Springtime flowers

There is a definite chill to the air, finally.  Winter is here and the rains have also fallen for the last few days, finally.  The plants in the garden are perking up again, and the kangaroo paws are beginning to flower. Perhaps this is what prompted the flower design of today's creation with the aim of using up some of the Suffolk Puffs I had lying around.

I discovered how to make 'Suffolk Puffs' in a craft magazine late last year, and since then have found a number of applique uses for these handy, and very quick and easy to make, little circles of fabricy-puffiness.

Springtime Flowers

Basic Tutorial:

• Make 3 Suffolk puffs, one slightly larger than the others as follows:

• for each puff, cut out a circle of fabric approximately 2/3rds larger than you want the finished puff to be
• using a needle and thread, use a running stitch to sew all the way around the circle, turning over a small seam as you go 
• pull up both ends of the thread to form a little pouch, knot ends together and then flatten fabric to create the puff.
• Sew 3 stems onto the baby grow using straight stitch on a machine
• Cut out 3 pieces of green fabric with 'heat and bond' ironed onto one side to create the leaves and then iron these in place
• Machine applique the 3 leaves using a small straight stitch and stitching around each leaf twice.  Don't worry about sewing a perfectly straight edge, as long as you catch the edge all the way around to prevent excessive fraying.
• Hand stitch the Suffolk puff 'flower' heads in place & you're done.