Christmas Block-a-thon Block 12
Our last block for this block-a-thon is going to be a 8" applique block. It will be a quick block to use to fill in those missing spots in your quilt. You can use applique or simply use the design to make a quilted block instead.
I choose a light fabric for the background and a simple holly leaf shape for the applique. A holly leaf is easy to draw. Draw a rectangle the size you want - for this one I use 2.25" x 1.25". Draw a dot in the center of each short side. The dots 1/4 of the way in from both ends on the long sides (that's 4 dots), then connect the dots with gentle curves.
On fusible webbing, I drew just one leaf. This is pressed to the wrong side of the fabric and cut out. I then used this lone leaf as a template to cut more by first, fusing a piece of fabric and removing the backing paper, then using my template to cut out a number of leaves at a time.
holly leaves
I'll fuse some red too so I can cut out some holly berries - alternatively, I could use beads but I don't have any suitable on hand, so applique it is.
With leaves and berries cut out, I can rearrange them on my block. I can make a number of different arrangements. Here are some ideas.
A single corner arrangement
Leaves in opposite corners
central design
Arranged in pairs in a circle
The last arrangement gave me an idea! I'll use Paintstiks to make a vine - a double vine using my metallic Paintstiks I've been wanting to try out for some time. To help the fabric from moving as I draw this, I'll press some freezer paper on the back - it really makes a difference. (Note: If you want to learn more about how to use Paintstiks, I can recommend Daphne Greig's online workshop)
painted vine
I added the appliques over top of the vine and I double-stitched them down using free-motion stitching, quilting it through the layers as I went. You can use any stitching you like - I think blanket stitch always looks nice too. Note: I did trim down the three leaves pointed in toward the center a little.
My finished block
Around the vine, I used four lines of free-motion stitching. I love how this turned out!
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