I started making these cute little English Paper Pieced flowers about 25 years ago.  I took them with me to music lessons and ball games and stitched them while I waited for the kids, not knowing what I’d eventually do with them.  Then they sat in a stack in a little round container waiting.

I happened across them last month and decided to finish the project.  I had an idea to applique them onto 4-patches of low volume background fabrics.  I cut 2.5″ squares and sewed them into these 4-patches, then stitched the flowers onto the blocks.  I was happy.  The flowers were happy.

I ended up making a few more flowers to have enough for a small quilt.  When it came time to lay out the blocks, here’s how it looked.  Boring.

I tried something else–I staggered the rows, off-setting the flowers.  It made a huge difference.  Sometimes being just a bit “off” is good.  It changes everything

Here’s the quilt after it was quilted by Penny Stephenson: