HOMEWARD BOUND -- MONTH 4

 This quilt is the 2023 Block of the Month quilt for The Quilt Show. It was designed by Sarah Fielke exclusively for The Quilt Show and is only available at The Quilt Show. The best news is it's FREE for Star Members of The Quilt Show. Each month in 2023 a new part of the quilt is released for download to Star Members. 

This month we will add the four coneflowers to the stems and join the entire center together. My completed center:

As usual, I strongly recommend you READ all the directions first. Then watch the Video for Month 4. 

The 6 coneflower petals are made from templates, 3 are Right Side Up and 3 are Reverse Side Up. Here I see my templates are slightly large, that's OK, they still fit. However you make your templates, that is the size your petals will be. The two leaves are also made RSU and REV:

The directions say to stitch a Hollyhock block to "either side of a one of the Star Point blocks". Diagram 1 shows this clearly. This allows you to sew the Coneflowers on to two sections of the center without having the entire center in your hands. After two sections have the coneflowers in place, join the middle section and complete the last two Coneflowers.

BE SURE the Hollyhock blocks are going in the correct direction--it would be easy to get one turned around.

Sarah's Month 4 Video discusses  how to sew the sections together and then how to place the coneflower petals and cone at the top. I encourage you to watch it before you begin.

TIPS: 

Be sure to know which petals are RSU and which are REV--they look similar. I marked them as I drew them on the fabric so I could keep them straight. 

They also alternate fabrics--that can be tricky. It might help to write on your pattern which fabrics go in which position. Two of mine start with periwinkle, two start with the violet print. Sarah's are all the same. 

There is only about 1/2" from the top of the Cone to the raw edge of the Star Point blocks. I used an erasable marker to show me where the top of the Cone goes so I could then place all the Coneflower petals in the correct position:

Once the Coneflowers are complete, if you left off a few of the small leaves from Month 3, you now can see where to place them.

Here is Sarah's completed center:

Next month we will make the first PIECED border from Half Square Triangles. 

Let's quilt.

Barbara