New Project: Happy Dance Quilt

Hello, hello!

It's been my birthday and among other lovely things I have received some very nice new fabric, printable, dissolving freezer and the most divine fine nosed micro serrated scissors! My world is very happy and very small!

But before I show any sewing stuff, here is a picture of my garden by the conservatory. I have planted it for Spring time so we can enjoy the flowers even on a rainy day. The pictures don't do it justice. If only I could include the sweet scent of the honeysuckle and all the flittering birds.

So I have been preparing my next project! First, print the templates and cut and stick together..

Look at that, this will be the centre part and then there are free downloads for all the following blocks. I really like this simple design. Here are my chosen fabrics, Ambleside by Moda. I'll throw in some extra colours too as these greens may not be "green enough" when cut into leaves.

Making Circular Flower Middles

Applique: Mylar circle templates

The designer of this quilt has a different method for circular flower middles to the one I usually use. I like to use Mylar heat resistant plastic circles and a circle of fabric cut a little larger. Stitch gathering stitches around the fabric with the mylar glued in the middle. Draw up the stitches, iron it with plastic inside, remove the plastic and you have a perfect circle.

Applique: Wadding circle templates

So I am trying out this method and I am not so sure about it yet, but maybe because this is such a large circle it's not such an accurate finish. So I am going to keep going. Here's what you do:

Bondaweb circle of the finished sized circle, ironed onto wadding, cut out. Now bond the wadding to the middle of a slightly larger fabric circle and run gathering stitches around. Draw up and press. Hmm, mine went a bit wobbly and the wadding didn't hold the shape so well. Maybe she uses different bonding glue. They are nice and puffy, just less crisp around the edges. Maybe once they are stitched down it all sorts itself out. We shall see. One draw back is though that, if you are like me and constantly change your mind you can't re-use a made up circle because it's bonded to wadding.

Here's what I've got so far

 And that's it for now, laundry calls ..