F is for Flower

Mildred's Block

 Isn't this the sweetest little flower? I just love it. I did Mildred's block with a running stitch applique again and mine with regular needle-turn. I wonder what these ladies would have made of fusible webbing??
I am enjoying reading the stories about Nancy's Quilt Club-so different from how we would write today isn't it?
If you are doing these blocks, think about where they will fall so you don't have two colors the same next to each other. For instance, this block will be directly below the Bird block. I am really enjoying these sweet simple blocks. I hope you are too!

Block 6-The Flower

When Nancy started this alphabet quilt she had planned a story which would go with each one of the alphabet blocks. But she found that her little niece could make up her own stories. She would take out the block “A” with its letter and apple and chant a little song as she looked at it.  With the blue bird of the second block she was enraptured and kept running to the window to see whether she could find a blue bird. One evening Aunt Nancy told her of the blue bird and the happiness for which it stood.

The cat block made Joan chuckle. When the doll block was finished she begged Aunt Nancy to dress one of her dolls, Martha Ann, just like the quilt one.

And she quite upset Uncle Peter by telling the world at large when he took her to the circus that the elephant was just like the one on her quilt. And now Aunt Nancy wondered what she would do with the flower. As soon as the block was finished Joan ran for some perfume which she put on the flower to make it smell sweet. “What children don’t think of, “exclaimed her aunt.

The flower block was done in lavender and purple. Nancy had had a print dress which gave her scraps she needed for the flower.

She chose a pale green for stem and flower center and used the same shade of green for the leaves as she had appliquéd for the apple leaf.

**repeat of instructions for tracing the pattern and making the template **

When the paper pattern was dry she cut out the leaves, the stem and the whole rose She laid the whole rose on the piece of print and cut the pattern allowing one-quarter inch on all sides for turning under.

Then she cut the second circle from the pattern and cut her cloth from that, again allowing the quarter inch.

The innermost circle was cut last from the same green as used in the stem. The stem itself was cut from a bias piece of material, two times as wide as the pattern given. The raw edges were folded back until they net in the center of the wrong side and basted in place.

After all edges on all pieces were turned under, basted in place and pressed, Nancy laid them on the white block. She used the penciled outlines as a guide.

She laid on the large circle fist and appliquéd that with fine, slanting invisible hemming stitches.

Then over that she laid the second circle. When that was sewed in place she appliquéd the small one on top of the other two.

The leaves and stem were put in place and the sixth of the 24 alphabet blocks was done.

“G” comes next”, mused one club member. ‘What do you suppose will be used for that?”

Click HERE for the pattern