Weekly Square #8

This week’s square started as a class project for Susan Brittingham’s “Flower Power” class at QU. Because the floral quilt we’re making will take several weeks, she gave us a quick fabric collage project to work on this week, if we wanted to.

Originally, this piece was 8x10”, but there was a lot of “empty” space around the flowers (although the fabric was beautiful), so I decided to cut it down to 6x6” and use it for this week’s square.

I think it will make a nice addition to my year-long quilt, and it does reflect the weather we’re having, the flowers that are in bloom all around the neighborhood, and my general feelings this week of happiness and well-being.

This square, as well as the quilt I’ll be making for Susan B’s class, are based on a photo that Melody Johnson gave me permission to use. I’ll be showing that photo later on, once I’ve finished the quilt.

Here are the basic steps I took to make this week’s square:

1. Colored white-on-white fabric with Tsukineko inks (I didn't get a pic of those, but here are some more I made at the same time)

1. Free-form cut the flowers from the inked fabric
2. Cut leaf and stem from hand-dyed fabric
3. Attached flowers, leaf, and stem to background fabric with a dab of glue stick

1. Free-motion stitched around flowers, leaf, and stem with invisible thread
2. Free-motion stitched white highlights on the edges and in the centers of the flowers

1. Free-motion stitched veins on the flowers
2. Free-motion stitched the pink centers
3. Fused white dots on and edged them with Micron pink and green pens (not sure what these are—the little seed-like things in the center of the flower)
4. Fused border on and free-motion stitched it with invisible thread.