Updated Vintage Applique

A friend passed portions of an old applique project onto me some time ago.  Hand me down projects often share mysterious aspects ~ who started what when? How many hands did the project pass through before getting to its final destination.  Is the completed project remotely akin to the original concept?  In this case I can't positively answer any of those questions but I do know the majority of the applique pieces were cut and ready to applique when I received it but I did have to add flower centers, choose the background fabric and plan the layouts.  A quilt magazine with both patterns was included in the bag.  I attempted to update both 1930's era patterns (Pansy and Flower Basket) by pairing newer fabrics with the appliques.

The 15" blue-green botanic fabric squares helped define the pastel shapes.  By choosing to machine applique with a clear mono-filament thread, I minimized my time investment yet stayed true to the original design.  I could have combined the set of 4 basket blocks into one wall hanging (see photo) but I chose to finish them individually as donations to the Providence Spiritual Care Center for the dying. The pansy wreath is the first of my Guild Auction donations for 2011.

Working on UFO's (Unfinished objects) ahead of my monthly schedule will grant me a buffer when garden season kicks in and studio time diminishes.  All repetitive steps on these five small quilts were done in an assembly line progression.  It saves time, motion and effort to do all the measuring, cutting, ironing, fusing, applique, piecing, layering, quilting and binding in stages for multiple projects.  The payoff is when the last step is completed for all quilts simultaneously!  The photo below shows the quilt work ~ machine stitched in clear monofilament thread.

 

The quilt on the left was titled by the Guild's Silent Auction Committee.  It is now known as "Dancing Bouquet".