There's nothing quite like a fresh bundle of pretty fabric to inspire you to try something new, and that's just what I did with Kelly Parker Smith's new line Windsor Garden when it arrived on my doorstep. How adorable are these prints?!? Perfect for a bright, summery project.
I so enjoyed working with Kelly's fabric. In addition to being adorable to look at, it is super soft and has fantastic drape. I especially love the Amelia print with it's variety of whimsical flowers and shapes - I knew that would be a great starting point for the Brimfield block that I've been seeing pop up all over instagram lately. I'm not one for a whole lot of hand sewing and I already have another EPP project in the works so I though I'd try something a little different - fake EPP!
I starched all my fabric before starting the process to make sure it would hold it's shape when the paper was removed, then glued the fabric on to the paper pieces as usual. I then gave it a good press to make sure the fabric was creased really well. Here's where I veered off track.
Instead of stitching the pieces together by hand, I wanted to see if some fusible interfacing would hold it all together in place of hand sewing. I tried a really lightweight interfacing first and it wasn't quite strong enough so I switched to Pellon SF101 and it worked great! I cut it into 1/2" pieces to use over all seams I would have hand sewn. I made sure to butt the edges right up against each other as I heated the interfacing - watch those fingers though!
I was pretty gentle with the fused pieces (especially when removing the papers) but it definitely held together. I did find that it was a little easier to interface them with the papers still in versus without. Next I used some good ol washable Elmers to glue baste the blocks on to the background and then stitched them down by machine. All that's left now is to quilt it.
These fabrics were really fun to work with and I could definitely picture them in many more projects. This is just the beginning of the blog hop so lucky us, we will get to see lots of ideas in the next few weeks! Make sure to visit these other makers to see what they have up their sleeves:
June 21 - Kelly Parker Smith
June 26 - Allison Sews
June 28th - By Dylan M
July 3 - South Bay Bella
July 5 - Knot and Thread
July 10 - Color Girl Quilts
July 12 - The Little Green Bean
July 17 - Elise and Emilie
July 19 - Steph Jacobson
Whew! So many projects to still look forward to. Would you love to have a fat quarter bundle of your own to play along with them? Visit my instagram later today to win a bundle of your very own!
For more information on where to buy Windsor Garden, visit Sweet Bee Designs and then come back here Thursday for a peek at another new Sweet Bee line, Wonder Full by Lizzie Clark.
Looks great!
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