Rowdy Flat Library Quilt Block 3

I am having so much fun with Susan Smith's Rowdy Flat Library Quilt pattern.  Block 3 is finished and I am really happy with it! There are lots of little details like birds, bugs and flowers. This little bird is totally adorable! I cut him from a piece of fabric from an old charm pack. My goal was to centre one of the little flowers to create her eye. She measures about 1" tall and 1.75 wide. That is tiny and it also gives you an idea of just how small the leafs are. At first I didn't think I would be able to make such tiny appliques but I've found over the years that the best approach is to focus on just one small piece and take your time with it. When you focus on the whole it is overwhelming. I made the little rosy breast and that went fine so I then moved on to the bird's body. I just worked slow and took my time.

The is a caterpillar in this block too!

I cut the caterpillar from a leftover scrap from my quilt Mom's Flower Bed. This is the fabric I started with.

It made all of the stars in this quilt (except of course for the dark green stars) and it made the caterpillar in my  Rowdy Flat Library quilt.

Mom's Flower Bed by Karen H

Another little scrap of this same fabric was used to make a snail! I wanted something that mimicked the swirls and curls of the snail shell.

This is my finished block 3.

For me the hardest part of making a quilt from another person's pattern is fabric selection. I am so influenced by the fabrics the designer used and I find it very difficult to make my own choices. I don't have that problem when I make my own quilts.  You may recall my hexagon quilt along called Value Proposition. I did publish colour pictures of each block but I also published black and white pictures. When the colour is removed you see the value (the relative lightness or darkness of one fabric when compared to another). This little trick often helps me make fabric choices because I can search for a fabric that is lighter or darker and colour is much less of an influence.

Time to get back to sewing my polka dot hexagons and prepping for teaching tomorrow! Until I post again, happy sewing.
Karen H