Back to the Flower Pots

I had a bit of  Studio time this past week and decided to pull out the Flower Pot blocks that my Mom had appliqued……

I had worked on them some before we left for our Turkey trip but just couldn’t figure out what to do next.  I guess that I just needed some time away from it, because as soon as I looked at it this past week I KNEW what I was going to do…..at least the first step.

I first needed to cut the blocks down to 15-1/2 inches so pulled out my large square ruler (16-1/2 inches) and started making the cuts.  After the first block I decided that I needed some guidelines so used masking tape to mark the center of the block and also just outside of the 15-1/2 inch cutting line…..

Now here is my masking  tape trick…..you know how it will often stick to the surface and leave icky goo when you pull it of?  Well, if you will first stick the tape to fabric, it will lose enough of the stickiness that there will not be any problem with removing it.   I normally just stick it to my skirt or pants and then peel it off and stick it onto the ruler.

I decided to put a small (1/2 inch) border around each of the blocks and immediately sought out the fabric that the pots were made from……

I was very pleased with this move because it helps to unify all of the blocks!!

Next, I selected an arrangement for the blocks and hung them up on the design wall….. But where do I go now!!!!

After trying out tons of pieces of fabric, I was ready to pull out my hair.  Then I noticed that I really liked the dark fabrics surrounding the blocks and also that the orange piece on the right seemed to work well with the other fabrics.

Then I got the idea to use a small strip of the orange as another break between the sashes…..

So I started adding borders and sashes and before long the center looked like this…..

But what now????

I tried adding white borders but they looked TOO white so I purchased two fabrics that were similar in colors to the pot fabric.  I cut out wide borders and added them to two of the sides, planning to then add more flower appliques on top…..

IT WAS GHASTLY!!!!!

So, I went back to the white borders but started thinking about making them narrower and also thinking about how to make them fit with the rest of the quilt.

THEN IT HIT ME……

….add border pieces onto the edges of the applique border so that it matches the rest of the quilt.

Fortunately, I have plenty of orange but not nearly enough of the “pot fabric” so have used one of the original border fabrics instead. 

Mom only wants the borders for the applique and does not really want to have to wrestle with the entire quilt top so I have basted the white border on and will now lay out my new appliques.   Then I will take the border off and send it to her for the hand work to be done.

It is such fun when the quilt “tells” you what needs to happen next!!!