Playful Petals Blog Hop

Some of my favorite quilt books lately are the ones that take a basic concept—like, for example, a simple petal shape—and turn out all of these amazing, innovative, inspiring designs using that concept. That's why I'm so excited to be part of the Playful Petals

blog tour today!

Playful Petals, by Corey Yoder of Little Miss Shabby, is a perfect example of all the creativity and beauty that can come from something as simple as a petal shape.
When Corey asked me to be a part of the blog tour, I was a little nervous. I'm no appliquér. I've done a few small appliqué projects here and there, of course, but it's hardly my thing. But. Such cute projects! Such an inspiring book! How could I say no?

Fortunately, every single project in Playful Petals has a full-size quilt design and a mini/pillow design. So you always have the option to make something small. As a novice appliquér, I especially love that. Much less intimidating. : ) I made the Daisy Fields pillow from the book. Corey's use of bright, scrappy prints throughout the book is always inspiring, so of course I had to go in that direction with my version as well.

And you know what? Appliqué is much easier than I remembered it being. I followed Corey's suggestions in the "Appliqué Basics" chapter of Playful Petals—she gives some excellent tips there. I probably complicated things for myself by deciding I had to blanket-stitch my petals—straight stitch would no doubt have been easier. But with the yarn-dyed linen background, I wanted to do something that complimented a more home-spun look.

Bikes! So cute!
I think my Bernina 750 helped make the appliqué task much easier as well. That machine does some seriously beautiful blanket stitching, despite my minimal expertise. This blanket stitching isn't perfect, of course, but I think this is my first time attempting it in at least three years, so I'll take it!

I'm so pleased with my finished Daisy Fields pillow!
Be sure to check out blog posts about Playful Petals from everybody on the hop. The schedule is below: September 15: Amy @ Stitchery Dickery Dock
September 16: Melissa @ Happy Quilting
September 17: Jessica @ Quilty Habit
September 18: Faith @ Fresh Lemons Quilts
September 19: Amy @ Diary of a Quilter
September 22: Sherri @ A Quilting Life
September 23: Amber @ Gigi’s Thimble
September 24: Lori @ Bee in My Bonnet
September 25: Amanda @ Crazy Mom Quilts
September 26: Lee @ Freshly Pieced - Me!!!
September 27: Corey @ Little Miss Shabby - blog tour wrap-up and giveaway!

Thank you, Corey, for having me on your blog hop today! : )