Quilt #3: A Lesson in Applique

I loved the look of my sampler quilt, but it was really quite small. Calling it a quilt is really an exaggeration. Truthfully it’s wall-hanging size. I was ready to create a real blanket, and I was dying to try appliqué. So I went back to the Internet to peruse the thousands of patterns available and choose my next project. I finally found a pattern I liked in turquoise, brown, and orange. Those are not my go-to colors (I’m more of a pink and green girl) but I decided to step (quilt?) out of the box for this one. I liked that the blocks were big and went together fast. Even though it was considerably bigger than my first two quilts the size of the blocks meant it didn’t take very long to piece.

The appliqué around the flowers was easy and quick as well.

To quilt it, I mostly stitched in the ditch, but I did try a checkerboard pattern around the big flower (How cute is that rick-rack stem?!)

I was so excited to be finished such a large quilt that I couldn’t imagine spending hours and hours hand stitching the binding down. So I went back to the trusty Internet to do some research on machine binding. I found a method I liked and tried it.

As you can see, my sewing skills leave a lot to be desired. Without my handy-dandy quarter-inch foot I have a lot of trouble sewing a straight line.You can also see where my stitch came out of the ditch a little on the brown boarder. I still need some practice!