What is Heather Working On? Echinacea Quilt Part 2 (of 3)!
, by Heather Cousins,
3 min reading time
Little updates and thoughts as I work on my projects...
As I write this, the echinaceas are now blooming in my garden. They are my favourite plant and I have so many colours of them. Not only do I love the colour and shape, but they are also a native species that attract a lot of bees and butterflies.
But back to the quilt! When we left off, all of my cones and petals were cut and ready to go. The next step was piecing the background blocks and fusing everything on.
I started by taking the 14.5" background blocks and subcutting them in half — Kelley was kind enough to lend a hand with this part. Once cut, I added strips in between to form the stem of the flower. This part was actually quite straightforward, though I will admit I cheated a little with my ironing and accidentally pressed the seams on both sides in the same direction. This caused too much seam to show on one side, so learn from my mistake: press your seams into the seam. It makes all the difference!
Once the blocks were pieced, I spent a lovely afternoon at my desk pressing on the petals and cones. There's something really satisfying about watching the flower come together piece by piece!
A couple of important tips from this stage:
Don't lay the cone head all the way down on the petals right away. You want to stitch down all of the petals first, then work on the cone head.
Take some time to organize your petals and backings in advance. It's worth it to balance out the colours and patterns before you start pressing — you'll be happier with the result!
One thing I should mention: I made all of my petals striped, but if you look at the original pattern, they are actually more varied. It's totally up to you how you want yours to look — there are more options than what my quilt has, so don't feel like you have to follow my lead!
Of course, Jasper wanted to help again. The good news? The cone is now gone and he is fully healed up — back to his usual supervisory role.
And now for the exciting news... the quilt top is done! Yes, in real time, as I write this, it is finished. If you want to see the whole thing, come visit us in the store — I'd love to show it off in person.
Follow along for my last post coming out soon, where I'll share the finished quilt top and what's next! If you missed it, you can catch up with Part 1 here.
Want to make this quilt yourself? Find the Echinacea pattern and class in our shop here.
