Petal Power Wall Hanging

A little over a month ago, I was busy working on today's feature project (along with an array of other patterns/designs to be shared soon). I designed and created this Studio Petal Power Wall Hanging pattern especially for AccuQuilt...and now that they have released the new Studio 2 dies and patterns on their website, I am finally able to share it with you.

AccuQuilt just released ten cutting dies for the Studio 2 Fabric Cutter - VERY exciting for us Studio fans, as it has been quite a while! This new Studio 2 collection includes some great shapes/blocks, including: Studio Crazy Quilt, Studio Fractured Tumbler, Studio Cleopatra’s Fan, Studio Super Giant Strip Cutter-¾”, 1″, 1 ½”, 2″, Studio Santa Stocking, Studio Orange Peels, Studio Burp Cloth, Studio Hexagon-3″ Sides, and Studio Baby Bib. Today, I am sharing the pattern and sample I created for the Studio Orange Peels. Designed to be appliqued onto standard 2½", 5" and 10" squares, these Orange Peel units have a cut size of  2", 4½" and 9½". My design uses all three sizes of Orange Peels included on the die, along with 10" Squares, and a 2½" Strip Cutter for binding. I found this die to be quite versatile with the three different sizes...and really had fun playing with design ideas in EQ8!

This wall hanging goes together rather quickly and finishes at 38" x 38"...and it is perfect for practicing your machine appliqué skills! Currently, you can download the pattern for Petal Power on the AccuQuilt website for FREE - simply click on the following link:
https://www.accuquilt.com/studio-petal-power-wall-hanging-pattern.html

I have been working on piles of needlework finishing this week...and I can't wait to share the beautiful stitching my clients have trusted me to finish...WOW - there are some fabulous pieces...and some have definitely challenged me (in a GREAT way!). I'm also knee deep in project bag sewing...the to-do list is LONG...and more AccuQuilt projects are ready to share with you soon, so please stop back later this week for a visit!

Big-hearted Blossom

I had to drop in today and tell you about one of my latest creations: "Big-hearted Blossom" (a quilted wall hanging or runner). Recently, my dear friend Mary was celebrating a birthday and I thought I would go through my fabric stash/scraps and pull her favorite colors to make a beautiful bloom as a gift for her special day. This project was aptly named after her HUGE and loving heart.

I am always looking for alternate ways to use my AccuQuilt GO! cutting dies, and that is exactly what I did with the GO! Orange Peel-4 1/2" (55455) in this project. Instead of using it for the popular traditional Orange Peel 4-Patch quilt block, I decided to use it for appliqué leaves along with a GO! Fantasy Flower. I purchased GO! Fantasy Flowers by Robbie Joy Eklow cutting die quite some time ago and I was excited to put it to good use!

The orange peel "leaves" were super easy - I just ironed fusible web on the back of eight assorted charm squares from the Sunkissed Collection by Sweetwater for Moda (the GO! Orange Peel-4½" die works perfectly for charm squares!). Next, I went through my fat quarter stash to find fabrics for the stem and flower petals. The stem was originally cut with the GO! Strip Cutter-1" (1/2" Finished), but I thought 1" was a bit wide, so I trimmed it down to a ¾" width. After seeing the approximate size of my Big-hearted Blossom, I cut a piece of neutral fabric (Natural Kona Cotton by Robert Kaufman) approximately 18"W x 35" H. I was able to easily center, fuse, and machine appliqué my flower on my neutral background - I used a blanket stitch for the machine appliqué, but a zigzag stitch, blind hem stitch, or satin stitch would work very nicely. Once the quilting was complete (I simply quilted about 1/4" out around the perimeter of each shape), I trimmed the piece to 15"W x 34" H and added a pretty floral binding that coordinated with the backing fabric.

The GO! Fantasy Flowers die is quite versatile with multiple fun petal shapes included. Plus, it was fun to dig through my fabrics...I just used what I had on hand, giving it a scrappy look. If you are anything like me, you have a scrap bin (or two or three) filled with fabulous floral colors perfect for this project.

This entire design truly came together in one afternoon and I was extremely pleased with the results! It could be used as a wall hanging or a runner...and additional flowers could easily be added...I can see it with a patchwork border too....hmm, I can certainly see more of these fabulous flowers in my future...

Visit the AccuQuilt blog later this week to read my guest blog post about this project...