Mini Quilt of the Month- February: Liberty of London Tana Lawn Circular Applique

For our February Mini Quilt of the Month we decided to venture into the world of circles.  So often in quilts straight lines and right angles dictate our designs since they seem more approachable, but with this super simple technique of appliqueing circles, the possibilities are endless!  Inspired by the design of our Liberty Swatch Portrait Wall which greets our customers as they arrive in our Soho shop, we used the wonderfully soft and cheerful Liberty of London Tana Lawn in a rainbow of colors.  We love the whimsical charm of these colorful circles floating on a soft white background.

One can easily get lost in the enchanting designs and exquisitley detailed printing of Liberty of London's Tana Lawn, and its colors, especially when viewed in a rainbow spectrum, are so rich and saturated.  This quilt is the perfect way to use small amounts of precious Tana Lawn to make a big impact.

To make this project even more doable we created a precut Liberty bundle that has all of the Tana Lawn you will need to create the appliques for this quilt, you can find our Liberty Mini Rainbow Bundle right here.

If you'd like to make your own please visit our February Mini Quilt of the Month: Liberty of London Tana Lawn Circular Applique Project Journal right here.

Comments

[Jend]

Adorable! And very fresh for spring. Seems simple enough for a quilting newbie like me.

[Mary Beth at Yarn U iPhone app]

I haven't been a quilter to date, but this one is darling...besides, I love Liberty prints. It's a terrific way to use up scraps, I'd imagine. Another theme could be 1930s prints. And the 1930s were all about circles so it would be appropriate.

[Emily]

Wow, this is beautiful! This could be a fun design for a table runner or placemats, too.

[Lindsey Moldenhauer]

Yay! I love circles! Those prints are so yummy! The pattern has a refreshing simplicity as well.

[Robin & Judith]

It's beautiful!

You've inspired our weekend project. All kinds of tiny quilts!

http://windyandfriends.blogspot.com/2011/02/weekend-project-tiny-quilts.html

[Simi]

Sweet. I look forward to seeing this feature every month.

[Tina L.]

I am a newbie to quilting~I have only completed 1 so my question is this: why do you have to hand sew the circles down instead of machine sewing them to the front piece? Is it a design element? Just wondering. I don't mind hand sewing but I have a hard time with "hiding" my sewing like the picture demonstrates. Thanks!

[msstitcher]

it is so lovely to see something different-this is a brilliant idea!

[purl bee]

Hi Tina-

Thanks for the question. The had sewing allows the circles to be sewn on invisibly since you can hide the stitches. If you sewed them on with a machine there would be a seam line around each circle, which would be very hard to do neatly. With that said it's entirely up to you how you want to sew them on. If you're really uncomfortable with the hand sewing go ahead and give machine sewing them a try. Try to sew them on 1/8-inch from their edges. You can always rip out the seams and try again if you don't like how it looks.

Let us know how it goes.

Thanks!-- Molly

[Talia]

This is beautiful! Really, really, unique and lovely! I should show my Nana- she needs to actually USE some of the special fabrics she has, and this would be perfect!!

[Alice]

Please teach a class for this!

[Douce Eilof]

It's wonderful!!!! I love the colors...
Good and shinny day to you!