Fellow Quilters,
I had a delightful taste of Spring last week alongside my colleagues in the FIGO booth at QuiltCon 2023. We escaped Toronto just before a snowstorm and enjoyed the “light jacket” weather in Atlanta GA as a reprieve from winter. Even our booth was Spring-like, particularly the section featuring Heather Bailey’s gorgeous Local Honey collection. Heather spent 2 days at the booth chatting with her fans. It was a thrill for me to have the opportunity to meet the designer behind 2 of my favorite collections, True Kisses and Local Honey.
Designer Heather Bailey delighted QuiltCon attendees in meet-&-greet sessions
Speaking of Spring, the theme for this month’s Quilt Block Mania is flowers. Who doesn’t love flowers?!? I almost picked up a bunch while grocery shopping yesterday – they instantly brighten the day 😊. While there is still snow on the ground, I know that the first flashes of color will come from the crocuses as they pop their cheery purple blossoms through the snow. Crocuses are among the very first flowers to bloom each spring. Crocus flowers come in Easter-egg colors of purple, yellow, lavender, cream and white. With that in mind, I designed a delightful block featuring this harbinger of Spring.
Crocuses block by Patti’s Patchwork
Here is my Crocuses block , made with 4 lovely lavender shades of Northcott’s Toscana. You can find the pattern here.
To test my block, I used some handy scraps on my cutting table, left over from my Faster & Fabulous Bargello class on the Quilt Bee at Sea Hawaiian cruise last month (I still haven’t unpacked one suitcase!). These scraps were from the peach/orange/red Dream Weaver ombre by Northcott and a few Patrick Lose Mixmaster blenders. Once everything was cut, I was ready to press my ½-circle flower bases.
My Crocuses test pieces are cut and ready to go
I trimmed my plastic template used to cut the bases, removing the seam allowance, and starch-&-pressed the curved edge around the template – a nice crisp edge!
A spritz of sizing helps set the crisp smooth curved edge
Once the bases were stitched in place, the blooms went together quickly.
This version of Crocuses looks more like tulips
My test version of the Crocuses block looks like tulips, another Springtime favorite. Choose your favorite palette and create your own bouquet.
You can also combine this block with one or more terrific blocks from the other participating designers this month – there are 26 blocks this month! You can find the links here:
Chubby Daisy Quilt block by Carolina Moore
Violet by Inquiring Quilter
Dahlia by Inflorescence Designs
Poppy by Boberry Design Co
Summer Poppies
Coronation Bloomd
Rose of Sharon by QuiltFabrication
Irises by Paleofish Designs
Lavender by Palm Creations
Crocuses at Patti’s Patchwork
Tulip by Penny Spool Quilts
Improv Pansy at Lovingly, Lissa
Daisy by Appliques Quilts and More
Cone Flower
Summer Flower by Crafty Staci
Mother Nature’s Memos
Kaye Collins- Big Blossom
Flower Shop
Star Flower Quilt Block
FPP Flower at The (not so) Dramatic Life
Spring Tulip by Around the Bobbin
Pretty Pot
Happy Sunflowers by Blue Bear Quilts
Poppy by Sallys’ Sewing Circle
Reversible Flower Block | Happy Hippie Studio
Primrose Pinwheels by A Piece of Quiet Quilts
Flower power
For an earlier Quilt Block Mania post, I designed another floral block – a rosebud wreath
Rosebud Wreath by Patti’s Patchwork
– and this block was the inspiration for one of my upcoming classes at A Mountain Quiltfest June 5-8 in Pigeon Forge TN. I am teaching 4 different classes this year, and am joined by some other world-class teachers, including keynote speaker Jacqueline de Jonge of Be Colourful. You can find the full list of classes and show details here.
Speaking of colorful, I am filming my learn-to-free-motion-quilt tutorials next week using my Color Play learn-to-quilt panel and want to address issues that quilters have while learning to quilt. If you have tried f-m quilting and are still not comfortable with it, or haven’t tried it because you are afraid to take that first step, I’d love to hear from you. Please post a comment below and let me know what’s holding you back, or which technique/design/skill in f-m quilting you’d like to learn. I’ll tailor the videos to your requests. As a thank you, everyone who comments by March 20 will get a chance to win this month’s giveaway – a cheery fat ¼ pack of X’s and Oh’s by Northcott.
This month’s draw prize for those who leave a comment about free-motion quilting questions
Good luck to you!
Cheers,
Patti
pattispatchwork-blog.com 
Ok. I know that you know, that I am not a novice FM quilter. However, I do have a question that I think would be worthwhile addressing. A while back, I bought a varigated thread (well known, quality thread manufacturer) for my top thread. Alas, it kept breaking during the FM quilting process and boy was I surprised and shocked I had SO much trouble with it. I played with my tension. I had similar weight thread in my bobbin. What could have been my problem?
Thanks for that suggestion Judy – I’ll add it to the list.
Part of what is holding me back is the techniques of using the machine to get the stitches even. I also want the process to be more than stippling. What to quilt in borders so that they do not ripple. What parts of the quilt to quilt first.
Oh, great suggestions Joan! Thanks 🙂
I’d love to see your take on feathers, everyone has such different styles and approaches
Yes they do, and I can talk about them too. Thanks Elspeth!
I’ve just started trying free motion quilting and haven’t tried more than a meander. I want to try other designs but have trouble figuring out what. Any suggestions on what to try?
Sandy, I can cover different fillers in addition to stippling. Thanks!
Among other things I struggle with stitch length, as it varies through out the quilting. Is there a standard stitch length or does it depend on the size of the quilt?
Thanks for your comment Nancy – I’ll be sure to cover stitch length in the videos
Any tips of fm quilting with applique? I like to have even density of quilting throughout the quilt.
Great suggestion Gail! I’ll cover that in the quilting-with-appliques lesson.
thank you for sharing your block. I love this. I love crocuses. This block is just in real life. my crocuses seem to go every which way. LOL
I keep hearing practice, practice to gain confidence. I guess the more you do, the better you become
Yes Cate, it’s so true.
Don’t be afraid to use other tools when learning to free motion quilt. I learned to mark certain areas with an air erasable marker to keep my pattern balanced. Give it a try🙋♀️❤️
FM quilting on vintage machines. I have a Singer 401A which is a slant needle machine – can I use a darning foot with the slant needle? Also marking quilting designs with stencils. I have no artistic talent whatsoever, so bought a couple of stipple stencils, but haven’t had the guts to try them yet. Help! By the way, awesome crocus block!
Like some others who have commented, I am interested in beginner designs besides stippling. And whether my inconsistent stitch length indicates a need for more practice or an improved technique. I love your flower blocks, thanks for sharing!