Well…I can be quite the procrastinator.  I have been wanting to put the borders on “Bed of Roses”, designed by Sue Garman and the quilt I chose for my last BOM.  I think I really just hated finishing this quilt because I have enjoyed every moment, every stitch.  I am sorry to see it go:)  But time does march on!

So, first I stitched the inner border.  Be careful with those little pink cornerstones.  They can be tricky.

Next, I measured the sides of my quilt and cut the borders to that exact measurement.  That’s right, you are going to slice right through that last scallop.  Yikes!

I folded my border in half lengthwise and measured from the centre to make sure I had the equal amount of the scallop on each end.

First border is on and looking good!

Repeat with the remaining borders and don’t forget to add the green cornerstones:)  Voila!

So now I will show you how I finished the 3rd block of my new BOM.  When I make my templates, I like to use 2 layers of freezer of freezer paper.  I trace my pattern onto the shiny side of the freezer paper.  I use a fine Sharpie because it doesn’t smudge.  I also label all the pieces.

Next, I take another piece of freezer paper  (with the paper side up) and place the traced sheet of freezer paper on top of it.

Then I iron both sheets with a hot iron.

Now I can cut out my templates!

Now I am ready to prepare the pieces.

After I prepared all of the pieces, I took the time to draw on the seam allowance.  This is a step I will not skip.  I place the template shiny side up on the fabric and draw the remaining seam allowance.

Ok, the tail feathers are all prepared and the seam allowance is drawn on.  Before I can glue them on to the background, I need to add the stem, leaves and rosebuds.

Now we can add the first feather.  I used a pin and stabbed through the feather to make sure it was in the correct spot.  As you can see, the seam allowance actually covers a good part of the next feather.

Now I can add the next piece.  It is fiddly, so thank goodness I had help!

 

Can you see the beauty of drawing on the seam alowance?  It is like having a road map!

The last piece to go on is the only piece in the tail section that is completey prepped (except for the very top, of course!).

Sweet!

The rest of the block is a walk in the park…I finished the bird body using the same techniques as the tail feathers.  I prepared the pieces and drew on the seam allowance.

Slick, indeed.

So, now I am ready to finish the head and neck section.  I traced the neck section and labelled the pieces.  The hash marks mean that I am going to leave that edge raw.

Same technique for the head feathers…

The bird’s head….

And finally, the collar!

You  may have noticed I forgot the bird’s feet, so I prepared them and glued them in place.  They’re kind of tiny:)

I stitched the feet in place and then tossed the block into a sink full of hot, soapy water.

I left the block to air dry and wouldn’t you know it?  I forgot to stitch one of the feathers in place.  Always make me giggle!

Til next time……

Kerry