Say it with Flowers

Welcome to my stop on the

I am delighted to be taking part in another of Madame Samm's inspiring Blog Hops. This time round our super-efficient cheerleader is Carol of Just Let Me Quilt, now that is a sentiment I can relate to :)

If you are new here, please feel free to take a look around and explore my little corner of Blogland.

When I signed up for this Blog Hop I thought that I hadn't actually completed many projects that were flower-related, but it turns out that I am more of a floral girl than I realised. I hope my DH is taking note of that as it is our wedding anniversary today, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I am not the only member of the family "saying it with flowers" today :)


So here are some of the flower-themed projects I had forgotten about

The flower back of the summer quilt made for the Curved Seams Challenge blogged  here

Origami fabric flowers from a tutorial and kit by Knotted Cotton

1. Completed Fabric bag, 2. Colourful Clutch, 3. Pretty Purple Pinafore, 4. Amy Butler Origami bags, 5. Summertime Blues Bag, 6. Garden party bag, 7. Hearts and Flowers Bag, 8. Marimekko Highbrow Hobo Bag, 9. Ruffled wristlet clutch

Lots of floral bags! 

1. Beaded wirework brooch, 2. Linen and scrap pouches, 3. Mae's Tulip, 4. Star of Africa Block 1, 5. Crochet Flowers, 6. Fleur Bleu

Bee blocks and brooches.

My favourite flower projects though have been the Dresden plate Sunflowers that started as cushions 

 

Then progressed to a quilt

And now as my project for the Say it with Flowers Blog Hop have been incorporated into a bag :)

I know it is not yellow, so technically not a sunflower, but you get my drift. The fabric for the body of this bag came from this pair of my son's shorts!

 

Regular readers know by now that my sons and husband's wardrobes are frequently raided for my projects :) The ripped shorts were no use to him, but the cotton/linen mix fabric was ideal for my bag body. 

I used the Scalloped Dresden Bag pattern available free at During Quiet Time for the bag, and was delighted with how easily it all went together. The fabric for the scallops was part of a package I received from the lovely Jan in a Friendship Bag Swap, so it was a very economical bag to make.

 

My version of the bag is slightly different from the original pattern as I wanted to have interchangeable bag straps, rather than the cross-body fabric straps of the original. So, instead of adding straps I added a strap loop with a split ring to each side of the bag. The heavier strap above is actually a necklace that had a broken catch, whilst the lighter chain in the first photo was an extra chain that came with a clutch bag bought in a sale. Very little goes to waste in our household :)

Now that I have my flower bag all I need is the opportunity to go out somewhere smart with it. Fingers crossed that as well as saying it with flowers, DH takes the hint and will be whisking us off somewhere nice to celebrate this evening!

Don't forget to check out all the inspiring posts from fellow Blog Hoppers today at

May 30^th

A Quilt Lady

The House On The Side Of The Hill

Ella & Nesta’s Little Room

CLF by Nailaa

Atelier De Handwerktuin

Life, Quilts, and A Cat Too

Marjorie’s Busy Corner

Celtic Thistle

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Dreaming In Patchwork

Around The Homestead

There will be loads of amazing projects for you to drool over I am sure!

If you have used a Dresden ruler or made a bag for the first time this month, or tried anything new to you this month there is still time to link up to 

The link up will close at 12.00 p.m. GMT on May 31st so you can still sneak a link in to tell us what you have tried out in May.

Linking up to

Halloween Pumpkin Lantern tablemat

I am on a roll with Halloween projects. Since I tackled the modern Dresden block in the Craftsy BOM I have been thinking of using the block as a tablemat, so what better excuse to have than a Pumpkin Lantern tablemat!

The pumpkin lantern in the photo was an impulse buy in Germany on our recent road trip. We passed through a village near the Polish border, where a whole car park was taken over with a gorgeous display of pumpkins and squashes for sale. I regretted not stopping at the time to take a photo, so was not going to pass up the chance later to buy the lantern as a reminder.

Enough of the reminiscing here's how to make the tablemat.

You will need:

Materials

1 FQ of 4 Different Halloween Fabrics, (I used 2 prints and 2 solids)
1 FQ black cotton for backing and centre circle
12.5" square of Insul-Bright Wadding
1.5m jumbo ric-rac
Easy Dresden ruler (optional)

Cut

5 x 4" Dresden Plate blades from each fabric
2 x 4.25" circle from the black cotton
1 x 12.5" square from the black cotton
1 x 12"    circle from the Insul-Bright wadding

Step 1

Join the Dresden blades together alternating the fabrics to make a 20 blade Dresden Plate. Join them in pairs, then 4's until you have a complete circle

Step 2

Pin the jumbo ric-rac to the outer edge of the Dresden plate right sides facing. Matching the curve of the ric-rac turn under at each end to hide the raw edges. Machine baste.

With the black backing square right side up pin the Dresden plate right side down to the backing square. The right sides will be facing each other with the ric-rac trim between them.

Stitch with a 0.25" seam around the edge of the Dresden Plate.

Trim the backing square to match the Dresden plate. Pull the backing through the centre circle to turn right sides out.

Step 3


Place the wadding circle between the backing and Dresden Plate by inserting through the centre circle and adjusting with your fingers to flatten.

Step 4

Pin the 2 x 4.25" circles right sides together. Stitch all around with a 0.25" seam. Gently pull the circles away from each other to separate them so that you can cut a slit across the centre of one.

Clip the curves, then pull the other circle through the slit. Press.

Step 5

Pin the centre circle to the centre of the Dresden Plate evenly covering the blade ends. Machine blanket stitch with black thread around the circle to attach.

Step 6

I used the scallop embroidery stitch on my machine to embroider black bats randomly on the mat to finish.

Set up your pumpkin lantern and wait for the ghosts and ghouls to come out!

Check out the great giveaway too at Plum and June , a bundle of Cloud 9 organic fabrics could be heading your way!

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday, Manic Monday , Sew Modern Monday and Sunday Showcase .
 

Dresdens, HST's and WIP's

After the excitement of the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop post yesterday it is back to normal service today, and a reality check with WIP's.

Not wanting to fall behind again on the In Color Order HST BOM, I set to yesterday to rattle up the July block. Just when I think though that I am finally getting the hang of these HST's I discover that although the points were perfect I had managed to sew the third row on the wrong way round! How unfair was that? Needless to say the points on that row never achieved the same level of perfection second time around :)

Although I have already completed the two Dresden Plate blocks for this month's Craftsy BOM, I really enjoyed putting together the modern interpretation and with the leftover material from the blocks managed to put together another two plates.

I haven't decided yet what to do with them, so any suggestions would be much appreciated.


I have also been pattern testing an embroidery pattern for Rebecca at Sew Festive Handmade and although I can't show you the finished embroidery just yet I can give you a sneak peek. The pattern will be on sale on Craftsy in early August, so I will be able to show you the whole thing then.

Only one of the above projects was actually on my WIP list, so it is not much improved I am afraid.

Completed projects

• Shades of Green, Fleur Bleu, Checkered Heart, Orange, Sunflower and Reindeer cushions
• Orphan Block needle roll, Pieced Arc Tea towel, Purse and 
• Padded Hangers  and Key/Coin tidy tutorials posted
• Sunflower and Sew Happy QAL quilts, Play mini-quilt challenge quilt 
• Patchwork Block, Dragon and Fashionista Bags

Ongoing

• 7 blocks of In Color Order HST BOM 
• (Almost) Irish Chain quilt basted
• 8 Zakka-style SAL projects completed
• Teatime quilt pieced, backed and basted 
• 5 blocks of NY Beauty QAL completed and fabric cut for remaining 5 blocks
• 14 blocks of Craftsy BOM completed (on schedule)  
• In the Bag Ugly Fabric challenge fabrics arrived still waiting for inspiration!
• 6 Summer Quilt Bee blocks completed (one month ahead!)
• 1 Star of Africa Bee block completed and sent
• Sew Festive Handmade embroidery project 

Waiting

• Indigo and violet rainbow cushions
• Last block of Sampler quilt
• Amy Butler bag
• Christmas mini quilts
• Practically Paper Piecing Blog Hop project 

Maybe it is not looking so bad after all!  Looking forward to seeing how everyone else is progressing.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday  and We Did it Wednesday

Dresden Duet

The Craftsy BOM for July is based upon the Dresden Plate block, with one block being a traditional Dresden and the second a modern take on Dresden Plates. As the Dresden Plate is currently one of my favourite blocks, I was really looking forward to tackling these. Templates are provided for the petals and inner circle, but instructions are also given for using the Ez Dresden ruler and as I bought one of these on my last trip home, it was time to get it into action.

The Traditional block used 4" petals and was machine appliqued to the background square. The centre circle was made again by stitching two 4" circles together then making a slit in the back and turning the circle inside out. Taking Katy's advice I was more generous in cutting notches around the stitched circles, so the shape was better when it was turned out.

This modern Dresden block was made with 4.5" petals, which were joined at each side with 1/4" seams and then sewn right sides together to a background square at the top edge of the petals, again with a 1/4" seam. The background square was pulled through the open centre to turn the Dresden right side out, and then machine appliqued to another background square.

I really like this modern interpretation of the Dresden block and have already cut out enough petals to do two more blocks!

With 7 months of the Craftsy BOM now done, there are only 6 blocks left to do as the final two months of the BOM are dedicated to putting the quilt together, so, who knows, it may be done in time to be an extra Christmas present!

Here is how the blocks look so far.

Although the next set of blocks for the Sunday Morning Quilts Bee are not due until August, I decided to get ahead of myself and get them sewn up ready to send off at the beginning of the month. This month the colour for the blocks was green, which I didn't think I had a lot of in my stash. Thanks to my charm square win some months ago from Erin at Missy Mac Creations, I was surprised to find that I had more than enough to make these two blocks.

I am looking forward to seeing the blocks that come through the post in this direction!

Tomorrow is my day for posting on the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop along with Colby of Sew,Quilt, Explore so I look forward to welcoming you back then and in the meantime here is a sneak peek of what is in store!

Linking up to BOM's Away and Manic Monday,