Carolina Bloom

Lately I’ve been getting hints that I need to improve my applique. My husband and daughter are bored with my angular pieced blocks; they’d like to see images they can recognize. My mother tells me (and she’s probably right) that I’d be more likely to win a blue ribbon if my state fair entries had a combination of piecing and applique. So when I saw a class offered for a table runner calling for both techniques, I took the plunge. Below is the teacher’s finished product. My first attempt is above. I was doing well until it came to satin stitching around the petals and leaves. Maybe there’s a trick to this I haven’t considered yet. I can make my Bernina do a sloppy zigzag that won’t cover the raw fabric edges, and I can make tight little thread blobs that get stuck under the presser foot. But somehow I can’t do anything in between.