Needle books & patchwork revisited

I'm still working my way through all the half finished projects using up drawer space in my studio.

Here are two needle books I just finished.

Both have silk backgrounds with machine embroidered embellishment.

The flowers on the pink one were an experiment with fabric scraps trapped in crystal organza and machine stitched. They look much more sparkly in real life than the camera can capture.

Both are now available from my folksy store.

Also,

 I decided the next step along the way with the hexagon patchwork quilt.

I wanted to use a woollen blanket, or rather half of one that I have left over from another quilt. I like the weighty feeling that proper woollen blankets give to a quilt, especially one this size, not too big, to be used as a lap quilt it measures 53 inches x 50 inches almost a square. I machine stitched a folded edge of cream sheeting fabric under the patches. This way the shape of the hexagons are not compromised.

This is how it looks now.

.......... and a closer view

The piece is still slightly bigger than the blanket but I'm going to make the edge like an Oxford style pillow case if you know what I mean. I'm not sure how it will look I might not like it and then, if so I'll think again.

OK here is a question for all you quilters out there.

Should I baste this top piece to the blanket now or wait until I have the back piece done?

I'm thinking I might get a panel piece for the back.

Any advice here at this stage?