• Plants in My Window

Plants in My Window

By Connie Kauffman Many quilters have more than one hobby. For many, gardening offers a break from working indoors on quilts. This sweet wall hanging combines the best of both worlds. This quilt uses a raw edge applique technique. It would be a fun project to try if you are interested in experimenting with more art-style quilts or something nontraditional. Among other things, I could envision it being a great donated piece to brighten a residential space in a nursing home.

Skill Level

Beginner

Quilt Size

18" x 15"

Materials

• 11 1/2" x 11 1/2" square blue for sky for A
• 2" x 11 1/2" strip brown for B
• 2 1/2" x 15" strip tan mottled for C
• 2 1/2" x 15" strip brown mottled for D
• 4" x 13 1/2" strip leaf print for E
• 4" x 13 1/2" strip olive green for F
• 4" x 12" strip terra-cotta solid for pots
• 1/4 yard wood-grain print for binding
• Scraps light, medium and dark green, rust, tan, charcoal and light, medium and dark gray mottleds or tone-on-tones
• Backing 22" x 19"
• Batting 22" x 19"
• All-purpose thread to match fabrics
• Quilting spray adhesive
• Fabric glue
• Basic sewing tools and supplies

Click here for project templates.

Completing the Background

Step 1. Apply spray adhesive on the wrong side of the backing piece and place wrong side against batting.
Step 2. Apply spray adhesive to the wrong side of A; center A on the batting piece right side up.
Step 3. Place small dots of fabric glue along the edges of the back of B; place on A along the bottom edge matching the left corner. Stitch in place along top raw edge of B.
Step 4. Sew D to the A-B unit, stopping stitching 1" away from the edge of A as shown in Figure 1; press seam toward D.
Step 5. Add E, then C and then F to the A-B-D unit, pressing seams toward strips after stitching. Complete the D seam as shown in Figure 2.
Step 6. Machine-baste around outer edges to secure. Trim backing and batting edges even with top.
Step 7. Fold and crease to mark the center of the background.

Applique

Step 1. Prepare templates for applique shapes using the full-size patterns given. Trace shapes on the right side of the fabrics as directed on each piece for color.
Step 2. Cut out shapes on the marked lines.
Step 3. Apply small dots of fabric glue along the edges on the wrong side of the number 1 applique piece; place on the quilt top referring to center marks on pattern and crease lines on background for placement.
Step 4. Apply glue and arrange all pieces in numerical order, overlapping pieces as necessary.
Step 5. Using all-purpose thread to match fabric, stitch close to the edge of each piece; add detail lines to leaves as desired.

Finishing

Step 1. Quilt as desired by hand or machine. Note: The quilt shown was machine-quilted in a meandering pattern to resemble rocks in D, in diagonal lines spaced 2" apart on E and F, and in straight lines on C using all-purpose thread to match fabrics.
Step 2. Cut two 2 1/4" by fabric width strips wood-grain print. Join strips on short ends to make one long strip for binding.
Step 3. Fold the binding strip in half along length with wrong sides together; press.
Step 4. Sew binding to quilt edges, mitering corners and overlapping ends. Fold binding to the back side and stitch in place to finish.

Copyright © 2003 New Ways to Applique. House of White Birches. All rights reserved.