A return to back-basting

In January I shared my attempts at back-basting applique (which you can see here).

Yesterday at my evening guild I was asked if I've kept on with this technique. I have to say I have thought about it but it seems that old habits die hard and I end up prepping my applique the old way without even thinking about it. 

This week though, funny enough, I had been thinking of giving this more of a try. I told my friend that, in fact, I have been preparing a couple of items for back-basting.

I have a pile of hearts ready to take to my day guild today....we sit at tables so a lot of people bring hand-work to do while the meeting is on. It's nice to take an easy project to work on as well as seeing what others are working on!

There are a few hearts ready for back-basting, except for a rogue squirrel that I did the old way...I think because at this point this method is easier for me to fussy-cut.

I also decided that back-basting would be the way to go for this Splendid Sampler block....it's quite finicky and this method was probably best.

With the thimble in the picture for scale you can see how small these seagulls are. I'm doubting my fabric choice on this one but I'm not going to do it over. Maybe I'll outline the seagulls with a stem stitch to define them a bit better.

In the end, I have to say that I still like this method and am going to try to remember to do it more often.

Have a great day, and I hope it includes a bit of stitching time!