Category: Projects

Today let’s continue my general flower applique sewing theme.  Sound good?  Great, because I sure seem to be working on a lot of them!  Last year I sketched a simple folk art flower, cut it out, and stitched it to a diamond background.   (Hmm, just typing those words, “folk art flower”, reminded me of a favorite book and makes me want to draw.  I need to follow that impulse more often!)  But back to applique.  I cut out a few more, but other deadlines demanded my attention.  Recently I went back and thread basted them to backgrounds, so now my folk art flower applique blocks are coming along nicely.

This is a scrap project.  The diamonds require larger scraps, so I might need to raid my stash for more of them, but the flowers are small enough to pull from scraps.  I want to do more scrap sewing.  I feel like I haven’t done that in a while, and it sounds fun.

I now have nine folk art flower applique blocks completed.  I’m picturing a quilt with like colors going in diagonal strips for my final layout.  At this point I’m planning to just sew them together at the end without sashing.

My first bunch lacks contrast.  I chose stronger colors for this second batch, and I really like the solids mixed with prints.  The dark blue flower in the center is almost finished, and the others are simply basted.

These blocks are a great size for easy stitching.  It doesn’t feel like I’m working on a big project.  I have no idea how many I’ll need to make an entire quilt, so this will be a slow stitching project.  A little like my orange peel quilt, perhaps?  Ever slowly, they multiply.

Just keep stitching!

For years I’ve wanted to play with my Anthem quilt pattern and make a “mini” or smaller block with it.  Now that it’s summer, and July, I pulled out some solids and started playing.  I’d forgotten how quickly these blocks come together, and before I knew it, I had a new idea and several stars to play with.  My mini Anthem block got me thinking about how many patriotic quilts have been made across generations in many countries.  It’s a theme that’s constantly being explored, and yet I’m happy to jump in.  I love these colors and this theme!  A little Independence Day sewing!

I decided on a light blue background, and there are actually two shades of blue in there.  It’s a nod to my Peppermint quilt version, but the blues don’t have quite enough contrast with one another.  It’s very subtle.  And yet, I really like the light blue background instead of a white one.  It makes the white stand out more.  I do think you can see the two blues and their secondary design a little more in the photo below.

To my surprise, I found sewing the narrow strips of red, white, and blue very satisfying.  In fact, I loved it!  Sometimes it feels really good to do something small AND accurate.  I’m smiling as I type because I enjoyed it so much.  I decided to make a large block by sewing four of them together and framing it with more stripes.  Something tells me I’ll be doing more of that.

We had our annual 4th of July breakfast this morning, complete with a flag ceremony and Independence Day trivia.  As a family we talked about the difference between the principles set forth in our founding documents, and the way our government currently functions.  It’s tricky.  It’s also easy to feel disillusioned or cynical about our nation.  But we talked about separating the pure principles of the Declaration and Constitution from the imperfect ways that historical figures and politicians administer in their offices.

I’m grateful for this holiday, a great day to remember and honor our foundation.  I find my heart in harmony with the words of Phineas Richards, who said, “as we have inherited the spirit of liberty and the fire of patriotism from our fathers, so let them descend [unchanged] to our posterity”.  I have inherited great love for the founding principles of our country.

We’re off to barbeque, watch fireworks, and listen to patriotic music.  But you’d better believe I’ll be back in my sewing room making more of these mini Anthem blocks tomorrow!  Happy Independence Day!

American Revolutionary history is a favorite of mine.  I love the lessons I learn from history, love thinking about how it actually didn’t have to go the way it did.  Reading about the lives and decisions of people who were just trying to do the right thing in the moment really inspires me.  I think the American revolutionary war, it’s events and those who played a role, is my #1 favorite subject.  I’m sure I’ve written here before that the 4th of July is also my favorite holiday.  So what does an orange peel applique quilt have to do with all that?

Well, let me share!  First of all, I finished my orange peel applique quilt!  I shared here how long it took me to hand stitch all the blocks.  In fact, I really enjoyed re-reading that post, as I needed a reminder to just keep “stitching” in life.  Second, my quilt is a tribute to Gilbert de Mortier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette. Legend credits him as the inspiration for the orange peel quilt block.  And the Marquis de Lafayette was an important contributor to the American Revolution.

The legend states that Lafayette was invited to a banquet celebrating the colonists’ victory in the revolutionary war.  After the dinner, the guests were offered fruit.  Lafayette selected an orange, and it is said that he sliced it into four quarters before peeling it.  Afterwards, a female guest picked up his discarded orange peel segments and used them as the inspiration for her next quilt.  Of course, I have no idea if this is true, but it’s a popular legend and it makes me smile.  I love stories like that.  Perhaps I should name this quilt “Lafayette’s Oranges”!

I chose edge to edge quilting in a “feathers forever” design. Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting, quilted it for me.  It’s got an 80/20 batting in it, and because of all the applique, it’s a heavier quilt.  Although I’m calling it a summer finish, I think my children will particularly love it in the fall and winter.

I used only two fabrics in the quilt top, and both are dark in value.  Not like me.  But I still love them together.  I added a bright pick piece to the backing from Heather Bailey.  I wish I had lots more of this fabric!  It’s fun to have something unexpected in this quilt.  I found some leftover yardage of the solid, and used it for the binding.

Look above the quilt – we have so many cherries this year!  I feel like there are more cherries than leaves.  Right now they’re a bright red – they will ripen to a much deeper color.  We’re excited to eat them!