I am not sure why I haven't made this beauty years ago, it has always been a favorite flower of mine with its dainty wee flowers and heart-shaped leaves. My African Violet started when another quilter contacted me and asked if I had a block in my collection. When I replied that I didn't and asked if she had any photos for me to work from, she happily complied with several photos from her growing beauties.
The leaves grow in a neat, overlapping rosette, creating a soft, layered base from which the delicate flowers rise on slender stems - a sure telltale sign you’re looking at an African Violet.
With the photos at hand, I began to draw my block design and chose fabrics. It was fab to work with purple shades and those rich greens. I used a variety of green threads for the leaves, two shades of purple, and a yellow for the flowers.
Often you see African Violets with petals outlined in white so I used a permanent white pen to outline my fabric after I'd cut out each of the petals.
I stitched around them to highlight them even more, using the darker thread for the stitching and lighter thread for the outer edge - typically in the reverse of my usual method.
And as quick as that, my block is finished and left me thinking how I can use this delicate flower on the border of another quilt. If you'd like to try this flower block, you can find it here: African Violet applique block
You can find over 70 more applique flower blocks here: BOW flower collection
