More Flowers

Button flowers were the next style to make:
The technique, such as it is, also comes from the Fabric Leftovers book -- I strung two to three buttons on floral wire.

The last type of flower I wanted to make were dimensional flowers designed by Diane Nuñez, in the June/July 2010 issue of Quilting Arts:
This technique was quite a bit more complicated, and required me buying aluminum mesh of the type often used in making three-dimensional objects (I have a lot left over, so I'll be playing around with it some more). I cut a strip of the mesh and layered it onto batting and a wider strip of fabric, then glued and pressed the fabric around to cover the back. To finish it I quilted it in contrasting thread, a zigzag pattern for one flower and a scribble for the other. The last step was just manipulating the strip into a flower shape, a simple spiral for one and a pleated circle for the other. Ms. Nuñez used beads, buttons, and one bottle cap for the centers. I broke away from my button obsession to use only bottle caps for my flower centers (I also have a bottle cap obsession, enabled by Mr. Beadgirl's taste for a wide variety of beer). For the stems I cut lengths of heavy, covered floral tape, created a small spiral at one end, and glued the spiral to the inside of the caps.

The finished bouquet, just in time for the end of the season: