Flower Garden

For some time I have been wanting to do Kim McLeans' Flower Garden, this quilt is all done by hand, but always felt that I wouldn't  ever have the time or the skill to undertake such a massive project, the time factor is particular relevant now I am working on the Mrs Billings quilt!

But a little while ago I spotted this version of the quilt, without the amazing border, and started to think about ways to do the appliqué by machine, all of a sudden the project started to become a lot more achievable.

So I already had a bunch of great backgrounds in blues and green, both Kaffe Shot Cottons, and cottons by Reece Scannell...

and, of course, a lot of Kaffe et co yardage in the stash cupboard, so I took the plunge and made up a some blocks, using a raw edge appliqué technique incorporating Visoflex (a brand of fusible webbing)  and a tiny zig zag stitch.

It has been quite fun making up the blocks, because you get the "instant gratification" of ironing on the pieces and seeing the block come to together before you do any sewing!

So whilst I was at Mt Bundy on the three day retreat, I spent a day doing the zig zaging on some of the blocks.....

...still got a way to go, but the important thing is a start has been made.

It doesn't take long before it grows into something exciting :)

I am still thinking about how big the final quilt will be, and what I will do about the sashing, but I am loving the look of the shot cottons together, and how the Kaffe et co fabrics jump out!

If you love this pattern, pop over to Glorious Appliqué blog, and the aussie version, to see quilters posting about their work in progress on a variety of Kim McLean projects, so much inspiration :)