Take Time to Smell the Flowers

I have always loved all the different AccuQuilt flower dies and wanted to make a scene which is pleasant to the eye.

Like the flowers it represents, Take Time to Smell the Flower, just grew from there, with a mind of its own.

By Karen Crouch from Zig Zag Sewing in Georgetown

Materials:

1. AccuQuilt GO! Big, GO! or GO! Baby Cutter
2. AQ55061 GO! Sunbonnet Sue
3. AQ55062 GO! Overall Sam
4. AQ55372 GO! Kay’s Bouquet by Laura Wasilowski
5. AQ55332 GO! Flower Bunch
6. AQ55007 GO! Round Flower
7. AQ55379 GO! Home by Stacy Mitchell
8. AQ55331 GO! Stems and Leaves
9. AQ55334 GO! Fun Flowers
10. AQ55056 GO! Rick Rack
11. AQ55064 GO! Gingham Dog
12. AQ55328 GO! Tulip
13. AQ55327 GO! Daisy
14. AQ55331 GO! Stems and Leaves
15. AQ55110 GO! Cutting Mat 5” x 10”
16. AQ55112 GO! Cutting Mat 6” x 12”
17. AQ55137 GO! Cutting Mat 6” x 6”
18. AQ55138 GO! Cutting Mat 6” x 24”
19. 30cm of STOF Quilters Shadow blue 600
20. 35cm of green 100% cotton fabric for hills
21. 45cm of green 100% cotton fabric for grass
22. 45cm of 100% cotton cobble stone fabric
23. 20cm of grey 100% cotton fabric for the road
24. 100% cotton fabric for backing of your choice at least 25cm bigger than wall hanging approx. 11/2 metres.Selection of 100% cotton fat quarters for Sunbonnet Sue, Overall Sam, road, flowers, windmill and dogs
25. Fusible webbing – I prefer Applique Wonder
26. Wadding 100cm x 150cm
27. 15cm of binding fabric – optional if you choose not to self-bind the project.

Cutting Instructions:

1. Apply the fusible webbing to the fabrics for the hills, grass, cobblestones, houses, people, road, flowers, dogs and windmills
2. Cut the hills and lay on the blue material. Press in place, blanket stitch down.
3. Cut the grass, press in place and blanket stitch down.
4. Cut the cobblestone fabric, press in place and blanket stitch it down.
5. I used raw edge applique from here but if you wanted you could also blanket stitch. Use the attached picture as a guide for the placements
6. Using the GO! Rick Rack die, AQ55056, cut the road and iron in place.
7. Cut a selection of flowers from all the flower dies in different colorways.
8. Using GO! Kay’s Bouquet die, AQ55372, and fabric for the windmill cut the windmill fans out.
9. Cut 3 strips 1/2” wide for the legs of the windmill, iron in place.
10. Cut Sunbonnet Sue die, AQ55061 and Overall Sam die, AQ55062, out and iron them on the design.
11. Cut out the trees in 2 different greens cut the base of the trees out and iron them in place over the hills.
12. Using the GO! Home die, AQ55379, I cut out 2 houses in different colours and placed them on different hills and had a road running up to each.
13. Place and applique your 2 dogs
14. Fill the completed area with flowers and iron down. Make sure everything is securely place down.
15. Place wadding behind your top and begin stitching.

Sewing Instructions:

1. Once the appliques are ironed down, stitch the design in layers. So, by that I mean, look at it 3 dimensionally, and stitch from the ‘back’ first. I.e. stitch the base of the trees down and then stitch the tops of the trees’.
2. With the flowers, stitch the stems first, followed by the flowers and then the centres.
3. I used raw edge applique to fix all the flowers and trees but if you have the time you could use a small blanket stitch.
4. The design came out to be 75cm x 125cm.
5. Place backing and wadding under quilt top. Quilt if desired.
6. With this project I have used the self-binding method, of which you can find instruction on the internet, otherwise bind your quilt as per step 7.
7. Trim your finished top evenly and bind.

Congratulations on finishing your Take Time to Smell the Flowers Pattern!