If you are a fan of Deanna Spingola's Strip Pieced Watercolor, you may recognize this one from "More Strip-Pieced Watercolor Magic". It is on page 74 and also on the back cover.

Deanna was at a guild meeting where I gave a program and saw my colorwash quilts with raw edge flowers appliqued on them. She called me the next morning to see if I would do a quilt for her upcoming book. When I met with her she requested that I add my raw edge flowers since it would be different than the others in the book.

I had just gone through a divorce a year earlier after 34 years of marriage. This was a good confidence building project for me to undertake at that time. I was able to lose myself in the creation, using her guidelines for the background and my own designs for the flowers.

I applique by machine with the quilt top in a hoop and a loose cut piece of fabric on top. I don't use any fusible because I like little the raised effect of the fabric. I start free motion stitching like pen and ink drawing and add each piece of fabric as I am ready for it.

Here are some close up pictures of the free motion drawing by machine.