Flower in a Pot #8 - Part One

Today's blog is all about how I pick fabric.  I found this particular Flower in a Pot really challenging.  I started out with some pretty greens...

...and some pretty pinks...

...that all coordinate with this really zany batik fabric for the pot!  I had to have this fabric a few years ago and a vase seems like just the thing to make out of it.

Now it was time to start playing with greens.  I need four.  They need to have some contrast between them.  This top picture the lightest green on top is very faded compared to the rest and it just doesn't look good.

 Here is a different green that is much brighter that really makes all the greens sing together compared to the photo above.  These were my final choices.

I decided to do the top of the flower on this amazing batik.  Think of all the texture you get by using this dot print as the tip of the flower!

I have no idea why I decided to take pictures on top of this "There was An Old Lady That Swallowed a Fly" book, but I did.  It might make a fun quilting pattern?!  Here is how I test our fabrics to see if I like them.  It's a great fabric, lots of movement, but it just doesn't play well with the other petals.

Here was a different purple I tried.  It think it really clashes.

A blue and purple print.  It didn't work either.  The blue sticks out.

Dark purple?  It's okay, but it's really dark compared to the other fabrics.

This is a fun print, but it's too gray in the background for my liking.

This print is okay.  I like it.

Here is the final flower!  I love the dark top.

Happy Quilting!  6 more days until school is out for the year and this teacher has more time to sew!
Suzy

Flower in a Pot #5 - Part One

Back to the Flower in a Pot Series today with Flower in a Pot #5.  This is truly one of my favorites in the series.  I fell in love with the chevron batik for the pot.  I decided on a lot of different purples for the feathers and then worked from there.  You can see that as I cut out pieces I place them on my pattern to test them.

Most of these pieces fell into place easily (this doesn't always happen).  I had fun fussy cutting the fabric for the green stem as well.  I later changed this fabric because I felt that the two green fabrics read too much the same and it made the greens boring.  If you look at the next picture you can see that I changed the stem to a light green and it adds some interest to the block.

I got so excited about stitching this block that I completely forgot to take pictures!  I decided to stitch all the purple petals in different shades of purple thread.  It makes it really fun to look at.  It also made me realize that I need more purple threads!  I ended up having to repeat thread for the center petal.

Here you can really see the different purple threads on the petals!

More on Saturday!  Don't forget to join my Machine Applique Adventures Group on Facebook.

Suzy

Flower in a Pot #4 - Part One

Time to get started on Flower in a Pot #4!  I thought I'd show you some of the work I do when deciding what fabric to use in my blocks.

I knew I wanted the large circle in this block to be pink.  I'd picked out a great fabric for the base (see below) and it just screamed at me that pink was needed.  Below are the three pinks I was considering.  The one on the left has feather motifs, the middle is a pink "solid" batik, and the third is a pink stripe.  When I started I was sure I was going to use the pink solid, but in the end I decided that I needed something that had more interest, so I went with the feather print on the left.

Here you can see the pieces I've already picked out for the block.  I decided to use light greens for the leaves and a darker green for the stem.  The stem has a great texture to it and I like to use things like this for stems.

I also decided that he long skinny pieces on the big circle should match the color of the pot to help tie the design all together.

Below you can see the two pieces I chose for the top of the flower.  The skinny piece is a purple slightly warmer than the others I'd used.  The pink piece on the top is a bit grayer than the other pink to let the brighter pink stand out more.

Then I had to figure out what green would go underneath the flower.  I was having a hard time deciding so I folded up my fabrics and snapped pictures of all the possibilities below.

This green clashed with the other greens.  It's too blue.

The white dots on this green really stand out, so I didn't use it.

This green doesn't seem to go with the others and I think it's too pale.

This solid-looking green looks nice, but I wanted a little more texture to my design.

Finally!  A green that adds pattern and looks good in color!  This is the one.

Happy Quilting!  Don't forget to check out my Machine Applique Adventures Facebook group!
Suzy

Many Shades of Green

When I am picking green for leaves when appliqueing I tend to have the same problem over and over:  I want to pick all my greens from the same color family.  If I start with blue greens, then they all need to be blue green or gray green or spring green.  I have trouble combining different shades.

Today while out and about we did "Drive Through Corn" at our local garden center.  You get your dozen ears and don't even have to get out of the car!  Well, my mom was driving and I did get out of the car because I needed to snap this picture:

As you can see there are MANY shades of green in these planters and I love it!  I need to remember this next time I pick out leaf fabrics.

As you can see in Harmony's Loop below, I used lots of different grassy green fabrics.  Time to break out of this box!

Suzy