Coneflowers . . .

I love batiks!!!  I kept looking at this beautiful teal one and wondered what it would look like as a canvas.  So I placed the fat quarter batik onto some low loft batting and stitched away.  I actually chose to use one of the stitches on my Viking and sewed grids which worked just as well.  When finished I had my batik fabric canvas . . .

This is how I chose to quilt it . . . curvy grid pattern . . .

What to "paint" on the canvas was the next step.  I went to my trusty notebook of ideas and found a beautiful coneflower pattern in the June/July 2011 Quick/Quilts magazine by McCalls Magazine.  I reduced the size of the templates and began to trace onto the back of my two-sided fusible.  Next step was to choose fabrics . . . auditioned quite a few colors and decided on a really pretty yellow with orange centers.  I decided I wanted the leaves to "jump" off the fabric canvas so I fused two fabrics together and satin stitched around the shape of the leaf, cut out closely but not on the stitched line, and put them aside to be the last addition to this project.

Next I ironed the fusible onto the reverse side of my chosen fabric and made petals and centers of my flowers.  I found some darker green fabric (actually I think it was Christmas fabric) and cut out stems on the bias so they would not ravel and I could curve them easily. 

After fusing the petals and centers down onto the fabric, I stitched around and around in both petals and centers. 

 I decided on a ziz zag stitch for the stems and stitched down the middle of the cut out leaves.  I wanted some of them off the fabric for added dimension.  Here's the finished project . . .

I like the finished project and hope it motivates you to start with a fabric canvas and create something, too.

"Dance to the music of your dreams;

the steps will bring you joy."

Anonymous

HAVE FUN!!!