Day 1: Flower Favorites Blog Hop

Welcome!! We're celebrating spring with a Flower Favorites blog hop, featuring blocks made with flower fabrics and/or blocks that are themselves flower-themed. We're excited to share these tutorials with you, and hope they'll inspire your next quilt, wall hanging, or table runner! 

First up is Debby Kratovil from Debby Kratovil Quilts. She's paired a 
classic favorite (Fossil Ferns) with a fresh tonal print from Contempo's 
Palm Springs collection using oh-so-hot hexies. Enjoy her tutorial and 
then head over to her blog to see how you can enter to win some 
fabric for yourself!

Here's Debby:
I LOVE FLOWERS!

Yes, I still love FOSSIL FERNS

Spring colors make me happy. I love the greens and the 
purples and pinks, and - well - all of it!

I made these 2" EPP hexagons in the past few months using 
my bits and pieces of Benartex's Fossil Ferns. Did you know 
that Fossil Ferns have stayed strong for over 15 years? And 
there are 100 colors. That's unheard of in the quilt fabric 
world. I didn't know what I wanted to make, but I knew 
something would hit me eventually.

I was asked to join in the Benartex Blog Flower Favorites 
Block Hop and use any fabrics to make any flower. Now 
that's what I love! I have the brand new Palm Springs 
Collection and selected a neutral background for my block 
and two other fabrics which will become sashing and border.

3 fabrics from the new Palm Springs Collection

I have enough hexies to make at least 4 blocks. First, let's see 
it from the back:

All those hexies sewn in a Grandmother's Flower Garden variation

Notice my basting. I never sew through the papers; just 
stitch in the folds at the corners.

Background is cut 12-1/2" x 18-1/2"

This is a BIG block. I love big blocks (hence the title and 
theme of my second book, Supersize 'Em Quilts). Notice 
that I've taken the papers out of the patches and it's pinned
for stitching. How did I stitch it?

I used monofilament in the top and white thread in the bobbin
- all machine sewn

Notice that the patches were joined by hand. There is no need 
to remove the basting. Saves time!

Stitched onto the background and then background fabric 
is trimmed away

Nice big piece of fabric to be used for another project

And how does it look stitched?

Grandmother's Flower Garden Variation block: 
12" x 18" finished

Thanks Debby!

Stop by Debby's blog to find out how you can enter to win 
a bundle of Palm Springs to play with yourself. And be sure 
to visit Sew in Love with Fabric each day this week for another inspiring flower block tutorial.