Applique with Karen Kay Buckley!

One of the classes I took last week at Quilt Festival was "Garden Medley Applique," taught by Karen Kay Buckley. I have been a huge fan of her work and her glorious Perfect Circles for quite some time, so it was a super treat to actually take a class with her. And it was a great class! I came out feeling so inspired and confident with some great new techniques.

Our class project was a little flower.

We didn't have enough time to really make a lot of progress on it, but we did have the opportunity to practice the various techniques required to complete it, with the main focus on preparing the applique pieces.

While I still love me some needleturn applique, there are times when I want to have stronger consistency in the look of my applique from piece to piece. Her method, using heat-resistant template material and starch, really results in crisp, consistent pieces that also make the actual applique part of the process a breeze.

I'm so excited about really applying what I've learned that I've dug out a kit I bought back in 2008 from SewBatik for the "Blooms All Around" quilt (a pattern by The Rabbit Factory).

All of those flowers in the border offer a great opportunity to really put all of the techniques she shared to work, including marking placement, using Perfect Stems, preparing curved shapes, and getting consistent pointy-points (which has always been my applique nemesis!).

My fabric is ready to go and my templates are made, so I'm gonna start prepping some applique fun!!!