solid color 100% cotton fabric (unbleached muslin works well),
fabric paint
quilt batting
bias tape of a coordinating or contrasting color
needle
thread
apples
sharp knife
scissors
straight pins or large embroidery hoop
table protection (such as newspaper or light cardboard)
paint shirts
foil pie pans

Method:

For each girl, cut 2 squares of the cotton fabric and 1 square quilt batting, 9" x 9".
Cut the apples in half. If you cut them from the north pole to the south pole, you will get an apple-looking design; if you cut around the equator you will get a circle with a star shape in the middle. Your choice!

Cover your girls with paint shirts, and your table with your table covering. If you're using newspapers, use four or five layers to soak up the excess paint. Put a squirt of fabric paint in the pie pans, one color to a pan.

Give each girl 1 square of cotton fabric, and use the apple halves as paint stampers. Don't let them go wild and stamp a zillion times; you want each apple print to be distinct and separate. Allow the paint to dry.

Have the girls make a sandwich with the stamped square on top, the batting in the middle, and the blank square on the bottom. Pin SECURELY with straight pins, or secure with a large embroidery hoop if you have these available.

Using a running straight stitch and thread that contrasts with the cotton, quilt around each apple print. Bind the edges of the square with the bias tape. You can do this by hand if you have a lot of time, or you can use a sewing machine.

CAUTIONS/SPECIAL NOTES:

Be sure to use 100% cotton fabric. Fabric paint tends to bleed when used on manmade fibers.
If the fabric must be moved before the paint is dry, be sure to move it to fresh newspapers, to keep the back of the fabric clean.
If you use an embroidery hoop, make sure it's large enough for your whole square, so it doesn't have to be moved until the stitching is finished. Otherwise, your "sandwich" may get lumpy or crooked, and your paint may get scraped off by the hoop.

by Sandy Keeney, Missouri, USA