Flower in a Pot #3 - Part 1

Time for Flower in a Pot #3!  Here is the pattern drawing that will be coming soon.

One of the things I'm playing with in my Flower in a Pot series is changing the width and length of my blanket stitching.  I didn't make them very wide for the flower pot base because I wanted to let the fabric show.

However, I used a much larger stitch size for the center pink below and for the outer orange points.  The fabrics were fairly plain and I wondered how a larger stitch width would enhance them.  I discovered that if I use a large stitch width (the distance the stitch comes into the fabric), I still need to keep a shorter stitch length (the distance along the edge of the fabric).  If I use a really long length it can be problematic when I get to corners or points and have to take a really long stitch.  

You can also see that I stitched a straight line between the two orange points.  I know another piece is going to cover these two pieces, so why bother starting and stopping?

I did face a dilemma on this particular block.  I had three overlapping orange points and I really didn't want to start and stop after having done the first set.  Why?  Because I was too excited to add the next piece!  So, what to do?

I decided to put on both remaining pieces.  I started my blanket stitch and when I ran into the second orange piece I switched to straight stitch and sewed all the way to the bottom where I wanted the blanket stitch to start again (second picture below).  I then complete the blanket stitching on the third orange piece.  This was effective since all the points were stitched in the same color.  If they'd been different colors, I wouldn't have been able to use this method.

Below you can see that I've stitched a straight line along the edge of the piece.  I'll stitch over this line with new blanket stitching.

Here I have started blanket stitching the third orange piece.

Here is flower from the back side.  You can see that all the stitching except the really light green stem is done with a large stitch width so it comes really far into the fabric.  I discovered that I really like this effect on more solid looking fabrics and around larger pieces.  I am not sure I would do it on busy prints or small pieces.  It can also be a challenge on points because the long stitch can go way over the tip of the point.  You have to watch for this and angle your stitching accordingly.

Here's the block with the next pieces added.  You can see why I was so excited to add them!  If you look at the block you can see there is a thin orange strip between the purple fabric and the larger pink piece.  I laid this piece down first, but did not stitching on it.  I decided that since it was so thin it made more sense to simply put it on as the bottom layer and stitch on the pink and purple fabrics instead.  This made adding it much easier.

Happy Stitching!  If you're following the Flower in a Pot Quilt Along be sure to check out my Machine Applique Adventures Facebook Group!  Links to previous patterns are in a page at the top of the blog.
Suzy