If you've made it this far, you have sewn all your 12 flower blocks and the sun compass and are wondering whats next.. Here is where we are going to work with what you have, and not with what you should have according to this pattern. We are going off road! And let me explain why.. First of all, there's colour and fabric choice.. if you lay out your blocks exactly as the pattern above, it may not be the best layout your quilt could have. For instance when I laid my blocks out exactly as the quilt pattern, I ended up with 4 blocks of red flowers in a row. There was a real clump of red in one section and it looked aweful. So I've moved my 4 red blocks, placing one in each corner. I then took my 3 blue blocks and evenly spread them around, and so on.  It might take you a while to decide where your blocks are going. Take some photos with your phone along the way so you can decide on your final layout. Looking through you phone makes it easier for you to spot the "clumps" of colour or tone. Lets talk about how this medallion quilt is going to come together.  First of all we have our centre block - our sun compass. It's going to have a thin floral frame.  This is surrounded by a floral block border - these are the 12 floral blocks that you made. First we will attach two side border sections, made from 4 of our floral blocks. Next we will attach the top and bottom border sections made from our remaining 8 floral blocks. The pieced border is a border that features the scrappy floral prints we have used to frame our flower blocks. The last border is a plain border which is cut 3 1/4" wide Last is the binding - cut at 2 1/2" wide To frame the sun compass, cut your 4 frames 1 3/8" x 20 1/2" ( or whatever your compass square measures - mine was 20" so believe me there is wiggle room)  Cut 4 corner stones in the background fabric 1 3/8" Attach two squares to either end of two of your frames. Sew the first two plain frames to the sides of your compass centre Now add the frames with the cornerstones attached to the top and bottom of the sun compass Its now time to attach the side floral blocks to the framed sun compass. Make sure you pin the seam intersections so that your frames on your sun compass line up with the frames on your floral blocks.  The next step is to attach the top and bottom floral block rows, again making sure the seams line up by pinning them first.  The last bit of piecing from this quilt will be the pieced border. We are going to strip piece it, unless you are working with scraps and can't cut strips in any great length to strip piece.  If you are not familiar with strip piecing, check out my blog post from last year, in particular the first set of photos where I explain cutting and sewing the strips and then crosscutting them.  Your strips will be cut 2 1/8" wide. Sew one background fabric strip to a floral strip. Press well. Then crosscut this strip set to 3 1/4".  Join the sections of 3 1/4" together, topping and tailing them so that the fabric prints create a checkerboard pattern.  Each border has 16 units making up the checkerboard. You will need 64 units to make enough for the quilt.  Make and sew your border units together. Measure the length of these border units. Now cut 4 strips in the background fabric that is 3 3/4" wide x the length measured above. Sew these strips to each border unit.  ( ignore the seams in the picture below - your plain strip is cut in one length)  Now we need to make the 4 corner units. Once finished you will will attach two corner units to either end of 2 of your border units.  The corner unit consists of a four patch bordered on two sides by a mitred edge.  The four patch section consist of squares cut 2 1/8". The mitred edges are strips cut 3 3/4" x 7 3/8" and then trimmed on one edge at 45 degrees.     To sew this corner unit together, first make the four patch sections. Then pin and sew one mitred border from the straight side edge to the corner, stopping 1/4" short of the angled edge. Press.    Pin your second mitred border piece to the adjacent edge Beginning at the straight edge, sew towards the mitre, stop at the 1/4", lift the machine foot keeping the machine needle down to hold the fabric in place. Align the two pointy corner pieces and the mitred edge. Lower the foot and continue sewing to the end of the seam.     Your corner section seams should align with your border section seams. Attach two corner sections to the end of two pieced borders as below. You are now ready to attach the first two borders to the side edges of your quilt (the two without the corners attached.) Make sure you pin the borders and then sew. Press the quilt and then attach the second two borders (with the corners attached) again pinning first to align seams.  Phew!!! Nearly there!! The last border is a plain background border cut at 3 1/4", so it's time to press and measure your quilt, so you'll be able to cut the first two strips to the correct size. I would suggest measuring the quilt through the centre and cutting those 3 1/4" strips to this length, as a last effort in squaring up the quilt. Once you have the first two strips cut you can sew them on and press them. Repeat this step cutting the last two border strips to size before pinning and sewing them on.  Congratulations... if you are here with me now, you have a finished quilt top!! I hope you have enjoyed this years' challenging quilt - I think it is quite stunning and a credit to your sewing skills.  Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! Have a safe and relaxing holiday season.  Much love Danni xx

Who thought we would actually get here on time? Not me, thats for sure. With having spent the year being a quilt show carnie, I can honestly say its a miracle that we have arrived at December with Month 12's Block - the Black Eyed Susan. I have always wondered as to the name ( which of course refers to the black flower centre) and hoped that Susan is just over-tired and sporting a few "bags", rather than she "walked into a door." Regardless of whether our Susan is over worked or the victim of domestic violence, her viney beauty will take over your garden in no time at all, and in some areas she is considered a bit of a weed ( invasive species, sorry Susan) Nonetheless, she makes a marvellous quilt block and a stunning end to our flower blocks for this BOM. So here she is... Black Eyed Susan block Here is the number guide and colour guide -  I'm working on the border and construction notes this week and am planning on having them uploaded in time for the Christmas holidays so you can spend your turkey recovery time in your sewing rooms.  Until next month Danni xx

Hello Bomers Its well into November and that means this months block is OVERDUE! Since last month we have been to the US and back, travelling there for our first Houston Quilt Festival. It went very well, our Eppiflex templates were well received by the US Quilters and there was great interest from the shops. We had a post show wind down in San Francisco for 5 days - just enough time to really see the sights and walk around the city.  One of the nicest things we did there was visit the Flower Conservatory in Golden Gate Park. I have decided that when I grow up, I want a conservatory, not a garden. It was such a tranquil place, and just filled with amazing plants. Of course I'll have to work on my gardening skills a bit.  Here are some pics from the Conservatory.     Ok enough with the holiday snaps - here are this months colour guide and number plan. Novembers block is of course the Poppy. Here is the download "The poppy is the enduring symbol of remembrance of the First World War. It is strongly linked with Armistice Day (11 November), but the poppy's origin as a popular symbol of remembrance lies in the landscapes of the First World War. Poppies were a common sight, especially on the Western Front"* * from  www.iwm.org.uk › history › why-we-wear-poppies-on-remembrance-day

Hello BOMers. My sincerest apologies for the mix up with last months lettering guide. The gremlins attacked. Thankfully the block itself wasnt affected, just the lettering order, but that would confused you all the same. Nice to see you are keeping me on my toes! And many thanks to Lana for jumping in and helping out with the right letter order.  Well, it's October and time for an Aussie favourite, Crepe Myrtle. I love to see streets lined with this beautiful flowering tree as I travel around the country. I think they have to be one of our prettiest trees, with their generous display of colour each summer. So here is this months' block to download and print. There are some small insets strips to sew on this block so it should keep you busy for a while. And the numbering guide... See you in November after we are back from Houston!  

Hello again BOMers.  We are on a roll with indoor plants in the quilt pattern - last month was African Violets and now it's time for the classic house plant - the anthurium.  You recall them from the 70s and 80s right? After a little google search I discovered that each tiny spot on the spadix ( the central column) is actually an individual flower. And you thought this was just about making quilt blocks?                                                   Alright, enough with the horticulture - let's get to the sewing.. So here is the downloadable pattern for this months block. (Remember not to change the size when you print it.) Of course we also have the layout sheet and number guides below so you can work out what is going where... I'm sure this block is going to keep you busy for a bit - this month is a catch up before we head of to the USA for Quilt Festival, so please forgive me if I'm a bit remiss getting the patterns uploaded. Im going to try to get them all scheduled to post at the beginning of each month just in case I lose track of the date! Till next time Danni xx  

Hello intrepid foundation piecers! If you've hung in with me until now, congratulations. That means you are a foundation piecing PRO.  This months' block is the African Violet. Not the easiest plant to keep alive. We have one at work that was given to me by my friend Marj. We have not only kept it alive, but it flowers constantly and has just had babies, with the help of plant midwife Jo-anne.  The African Violet foundation block will take a little attention as it has many sub sections. Here is the  pattern Here is the layout sheet and number guide. I hope you are enjoying this years BOM. See you next month, Danni x  

Hello again! My how quickly those months fly around. This month I'm running a tad late and I do apologise. I've had a laptop change and although I felt terribly confident that everything important was locked away safely in dropbox, I managed to lose the file with this quilt drawing in it. ( Insert screaming and gasping noises here.) I have redrawn and double checked and can now upload this months block Daffodil.  Here is the colour section and number guide for the block As always I love your feedback so let me know how you go with it xx  

Hello again, glad to see you are back for more.  At the halfway mark we are welcoming in a flower with more than one common name.  I know them as a cornflower, but their other name is batchelors button.  This European native got it's name as they used to grow as weeds in the corn and wheat fields. The dried flowers have medicinal qualities, treating everything from fever to menstrual disorders.  I just love them for their intense colour. When you say something is "cornflower" blue, there is no mistaking it. Here is this months' pattern To help with the block layout, here are the colour guides and number guides I hope you are enjoying seeing your blocks come together as much as I am.  See you next month!  

Welcome to Month 5! Happy Mothers Day this month to all Aussie mums as this months block is the Chrysanthemum.  They are the tradional choice of flowers for mothers on their special day. As a busy mum, I would say, yes the flowers are lovely, but another day off a year would be better!!! Here is the pattern for this month. Here are the colour and number charts to help you sort out where the bits all go Well wherever you are on Sunday 12th May, regardless of whether you are a mum or not, I hope you have a lovely day. And if those around you don't spoil you, make sure you spoil yourself xx

Welcome to Month 3, and the primrose block At the bottom of the page are the cutting instructions for the outer border strips as you'll want to cut those off your 3m background fabric before you use up too much of it.  Also a note on the floral on point borders of each block, so please read the whole page.  But back to this month...  Ok its time for confessions - I'm not much of a gardener. I can do it, I just don't have much time for it.  So I googled what a primrose looks like and up came this image.                                                I'd say the block with its heart shaped leaves is fairly accurate then, wouldnt you? Its a much simpler block this month, but watch the centre where it all comes together. There is a lot of fabric there, which may cause headaches. Try to layer the seam if you can.  Here is the download for this month Here are the layouts for the block Cutting for the outer borders The very outer border strips are 2 1/2" x 60", however I would suggest cutting 62" off your 3m of background fabric and cutting lengthwise* the following  4 strips of 2 1/2" (  2 1/2" x 62") 4 strips of 3 1/2"  ( 3 1/2" x 62")  these are longer than we need but we will be recycling the leftovers into the corner blocks on the first patchwork border. *lengthwise - remove the selvedge and cut along the selvedge edge, not across the width of fabric like you usually would for blocks etc. A note on the floral pieced borders. ... My intention this year was to bring you a quilt that would help you to use up your scraps. With that in mind all of the floral pieces in this quilt can be just that. There's no need to make them the same as the original picture where all the floral fabrics are the same. I'll be making each of my blocks with a different floral surrounding and throwing every last scrap into that border.  Having said that if you want to use one fabric for the lot you'll need 1m, after all some of us have "scraps" that are 1m, or perhaps its that fabric we bought but just didnt find a home for yet.  I hope that clears up any confusion.