Sometimes being laid up is a good thing. I was all set to applique a bird motif on to this quilt last week. But I got sick and spent two days on the couch. Towards the end of the second day I got a phone call from my friend and former boss. Her baby had come early! So much for being on time with the quilt. It did, however, give me a chance to change plans and make the quilt that much more special.

The baby's name is Océane. In case you couldn't tell, that is French for ocean. The bird motif no longer seemed appropriate. So, what to do? A fish seemed a little obvious. And a starfish a little too simple. I could ignore my original intentions and quilt the quilt as is. In the end I decided to applique a seahorse to the quilt.

Silly me, I decided to HAND applique the sea horse. I haven't done hand applique since the class where I was taught it. But I've done dozens of bindings. How hard could it be? Well, it isn't as easy as I expected, but it's turning out okay.

We went up to Edmonton for the weekend for a slew of family birthdays. The drive up was a perfect opportunity to work on it. I eventually gave up, however, as the weather was crappy and the storm clouds made it hard to see what I was doing. Hubby is away this week so if my neck holds out I plan to knock out some work once the girls are in bed - provided I can keep my eyes open.