Making balls ...

Although they're not very round! Does anyone know how to make appliquéd circes without lumpy edges??

I have started today on my new project blogged about in my giveaway posts here and here.

I have done some drawings and think my finished quilt will be around 75" x  50" so I cut my background fabric into 9" squares - it was tight ... this was the last cut and just look at that pretty pink rotary cutter :)

I need to make a lot of balls ... and applique them onto the background fabric.  I also need to make corners and pockets ... here I go ... AGAIN - why couldn't I make this easy on myself?? 

Using my button tin for the 'pockets':

Here's the story. We have a dear colleague at work - Jackie - she's retiring after 42 years service. As is tradition, she will have a leaving party in June and there will be a collection amongst the team for a gift. I don't know Jackie that well but she's a character and when I started to think about her leaving gift, I just felt ... unhappy? ... that she would leave after 42 years with a card and a good present but perhaps without a sense of what she's given to our organisation and what she's meant to the team. 

We had one of our weekly management meetings and the thought just came to me (Don't tell them - I often dream about quilts during these meetings!) ... I'll make her a quilt. And I'll get all the Team Leaders to sign a patch with their personalised message which I'll sew into the back. Brilliant ... what could be easier? 

'Any other business?', the boss asked and I floated my idea. They LOVED it! 'The only thing is,' I said, 'is that I don't know Jackie that well - what she likes, what she doesn't like so does anyone have any ideas?' 

One more clue (if you haven't got it already), as my colleague pointed out - every year (at this time), Jackie takes 2 weeks leave to watch this tournament, televised every day from a city called Sheffield. She loves it that much! So that's why there's wood, green fabric and lots of balls :)