Garden Bouquet Quilt: Month 20- The Crocus

When Nancy told the members last week that the coming flower would be an early spring one the members were divided between the hepatica and the trailing arbutus. But Nancy said these flowers were both too small and fragile to appliqué easily. “I have picked a larger flower, one that will adapt itself to needlework. Can’t you think of a blossom which comes up, almost through the snow on your lawns and shows its head in yellow, in white or in purple?”

“Oh, you mean a crocus,” they chorused. “Crocus it is,” said Nancy.

It’s a good looking flower, too, when made in pale lavender and deeper figured purple or in yellows or even in yellow for one flower and lavender for the other.

The leaves are long. For the first time there is no stem shown. Instead we have three leaves, developed in fast color soft green material. Choose something which will wash and take stitchery easily.

These leaves and flowers are appliquéd onto the large white triangle which is seamed to the equally large triangle of the pieced urn.

The club members could make these urns in short time, nowadays, since they had made nineteen of them. You see, each flower with its pair of admiring birds comes out of an urn. The combination of the triangle block of urn joined to the triangle block of white gives a large diamond block measuring 12 inches on each one of its four sides, when seamed and joined in the quilt.

The triangles are cut 12 ½ by 12 ½ by 17 ½. Then when seams are taken off the size is 12 by 12.

In making these flowers the club members followed the usual procedure.

First, they cut the picture with its accompanying directions from the paper.

Second, they traced the design lightly onto the white triangle as indicated by the small inset drawing.

Third, they made another tracing on lightweight cardboard.

Fourth, they put the original design for safe keeping in the Nancy Page scrap book.

Fifth, they cut out the various parts of the design which had been traced on the cardboard.

Sixth, they laid these on the material from which the flowers and leaves would be made.

Seventh, they cut out the material, allowing one-quarter inch on all sides for turning under raw edges.

Eighth, they turned under raw edges, basted and pressed the pieces.

Ninth, they pinned the pieces in place on the white triangle.

Tenth, they appliquéd them with a slanting, invisible hemming stitch.

The birds were appliquéd, and the next to the last block in the quilt was finished.

Supposing the members had been appliquéing the pieces with buttonhole stitch, then they would not have allowed the quarter inch since the buttonholing covers the raw edges.

Some members were making the quilt in outline stitch.

Others were filling in the outline spaces with colored crayons. Then this color was pressed with a hot iron which set the color.

The members who were doing this found that the effect was improved if the outline was worked with color fast embroidery cotton.

I haven’t been able to work on my block so I don’t have anything to show off. I will update this when I do get the chance!

Do you have any Garden Bouquet Quilt blocks to show off? Leave a link to your blog post about it in the comment section or email me a photo at heathers_custom_sewing{at}yahoo.com so I can share with everyone!

I hope you are enjoying this series!
~Heather

Quick Links to:

Month 1: Beginning Instructions, Urn, and Basket Instructions
Month 2, Part 1: The Tulip
Month 2, Part 2: The Saucy Bird
Month 2, Part 3: The Meek Bird
Month 3: The Cactus
Month 4: Lily of the Valley
Month 5: The Wild Rose
Month 6: The Trillium
Month 7: Canterbury Bells
Month 8: Nasturtium
Month 9: The Pansy
Month 10: The Tiger Lily
Month 11: The Primrose
Month 12: The Zinnia
Month 13: The Daffodil
Month 14: The Phlox
Month 15: The Poppy
Month 16: The Rose
Month 17: Balloon Flower
Month 18: Forget-Me-Not
Month 19: The Lemon Lily
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Hand Appliqué
Machine Appliqué
Alternate Method of Appliqué Tutorial
Biased Binding Tutorial