Flowers and Vases

The theme for my second quilt in this series was: flowers. For a peek behind the scenes, here is how it began.

Having decided I would use the green polka dot fabric, I chose a green and a brown for the inner blocks, from my fabric stash. I would use the same measurements for the blocks and borders as for the shoes quilt. Those that needed resizing were cut into four-inch blocks. Some were already the size I required.

ADDING POLKA DOT BORDER

 

Applique selection began with choosing several styles of urns and vases; then figuring out what else to add before working on the arrangement of these twelve designs. Even though this can take much time, I enjoy this part of the process. Sometimes the hard part is trying to make the final decision on design placement. There are many options, and only one is needed.

QUILT TOP WITH SIX APPLQUES

 

The Block Appliques

On small blocks such as these, the best method to add the appliques is to first sew all the blocks together to make a larger surface area before applying the applique pieces.

Then, if you notice some designs extend beyond the borders of their own block and also onto the polka dot border. This requires the first border to be added before adding the appliques.

 

When to Add the Borders and Batting

Also when a piece has a lot of applique work added, it tends to shrink in some areas, this can make the borders harder to keep straight.

So this time, I thought I’d add the batting to the quilt top I’d created. I found this helped keep the piece straight. The one thing I found happening, was the batting tended to shed onto the quilt top. So after I had finished stitching on the appliques, I used masking tape to de-fuzz the quilt top.

Because I had only added the polka dot border, I still needed to add the white border before adding the backing fabric. This was not difficult to do. I just figured next time; I should just add both borders on this size quilt, if I wanted to add the batting piece, so it could be stitched through while doing the applique stitching.

ADDING WHITE BORDER

Check back next time -- to see some of the layouts that I tried in the process of figuring out what I liked best.

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