Whirly Weeds Sew-along 2023

Inspiration

One cold day, while walking my dog, Polly Wolly along the San Antonio River, I came upon a plant - a weed, that had sprung up after our winter rains. It was growing in a sunburst arrangement of dark green leaves. I took a picture of it, and walked on. However, I couldn’t get that lovely weed out of my mind. I shared the photo on Instagram, marveling about what a beautiful appliqué design it would make. Others agreed and I began to research weeds and plan what I might do with them.

I searched the internet, looking for what kind of weed I’d found. Soon I learned that there are many “broad-leaf weeds” and other wildflowers that form rosettes when they begin growing. Hunting through agricultural and gardening websites, I looked and looked for MY weed. Even though nothing looked quite like MY weed, I was hooked on the beauty of weed rosettes in general. I began planning Whirly Weeds.

Click to view our Whirly Weed:  SHOWCASE!

Spring weather comes early in south Texas. We began our celebration of beautiful green new life the first week of March, 2023. For 12 consecutive weeks I'm sharing what I have learned about common weeds which grow in rosettes, and we're making applique blocks with their designs. 

Details! Details!

Here are more details about the FREE Whirly Weeds Sew-Along:

Those who joined Whirly Weeds were invited to a PRIVATE Facebook group. We share short photos and videos, how-to's and more information. We can all post photos, questions and answers, and share our projects. Joining the Facebook group is of course optional. (Only those who signed up for the sew-along are allowed into the private group.)

Everyone who joined the sew-along receives their information packets and patterns through weekly emails.
Each email includes:

1. The week's featured weed information, including its scientific and common names, a plant description and interesting facts.
2. Color photos of both the rosette and the mature plant and its flower(s).
3. Step by step directions on how to make your weed appliqué block. My focus is on using a fusible product to iron down the design and then machine stitch it. Of course you can choose to use another method of appliqué, or even decide to embroider the designs instead. 
4. 1 to 3 pages of full-size patterns and placement guides for the block. These will come in PDF format, ready to print and use on regular 8.5 x 11 inch paper.