Circles for Flower Pots

Aren't these cute? I'm looking ahead to the outer border of Flower Pots and decided to start appliqueing the double circles. I think they'll be a lot of fun--they were fun to cut out. Marion encouraged me to skip the front-basting step and try glue dots--I'm a convert!
Now I have 2 blocks plus these circles to take on a one-week vacation (thanks for the San Diego quilt shop tips) which is ridiculous. But we hate to be unprepared, don't we?

2nd Flower Pots Panel

I finished my 2nd Flower Pots panel this weekend. The first panel took about 3 weeks, but this one took a little longer because I also managed to hand-quilt a baby quilt for my new nephew. Naturally I enjoyed every minute of applique.















Here they are together. I've cut out the Star block so I'll have handwork to take on vacation on Saturday. Does anyone know a good quilt shop in San Diego? I can always use a couple more pieces of fabric, right?

I Met My Deadline

Here is my first panel of the Flower Pots quilt. Setting a self-imposed deadline was an excellent idea; I sewed morning, noon (lunch break at work) and night. When I finally finished the last stitches this morning and stepped back to look at it, I was pleased. I still have a lot to learn but it sure is fun.
I started stitching the flowers on December 30; the stems and the pot were already done. So it took roughly 3 weeks which isn't too bad.
Most of the applique was done after front-basting by hand, which sounds like a lot of work. But I don't mind doing it, and having most of the flowers basted let me carry it around and work on it without having to run to my 3rd floor studio to pin new pieces on. I think I'll continue to to do that.
Onward!

Getting Ready for Flower Pots

I ordered Kim's Flower Pots pattern as soon as I finished Hearts and Flowers--I was hooked and Glorious Applique had a lot to do with that. Thank you, bloggers!
First I had to decide on colors and fabrics. I like dark backgrounds a lot and set out in that direction.
I fell in love with the Philip Jacobs Coleus Leaf in teal, posted by Gisele in September, and that led me to Coleus Leaf in turquoise which was even closer to "my" colors. I went shopping and bought most of these at my LQS, Pennington Quilt Works in Pennington NJ. Coleus Leaf is on the right.
Then I needed a background and the decision was made when I saw this green solid at Fibers in Motion when I was vacationing in Portland OR. It wasn't what I went out looking for, but my heart took over. Obviously my plan had to change. I could keep elements of Coleus Leaf but the fabric itself wasn't enough of a contrast for my background.

















So I did some online ordering and pulled from my shelves and set up a card table:


Aren't they pretty?
Ready to go! I got busy, but was a bit discouraged at how long the prep takes--first I took Kim's pattern to Staples and had it reduced in size--I want a wall-hanging, rather than a bed quilt. Then plastic overlays, templates, cutting, pinning, basting etc. It seemed to take forever.

I also use Julee's method of numbering the paper pattern and the templates, and then laying the pieces on the paper before I pin them to the fabric. I decided I needed to choose fabrics for both the left and right panels before I did any sewing. I know some of you choose ALL the fabrics before sewing--there's no way I would have the patience for that.

I'm a lot happier now that I'm sewing. I am almost done with the applique for the one on the right--which is actually the left hand panel in the pattern. I work better with deadlines: I'm going to promise a photo of the finished panel by next Friday. That will keep me stitching!

Bias stems

May I ask for advice on making my bias stems for Flower Pots? Do most of you use Clover bias makers? Pressing bars? A different tool? I can find a lot of information on the internet but prefer to learn from the experts on Glorious Applique.
Thanks in advance for the help.

It took me long enough

I made this cut-down version of Hearts and Flowers as a baby gift for a great-niece. I love the entire quilt and really wanted to make all the borders, but I just don't need anything that big. I plan to use the borders I skipped in another project some day.

I've been making applique quilts for a long time, but had not done anything this elaborate and structured before. Fellow blogger Marion had given me the Piece O' Cake quilting video (Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins Teach you to Quilt the Piece O' Cake Way) last Christmas, and I decided to try their methods. The video is very easy to follow and Becky and Linda are both talented teachers. It worked well for me.

I had some Kaffe Fassett fabrics on hand and ordered a starter package from Glorious Color. I used a lot of other non-Kaffes in my stash as well. I wanted to personalize it just a little so added an S for Sophia Irene and a couple of extra hearts.


I relished every stitch of this quilt and fell asleep every night thinking of the next challenge, the next color, the next fabric, the next flower, the next leaf. Doesn't everyone?

The title of this posting refers both to the making of the quilt (March-October) and to the fact that I've been "lurking" since the very first days of Glorious Applique. Thanks for setting this up, Pam--it is endlessly entertaining and inspiring.

On to Flower Pots!