Hello Spring!

Spring has finally arrived here in NH - we have forsythia blooming, a few daffodils (we never know where these will appear) and the grass is getting greener!

Sew, how about a bike ride?

As a Michael Miller Brand Ambassador, I get to play with the new fabric lines - this one is just sweet!

This project is made using Michael Miller Fabric's Nature Journal - a cute nod to this season! Our pattern, Hello Spring was a perfect "vehicle" (pun intended) for this line!

I added the mint That's It Dot along with it, just for fun!

After some simple piecing of the base of the banner, I gave the wrong side a little mist with Therm-o-web's Spray'n Bond - then sandwiched the top, batting and backing. I like to applique small pieces through the backing and batting for stability - and it gives a little texture, without quilting. This piece is 12" x 20" - I generally do some walking foot quilting along the pieced borders and that's just enough. How sweet are these colors?

A buttonhole stitch was used around the shapes - just personal preference. There is something satisfying about stitching that line around the edge of the applique that I really like. I used Aurifil Thread's 50 wt for the entire piece - my stitch width was set at 2.3mm and length at 2.7mm.

I wanted to create a cloud of butterflies, so I fussy-cut from one of the fabrics. I left about 1/8th inch all around - the background were the same color so it blends nicely.

Just a few drops of Therm-o-Web's Fabric Fuse was needed. The tip of the Fabric Fuse bottle really helps to control the size of the drops (use as little as possible) then use tweezers to position. Let it dry for at least 6 hours - when dry, the piece is still soft and flexible! Now all the flutterbies need is a little straight stitching all around- don't forget to add antennae here and there! It's hard to see the straight stitching because I chose to stitch around the outline with a matching thread - kind of like broderie-perse.

So how would you like a kit for this project, using Nature Journal from Michael Miller Fabrics? We have pre-fused and pre-cut a kit for you! All you do is stitch! How to enter? Comment on this post to enter or comment on FB or Instagram (you must comment on the post that announces this giveaway)!

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a happy sewing day!

Kris