Firefly Blocks

My mother had surgery last week and I knew I would be sitting in the hospital in Wichita (3 hours away from home) for several days. My firefly blocks were great to have on hand! It has been easy to carry a couple blocks, pair of scissors, thimble and thread in my purse and it is there when I am needing something to keep my hands busy.

I started stitching the wings in the same color of lavender thread to match the fabric, but didn't think that it gave enough detail to the block.

So I tried a block with black thread and it is so much better. The black makes the wings and body pop out so much more!

I start by stitching the blanket stitch into the appliqué fabric all around both appliqué pieces. Then I go back and stitch an outline stitch to connect each stitch to complete the blanket stitch. Surprisingly I have been able to stitch the blocks very quickly.

At this point I have 5 blocks stitched and working on the 6th. I only brought 8 fused appliqué blocks; so when I return home, I will have to fuse some more so my handwork pile will be full and ready to stitch again! :)