Yellow orchid

I love orchids. They are the only flowers that survive in my house, and some of them blossom for months at a time. I have about twenty, and my favourite is a yellow and red orchid. Unfortunately, it doesn’t blossom very often, and only for a couple of weeks.

I have planned to quilt an orchid tablecloth for a long time, and the last time the yellow orchid blossomed, I decided that now was the right time. I drew the blossom, and designed a tablecloth for my dining room table. The flowers are appliquéd in a fantastic batik textile I found on one of my favourite net shops (see “Quilt design” under My Favourite Net Shops). The leafs is pieced, sewn onto paper, as I wanted them to give the impression of turning, and the stem is done by sewing a cotton thread on to the tablecloth with zigzag stitches.

Unfortunately, the yellow orchid had faded when I took the picture, so I used a pink orchid instead. Now, the tablecloth is lying on my dining room table, reminding me of my yellow orchid even when it is not blossoming.