PICK A PETAL -- MONTH 5

PICK A PETAL is the 2024 Block of the Month quilt designed by Jen Kingwell exclusively for The Quilt Show. It is FREE to Star Members, join today to take advantage of this great bonus. WATCH Jen's Show to see how she makes this quilt--it is FREE for EVERYONE all of 2024: Jen Kingwell Show 3401

It is time to start the applique on the lovely Log Cabin borders. Here are two photos showing Jen Kingwell's stitching. We will learn more about the embroidery in future months:

Here is mine on the design wall. I am preparing two of the borders to travel with me to Texas. The hand applique will be done in my hotel room in the evenings:

All I need to work on these away from home are needles, thread and a good pair of scissors. A needle threader helps too. The pre-wound bobbins of Quilters Select 80 wt. thread is perfect for hand applique and has every color I can possibly need:

I prefer turned edge applique to raw edge so that is what I am doing. The Kit includes Mylar templates for all the shapes used in the quilt. Mylar is heat resistant plastic, use a synthetic setting on your iron, not super hot. 

Searching on the internet for videos to share with you, I found a couple. The first is Jen Kingwell showing hand applique of circles:

MARSHALL Quilt

The second is Margaret Mew demonstrating how to prepare applique shapes using Mylar templates:

Margaret Mew

On my blog I have written MANY times about turned edge applique. Use the SEARCH box in the upper left to look for Turned Edge Applique to find them. 

A very helpful tool for preparing applique shapes is a Sandpaper Board. Jen Kingwell's is perfect, not very expensive and can be used on both sides. Buy it at The Quilt Show Store:

For bias stems I simply cut bias strips 3 times the size of the finished stem. For 3/8" stems, cut 1 1/8" wide bias--or close. These whimsical flowers should be "organic", not precise. Then I fold them in thirds and they are done. Here is a bunch I have ready:

For the flowers I dug through the Mylar templates to find the ones I needed for Month 5. This is the BOTTOM ROW Log Cabin border  of the quilt. I complicated my life by putting 6 Log Cabin blocks on the Top and Bottom rows, and 4 on the Left and Right Sides.  It takes extra effort to figure out which motifs are intended to go on the outside corner blocks. And their orientation. So, I recommend you follow the instructions for the Log Cabin block rows, Month 4.

Then I played with fabrics to make my selections. While I used the photo of Jen's quilt as a guide, I made changes using the Kit fabrics. And sometimes I just used some of my favorite fabrics. 

If the shape could be easily prepared for machine applique that is what I did. Squares are easy. 

Use the Sandpaper Board to hold the fabric while tracing around the template. A mechanical pencil is my marker of choice, as long as I can see it:

I cut a slightly larger than 1/4" seam allowance: 

This is a starch-like product; use starch, sizing, Best Press, etc, to give a crisp edge. I like to use this small Steamfast iron because it is easy to clean the starch off the bottom. (Mine is not one of those recalled for safety): 

Once dry I remove the template and the shape is ready to be sewn in place: 

Once I had the stems prepared, I used very small dots of Roxanne's Glue Baste It to hold the shapes in place for machine applique. I did the stems first then added any other shapes that would be sewn down by machine. If the shapes were easier for me to prepare for hand applique, that is what I did. Here are several prepped and ready:

This shows the stem machine appliqued and the flower parts prepared (the circle) or traced ready for hand applique:

The stitch I use for machine applique is one Alex Anderson has taught several times. It is a Single Blanket stitch. On my Bernina 770 it is stitch 1329, Width .8 and Length 1.7. Play around with your machine to find a stitch you like. Then WRITE IT DOWN so you can use it again. Even though I have saved this stitch in my FAVORITES, I still write it down so I know I am using the same one each time. In the past I have used a small zig zag, that works well too.

Here is a great VIDEO of Alex showing her process. It starts at about 10 minutes into the video:

Alex Anderson Machine Applique

For thread, I used Quilters Select 80 wt, color # 275, a bright green, in the top and a neutral in the bobbin. I knew I wasn't going to change thread colors so this was a good choice. The stitch is small, the thread is fine, it's hardly noticeable even when there is contrast with the applique shapes. Remember, when the quilt is done most people won't see it from any closer than 6 feet away:

Feel free to draw your own "organic flowers"--Jen encourages you to do this in the pattern instructions.

Next month we will be adding the appliques to the Top Border. Embroidery instructions begin in Month 7.

Please add your Progress photos to the FORUM. That is also the place to ask questions, I check there frequently.

Let's quilt!

Barbara