When I came home from England I was in desperate need of a creative outlet and my best friend was engaged! Since I had lots of time on my hands I decided to make her a quilt. As I began to think of all the designs I could do I started with simple large squares of fabric but then like most projects It got more and more complex. Until I decided to do a disappearing 4 patch with dresden plate flowers. Both of these techniques were brand new to me. I started by picking out my main fabrics navy blue and white/grey. I pretty much pulled all of these colors off the shelves of Joann's and had them laid out on the counter figuring out what was going to work. After I washed and ironed all my fabric it was time to cut them into 5in squares. 326 squares cut in 4 days! Phew now I can start sewing. I then sewed them into a 4 patch of 2 of the same blue and white. 70 blocks later it was time to cut them all again!
Hansel is the best sewing partner along with my Yorkshire Tea! I cut each block 1.25 in off each seam. Then I rotated the cut pieces around so that the pattern went
white square, blue strip, white strip, blue square. I used this tutorial. And then I sewed them all back up. This took a long time. Something really important that I forgot to do was to iron my seams so that it was easier to sew the blocks together. I dont think you can do it so they lock but it might work better if you ironed them open instead of off to one side. When I squared up my blocks they 7.75 in. I then needed to take a break from all the gray and blue because they were driving me crazy. I move over to figure out how to make my flowers using the dresden plate design. I made a stencil that 1 in on the bottom, 6 in tall, and 3 in centered at the top. I used that stencil to cut out 5 different yellow fabrics. Once I had stacks of trapeziums I sewed the 3 in edge right sides together. You then flip the seam inside out so you get a triangle at the top and iron so it holds its shape making sure the seam is pressed open.
I used this tutorial. Now you have lots of petals. You can then lay them out in a circle and it becomes a flower! Just sew them together with the normal 1/4 in seam and press open. I did off to one side but I think open would have been better. 
I got my center fabric and cut out a larger circle than I needed and ironed it around a cardboard cut out of my desired circle size. Once your center fabric will hold the circle shape had stitch it on to your flower. And you are done! These were so easy and fun to make. I cant wait to do lots of them! It would also be a great scrap buster. 
Back to my blocks now. Before I could sew them together I had to lay them out to get the right pattern and to make sure the same fabrics were not touching. This was the hardest part. When I had the design I liked I started sewing the blocks together into strips. Then the strips together to get my final quilt top. I was so frustrated with it at this point because I could only see my mistakes and all the places my corners didn't mach up. I had to put it away for a few weeks until I was ready to put the border on it. I got this great dark blue with a bit of texture in it. I folded it along the long side and cut 5 inches wide for the border. This worked so well for getting straight long pieces of fabric! Once the border was on it changed the whole look of the quilt and I could finally see it coming together. It helped your eye see the blue and grey pattern rather than the individual fabrics and mistakes. I began liking the quilt again. 
Because it was so big my back piece of flannel had to be 2 separate pieces sewn together. Instead of having a seam I used a piece of the blue border and a flower. I loved the modern look it had and the flannel was so soft.
I machine sewed the flowers on going right along the edge of each petal.
I could see then end now and wanted to finish it so bad. It was time to baste and pin it. I used a spray adhesive baster and then pined it in place. Now that it was together I decided to quilt it by going 1/4 in off the main seams on either side. I went right over the flowers and they wrinkled a bit but not too bad. Next time I would have chalked the line I needed to follow. This quilting was a great idea. It looked so good on the top and very clean on the back.
Once the quilting was done I had left 2 inches of over lap of my flannel back so I could try a new way of binding it. I folded the extra 2 inches over in half right along the quilt and the over on top of the quilt. At the corners I folded it up before folding it over. My corners were perfect! I just did a 1/4 in seam along the edge of the flannel binding all the way around. Then to finish it off I hand stitched the corners closed. It was finished!!! I am so proud of it, it looks so good! This is the largest most complicated quilt I have done so far. I now have more confidence to tackle bigger projects. I gave it to Kim a little late for her wedding but she and her husband Brandon loved it so much! It is big enough for two to cuddle under it or to put on a twin bed. 
Until my next quilting adventure...
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