Little Spring Blossoms

Many years ago, while vacationing with my family at Cascade, Idaho, I took myself for a little walk along the lake shore, and discovered a sweet little white wildflower. It was so unassuming….just tiny white blossoms that grew low to the ground. In fact, if you didn’t stop and stoop down to look closely, you wouldn’t notice the little purple pinstripes at the base of each petal. I honestly don’t know why that little flower has stuck with me all these years, but it inspired this flower block:

“Little Wildflower” by Anne Wiens – 2016

I’m going to give you two options for this block. The first is a two-leaf version that finishes 10″ square, and the second is a 12″, four-leaf version like the photo above.

For the two-leaf flower you will need:

“Little Wildflower” by Anne Wiens – 2016

Four 4.5″ squares (pink) for blossom

Eight 2.5″ squares green for leaves

Four 2″ squares yellow for flower center

Seven 2.5″ squares (white) for background

Three 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles (white) for background

Step 1a

Step 1b

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 1 – Use the stitch-and-flip method to put small triangle corners the 4.5″ blossom squares. To do this, lay a 2.5″ square on the corner of the larger square and draw a diagonal line as shown in photo 1a. Sew on the line and trim off the corner 1/4″ from the seam as in photo 1b above.

Step 1c

Step 1d

 

 

 

 

 

 

Press the corner open, and repeat on the opposite corner (photo 1c).

Make one “petal unit” with two white corners.

Step 1e

Make one petal unit with two green corners.

Step 1f

Make two petal units with one white corner and one green corner.

Step 1g

Use the same stitch-and-flip technique to put one yellow corner on each petal unit. Note that on the green and white petal units, the yellow corners need to be on opposite ends, as shown above.

Step 1h

Now you can sew the four petal units together as shown to make the blossom.

Set aside while we make the leaf units.

Step 2a

Step 2b

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2 – Use 2.5″ x 4.5″ background rectangles and 2.5″ green squares to make two flying geese units with the stitch-and-flip technique.

Step 2c

Sew 2.5″ background squares to both end of of one flying geese unit.

Sew a square to the right end of the other unit, and a 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangle to the left end.

Step 2d

Sew the shorter leave unit to the left side of the blossom unit.

10″ Little Wildflower by Anne Wiens

Sew the longer leaf unit to the bottom of your blossom to complete the 10″ Little Wildflower block.

I also made a 12″ version, with four leaves.

12″ Little Wildflower pieces

Four 4.5″ squares (purple) for blossom

Sixteen 2.5″ squares green for leaves

Four 2″ squares yellow for flower center

Four 2.5″ squares (white) for background

Eight 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles (white) for background

12″ block Petal Units

12″ Block Blossom Unit

For the larger block, all of the petal units have two green corners and one yellow.

12″ block Leaf Units

For the 12″ block, make four green and white flying geese units. Sew background squares to the end of two geese, and background rectangles to the ends of the other two flying geese.

Sew the shorter leaf units to opposite sides of the blossom unit.

Sew the longer leaf units to the top and bottom to complete the 12″ Little Wildflowers block.

Little Wildflowers – by Anne Wiens (2016)