Last week on Tuesday, I began the challenge of the hibiscus applique for the corner blocks of Maile's Morning Star quilt.
The yukata fabric she likes, is not a solid, but a directional print. I wanted the print to go in the direction toward the star center, which meant it could not be made in one piece, folded and cut.
The center leaves and one flower went on first, then the other flowers were cut singularly in the direction of the print and sewed separately in position. Using navy thread on a navy background, trying to see both thread and fine white lines marking the turn edges is a real challenge. The first corner was finished on Wednesday night and sewed to the star points on Thursday.
The second block was finished on Friday, and I took this picture to send to Maile and son Jon. I will be needing a plan for the triangles once the corners are done. The challenge is getting the stripes to radiate in the right direction. Jon has sent a few sketches of possible solutions.
Today the third corner block was finished and assembled. One more to go, and I can get serious about the triangles. I will have to add borders to make this a double bed size. I have a variety of yukata fabrics. I might have enough of a stripe for an inner or outer border and am thinking of making blocks in a variety of blue and white fabrics. This is definitely a plan-as-you-go project.
I may have to do the quilting within the flowers with pearl cotton for the lines to show and I have no idea what color thread the echo quilting should be. It will also be a challenge to find space large enough to lay this out. Buying batting is also becoming a problem. Maybe I should just celebrate today's progress and let the rest see what happens down the road.
