Working on Something for Summer and a Tip....

I'm pretty much a beginner quilter but that hasn't stopped me from trying to design a wall hanging.  

It all started with this pattern from Buggy Barn.

I just loved the center flower basket.... perfect for wool appliqué.

 I wanted to make something more scrappy for summer in red, white and blue. 

I found some French General fabrics in the colors I wanted. 

I made the center wool appliqué and did the quilt squares. 

One problem..,

I think these squares are too scrappy.  

I love the fabrics.  

I just think I need more solids or smaller prints to make this block work. 

 I just don't like them for this project.  

So with the left over fabric and buying a neutral fabric I made these blocks.

Now these pinwheel blocks look so much better to me. 

I had the piano key stripes cut so I added them to make the wall hanging larger. 

Used the left over red for a border. 

 I like how it all came together.

I have it all pinned and ready for quilting.

 For quilting I want to outline the wool appliqué and stipple the background on the block. 

I'm not sure how I going to quilt the rest.

Now here's my tip....

I take a picture of my quilt to see how the blocks and fabrics are working together. 

I will do this to audition fabrics for my borders too.  

I don't have a design wall and taking pictures works just as well.

Happy sewing,

Leanne