Baltimore Blooms

Sew Along Part 2

Finished size: 123.5cm (88in) square

Finished block size: 17in square

Block 5: Sydney Opera House Vase

Trace each of the shapes for this block from the Pattern Sheet onto template plastic using a fine-point permanent-marking pen. Label them and cut them out smoothly and accurately on the traced lines. Trace around the berry template on to cardboard and cut it out on the lines. Cut bias strips, 1½in wide from one of the green print fabrics. You will need sufficient strips to cut two lengths 10½in (left and right stems) and one length 9½in (centre stem). Join cut strips together to achieve these lengths if necessary, trimming the ‘dog ears’ from the seams. Working at your ironing board, feed the bias strips into the lower part of the 18mm bias tape maker and the 10mm fusible tape into the upper groove with the paperThis creates a strip that has the raw edges folded into the centre on the wrong side of the fabric with fusible tape fused to it. Choose fabrics for each applique shape, referring to the photo as a guide. Trace around the templates on the right side of your chosen fabric, then cut them out by eye ¼in outside the traced lines. Begin the applique by needleturn stitching the decorative zigzag on the vase. Lay the background fabric on the Pattern Sheet and use a pencil to trace the lines for the stems onto it. These lines represent the centre of the fabric strips that you will applique over them. Peel the backing paper off the two upper yellow stems. Fuse them in place over the lines you traced on the fabric. Then fuse the straight green stem in place over the centre crease, covering the ends of the yellow stems and with one short end tucked under the top edge of the vase by about ⅝in. Fuse each of the other green stems over the lines you traced on the fabric, again with one short end tucked under the top edge of the vase. Repeat to position and fuse the two lower yellow stems.