applique wreath

I haven't done any applique for the best part of a year and was having withdrawal symptoms so pulled out a block to prep. This is block number 10 from the Beyond The Cherry Trees quilt. The pieces you can see in the photo are now ready for sewing down onto the background fabric.

I had to think about how to tackle the circular wreath in the middle and decided to use the starch and iron method of preparing the applique pieces.
I cut the paper circle from two thick layers of freezer paper and ironed it to the fabric. I then ironed the outside seam allowance after starching it. After that was done, I cut out the excess fabric from the center and did the same to the inside seam. I'm using a hard pressing board I made from an Ikea lazy susan and thick linen fabric.

 Here you can see I've managed a pretty accurate circle which I've glue basted down.

There's a lot of information regarding the starch and iron method on you tube from Simple Bird Applique (click) if you're interested. It suits me at the moment as the stitching seems to go faster and its not as hard on my weakened right hand. I also like to use the Clover mini iron.