Aristocat Block 4 and an Applique Tip

I have finished stitching Block 4 in the Aristocat BOM. It is unbelievably hot and humid here for autumn. Our temp overnight did not get below 19C  which is about 67F making it very hard to sleep. I am pretty lethargic in this type of weather but knew that  everyone would be waiting patiently on another block.

This block uses the Hatched in Africa Alley design.

 

I have also selected another fabric line to do the BOM with the Floral Sketches 1 set and that line is Honey Honey by Kate Spain. This fabric line has those punchy bright clear colours that I also wanted for this set of designs. I can also use solid purple, tangerine etc as well as a clear bright green for leaves.

 

I am also working on a fan pillow using one of the designs from the Martha Pullen IEC and hope to get that finished today. This pillow is white on white. The tutorial will be sent out to those who have signed up to receive my projects for the year.

 

Machine applique tip

As all the Aristocat block are machine applique , sometimes we do not trim as close as we should and  end up with a little too much fabric on the edge. One little trick I use is to lick my fingers and then go around the cut edges rolling the fabric in towards the centre with my damp fingers. If you do this just before you stitch more often than not the fabric will be nicely caught under the stitching giving you a lovely clean finish.