Wildflower Raffle Quilt!

Here it is – my big project for my quilt guild this year. This is a group project. Many hands went into the making of this project. Since this is a big fundraiser for my guild, we decided to get extra fancy, and do hand appliqué.

Barbara, Regina and I designed a layout that left room for 24 appliqué blocks, with plenty of space for some fancy quilting. We got started last year. You can read my original post here.

Barbara organized the appliqué efforts. She used Carol Armstrong’s Wildflowers for the patterns. I’m not sure who all participated, but I really appreciate each and every stitch put into this quilt top. (I did the bleeding hearts – pink block, bottom row, middle.)

I received all of the finished blocks this summer, and hurried to finish off my block, which took me way too long. I was able to assemble the top with the help of my friend, Regina. I even mitered the border. Gah. Then it was on to the longarm.

Quilter’s Dream was kind enough to provide the batting for this project! They are a wonderful company, and I cannot say enough good things about them. I chose to use a white medium loft poly batting for this project. I wanted a bright white batting behind our white quilt.

I knew I wanted to do feathers in the borders. Every time I do feathers I remember how much I enjoy doing them. They really make me happy.

Each flower block was stippled around the appliqué pieces. I really wanted those flowers to pop.

I used my computer to add a motif to the open white squares. I found a feather fern motif that curled and fit nicely into the square. It was a nice blend of the feather border and the botanical appliqué. I randomly rotated and flipped it in each square, to make it not so obviously the same pattern.

Finally, I used a motif I learned in Jamie Wallen’s Mystical Florals class. He calls it a “chubby leaf”, and I can draw it in my sleep now. Unfortunately, the thread color I chose for this part matches perfectly, and you cannot see my quilting at all. Trust me, it’s amazing.

After I quilted it, I trimmed it up, added binding to the front, and turned it over to Barbara for hand binding and a sleeve.

Isn’t it beautiful? This quilt will be raffled off at our guild quilt show in May of 2020. If you are interested in buying chances for the raffle quilt, drop me a line. I’ll hook you up with tickets. I believe we are selling tickets at $1 each, or a book of 6 for $5.