Quick Painted Daisy

I recently went on a tiny vacation, and during that time, I realized that I didn't have a hand sewing project to work on in the evenings. That just won't do. So I set about making a quick little wall hanging--actually a door hanging. I've been a hand quilter for a long time, but for this quilt, I'm going to try big stitch. I want something that won't take a lot of investment in time. It will be a summer quilt, so it needs to be finished fairly soon. Also, it's going to hang on my front door where it's likely to fade pretty fast, so it's not worth spending months quilting tiny stitches. I'm just a little apprehensive, though. I have a feeling that getting used to making big stitches might actually take me longer at first than traditional hand stitches. But we'll see.

I chose a daisy pattern from Ruth B McDowell's book Pieced Flowers. This book is fabulous if you enjoy freezer paper template piecing (hint: if you love making puzzles, this might be the technique for you). The book has a summary of the technique, but it's probably best to have her Piecing Workshop book handy as a reference. I needed it to refresh my memory since it's been a little while since I've used freezer paper templates. 

I was too lazy to scan in the pattern for enlargement or to go to the library to enlarge it on the copy machine, so I just used a ruler and graph paper to enlarge the measurements by 300%.

Master pattern

The flower is made in two identical halves, which are joined by a diagonal seam. I chose to alternate two colors for the flower petals, so my halves varied with opposite petal colors. For example, on one half, piece A1 is pink and on the other it is red.

I traced my master pattern onto the shiny side of freezer paper, then turned it over to label sections and colors and to make registration marks for piecing. I usually spend a lot of time color coding my registration marks, but for this little project, I just quickly marked with a pencil. Probably a little hard to see here. 

Freezer paper pattern (I made two, one for each half of the flower)

I turned the freezer paper pattern over and cut the templates apart following the lines on the shiny side. Then I used a hot iron to press them onto the back side of my fabrics--three Moda Grunges and a Free Spirit Joel Dewberry True Colors Woodgrain print. (I used bright colors since they will need to be seen from the street.)

I cut them out with a quarter-inch seam allowance using my rotary cutter, and then it was just a matter of stitching them all together like a puzzle. I can't believe I didn't take any in-process pictures. You'll have to forgive me. I was in the zone because this was a DrEAMi (Drop Everything And Make it) project. (There's a post here with a picture of that step on a different quilt if you'd like to look.) 

After I pieced the daisy, I added some more of the green Grunge fabric to extend the background a bit. The finished block is about 10 1/2 by 12 5/8 inches and the whole top is about 17 1/2 by 19 inches. Now all I have to do is baste the quilt, pick out some thread/needles for doing the big stitch, figure out my quilting plan, and sit back and enjoy stitching next time I go out of town. I'm not sure what kind of thread is available at my local stores, but we'll see what happens. 

Here's a close-up of the quilt top. I love how the seams are planned so they don't have to match up perfectly at intersections. So easy. I got this done so fast--the prep takes the longest with freezer paper piecing, but everything goes together so smoothly. It's really satisfying. This picture makes me think it would be fun to do this pattern really big with just a partial flower. 

I'm linking up with Sandra at mmm! quilts for her monthly DrEAMi linky party. I think I once said that I don't do many of these squirrely projects, but this link-up has shown me that I really do. Or maybe I'm doing them so I have something to post during the party?? Who knows? Who cares? The fact is I keep having these moments. So I'm finally putting up a button for this party.  

I'm also linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it Up Friday because for now, this is a finish.

Okay, now back to my regularly scheduled quilting. Have a great quilting week, DrEAMi or not.