Pop Flower Coaster Tutorial with Jess

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day.

 I got spoiled with brekky in bed, hand picked pressies from the kids, and fabric gift vouchers from my hubby. And even though Mother's Day has become bitter sweet, I had a lovely day spending time with those I love.

Another thing I Love about Mother's day is handmade cards and gifts... When Jess from Twin Fibers sent me through her Raw Edge Applique tutorial for today.. I was so disappointed I didnt get it to make some a week ago!! They are just so gorgeous!! Thank You Jess! xx

Would you like to make these cute coasters with me?

Today I'm going to show you how! These are a great little project for introducing you to raw edge applique.

Let's get started:

First you're going to need some supplies.
For each coaster you will need:
some fabric scraps for the flower and leaves
a 5.5" square each of a solid fabric for the front and a backing fabric
a 5" square of batting (not pictured)
and a double sided fusible web product (I'm using Lite Steam-a-Seam). There are several fusible webbing products on the market, just make sure to read the directions on the package if you are using something different.
You'll also need to print off the templates below or draw your own.

1. Trace your pattern pieces onto a sheet of the Steam-a-Seam. Trace onto the paper that seems more stuck to the fusible web. (One side of the paper on the webbing wants to come off easily and the other side is stuck on more.) Also, make sure you are tracing the reverse image of what you want cut out (not important with this project, but it is if you want to cut out letters from the alphabet). 

Roughly cut your shapes out.

2. Remove the paper from the Steam-a-Seam that you don't have your shape drawn on. Press your shape onto the backside of your fabric scraps.

Cut your shapes out along the pattern lines.

3. Place your pattern pieces onto your 5.5" square of fabric for the front. When you like your arrangement, peel of the piece of paper on the backing and stick it to the base fabric. Then you can iron the shapes down.

4. Now, you're going to start stitching around each of your shapes. I like to use a decorative stitch that's programmed into my machine, but you can use a small zig-zag too.

5. Here you can see where I've stitched around all the shapes with a coordinating thread color.

6. We're done with the applique part and now we're going to finish making the coaster. Take your backing fabric and place it right sides together with the appliqued front.

7. Stitch around the square leaving an opening on one side. Clip the corners as shown.

8. Cut a piece of batting a bit smaller that your stitching lines. I found it really helpful to spray baste this piece of batting onto the back side of the backing fabric before you turn it right side out.

9. Turn your coaster right side out and press.

10. Stitch around the outer edge, closing the opening for turning.

11. Add some hand quilting around the flowers and leaves to hold everything in place.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this project and give it a try sometime!
This type of raw edge applique can be so much fun and can be done with almost any shape. These flower shapes came from a wall hanging that I made for a swap. I really loved the screen that I saw here and translated that into a wall hanging and now into these coasters.
Thanks so much to Rebecca for letting me share these with you today!
Happy Sewing!

~Jessica

Amy shares her inspirations and WIN her BOOK!! xx

Hi all! I'm Amy from Amy's Creative Side,

thanks for asking me to share here today Rebecca!

Designing quilts has become a favorite pass time for me. I am constantly on the look out for a new shape, or color combination that inspires me to make it with fabric! Usually, I design first, then purchase fabric, but I've also been known to have a pile of fabric taunt me until I find the perfect solution for it!

I started designing my own patterns when I found that many of the patterns being offered were cutting the beautiful prints I love into teeny pieces - making it difficult to see and appreciate the print. Plus, like all of you, I'm too busy to spend years working on the same quilt.

For inspiration I love to collect favorite on Flickr. I've made a few mosaics where I grouped similar favorites together - this helps me to see what I'm drawn to, and make great inspiration posts on my blog.

You can find the link to each of these HERE

Links HERE

  Another great place for inspiration is pinterest. Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board. It allows you to collect pictures and keeps track of where you found them, so you can easily refer to your favorite tutorial, you can never remember the name of, or see what might be new on that site.

Coming up next month is a mega dose of inspiration - Bloggers' Quilt Festival is a bi-annual event that I host on my blog, for all blogging quilters! Each quilter shares their current favorite, and posts the story of how the quilt came about, or why this quilt is special. There will be a massive group of links on my blog starting May 13, and a great group of sponsors with prizes for those that participate. The Festival is not judged in any way, so anyone is encouraged to jump in and join the community! It's a great way to meet new friends online too!

After sketching, drafting, and lots of calculating and piecing, just two months ago my first book was released! Modern Basics : Easy Quilts to Fit Your Budget, Space and Style is chalk full of patterns for new quilters looking for a place to start their quilting journey, and offer inspiration for years to come. Most of the patterns in Modern Basics are one block repeated and turned. This is ideal for a new quilter especially, since all the cutting and piecing can be done efficiently - and you see progress with each sewing session.

I have one copy of Modern Basics to giveaway, and more in stock in my shop if you would like to purchase a signed copy for yourself.

Above all - remember to enjoy the quilting process!

Amy

Thank you so much Amy for stopping by and sharing your Design ideas. xx The delightful Amy is generously giving away a book to win... So,

Wanna Win a copy of her BOOK for yourself???

It's Easy...  Just leave a comment at the bottom of this post. Giveaway will close

Tues 9pm Aussie time..  So get in quick!

Make sure you leave a way I can contact you.

**Giveaway NOW CLOSED**

and i'll see you...Wednesday for

Week 3 of Quilt Class 101.

Design tips from Jennifer..

Jennifer from That Girl That Quilt is visiting us today.. She is sharing her ideas on how she designs her quilts. She is inpirational..

Designing a quilt is probably my favorite part of quilting next to actually quilting the quilt. When I first learned to quilt I remember being amazed at patterns and quilters who could write a pattern or design a quilt as they went along.
But it didn’t take me long to start designing on my own. With quilting constantly on the brain, I began to see quilts everywhere I turned.

I find inspiration in geometric patterns that I come across in daily life…

I sit down and experiment with a flying geese block and an entire quilt comes together in an afternoon…
My best design friend is my sketchbook. I keep it with me all the time. Some of my best ideas come while I’m stuck on a conference call or waiting in the Dr’s office. My second best design friend is Adobe Ideas on my iPad. I can sketch with my finger which really gives me a feel for the design. I love trying different patterns, colors, and the eraser tool is very handy.

I also have a folder of pictures on my iPhone of “things that should be quilts”. Don’t be afraid to snap a picture when you see a pattern. Floors, upholstery, paneling, etc are all great sources of inspiration.

 Do the same thing for colors. Nature often gives us the best color combinations. This entire quilt was inspired by my yellow and purple Iris that bloom each spring in my yard. Purple and yellow were never colors I considered together until I was taking some pictures of my flowers…
Once you have found your inspiration, sketch it out to see how it flows. If you are pleased then make a block or even a mini- quilt with just a few blocks. Decide how large you want the actual quilt and work backwards to determine the block size. Don’t forget to include all your seam allowances for the block and the pieces that make up each block!

And my last favorite design tip... when you are trying to figure out the layout of your blocks, take a picture. It helps your eyes "step back" and see the entire picture. Can you spot the one HST that is off in the picture? I saw it almost immediately but never realized it until I looked at the picture instead of the blocks in real life.
Thanks for having me today. I hope you will hop over and visit me on my blog really soon!