweet blog and business called Hatched and Patched.
Below are the five squares I have completed so far.  Five down, four to go!

It is quite a naive style that I am usually not drawn towards, but for some reason I kept coming back to this patchwork garden idea and decided I would personalise a few of the features to match our own garden.  If you are interested you can read about the making of the other parts of this quilt here.

Linking up with Finish-A-Long

 I was being a little hopeful and unrealistic to think that I would be able to finish all five remaining blocks before the end of the year.  But I am very pleased that I was finally able to finish this block at all, as it was somehow blocking my way forward and I just couldn't get started on it.  Thanks to posting this as a Finish-A-Long goal, I was at last able to smash through the stumbling block and am now confident that the next four blocks will get done very soon.

Not sure if this counts as completing my pie-in-the-sky goal, but I am pleased I have made some headway!