Lily Rose: Applique Bloom

Time for some fun! I think applique-ing flowers and bouquets is the best bit about Lily Rose, I'm really looking forward to getting creative with the centre and it all starts here, with the first bloom.

Now, I have measured my oval template against the pattern and I am certain that everything fits. Please take the time to do this and double check your accuracy. If your oval frame is a little bit out, you have an opportunity to resize or re-position the vase bouquet to make it all work. If you have mis calculated, making an adjustment is preferable to re-making the oval frame, so check everything twice. As you make your flowers, keep checking them against the pattern as they have a habit of growing when they are away from their intended background!

I am using wash away fusible again as my template and ironing it down onto this dyed fabric. I have specifically chosen it for the rich colours. I'm essentially fussy cutting to get a more orange yellow graduation through the flower.

It looks like this: purple with some tinges of orange, gold and yellow.Now I just have to select the background of the bloom by changing what fabric will go beneath my batik bloom shape.This means auditioning several fabrics from my stash. I want the blooms to pop out but I also want them to harmonise with my patchy HSTs (that's why I created my HST border before starting the flowers). 

The one above is too dull for the batiks and

the one below I like, but is probably too mid tone

I keep going between muted pink, light and dark lilac

these are actually two distinct colours in real life although on my monitor they look the same

I'm beginning to think that maybe the fusible part of the bloom might be what's wrong, I think I will make several bloom and try auditioning those to see how I go. I really like the batik purple bloom, but there's something amiss with it at this stage.

I often make extras of flowers and applique bits and pieces when creating my quilts. In fact I have a box of all these extra blooms and one day I will sew them all down on a single cloth dark background as a dramatic wall hanging. So I really don't mind making the extra, I'm just surprised that I have to this time as I had such a clear impression that I was going to make a bloom with the batik.

I'll keep playing and let you know how I go...