It's a beautiful day

This morning is just so perfect that I have to sit on the deck and stitch. Coffee is also involved.

I decided to do some fun little embroideries that will fit in to hoops later,

Last night I drew up my petals on the TransWeb fusible web,

And cut out the rest of the petals that I need to complete the blocks for the vintage combination quilt that I've been working on.   Still don't know what that block is called.

Do you know the name of this block?

If so, please advise.

1930's quilt

I think that I have a condition called ADSD (attention deficit sewing disorder).  I can't seem to settle down to one project to work on.   Flo calls that "butterfly quilting",

I mentioned it to Patti and she said that it made for interesting reading, so try lack of focus was working for me, ha ha

The other day I thought I would forge ahead on the hand pieced hexagon quilt that I've had resting for a while.

 I did do some sewing on it for a day or two, but I was distracted by making some more letter tiles for garland.  

Then, cleaning up my sewing room, I came across another stack of vintage blocks I had gotten on the same day I purchased the hexie ones.... 

They have been hand pieces and then hand appliquéd to a plain background.  They measured about 13-1/2" square, I don't know the name of this design. Anybody out there know? 

It is so nice to look at the pretty vintage prints. Someone had a pretty good color sense  I think, to use the green and bright yellow so effectively.

I it seems that I have 17 of them.  I think that I washed them at some point. 

I decided to make some sort of alternate block to set them.  I really like to have lots of white in this sort of quilt that uses "1930's" fabrics. 

The block I decided on has eight petals arranged in an x across the background.  It was immediately obvious that this was not going to be hand appliquéd, so I got out my last treasured sheets of Steam-a-seam.  ( I will be very happy when they start selling it again)

I was able to cut out enough petals for about 12 blocks, so I fused petals on to 10 backgrounds to get started.  

Now I need to do a machine blanket stitch around all the edges.

I will have to explore other fusible web products to do the other blocks.

I think that right now I just want to make a big bed quilt.  We have a king size bed here, and there is only one quilt that is big enough for it.  I like it a lot, but it would be nice to have an alternate.

I guess that even if I sew all these blocks together I will have to add more borders to make it that big.  As for quilting, I'm not sure, but I'm leaning toward quilting it in sections.  If I knew a really good long arm quilter in Savannah, that would be an option too.  

Anybody else working on a king size quilt?

Letter Tile Garland Tutorial

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Another day, another project....

I rather enjoy doing projects that are finished in a day or two.

Today I made a garland,

Yes, it says "fun with fabric", but that's just the start.

I got the idea from these paper tiles that I recently purchased at a paper shop. The box contained 80 tiles, so that there were multiples of many letters. There were also a few picture tiles to place at the beginning or end of whatever you want the garland to say.

The  box also had 5 m of a black grosgrain ribbon to string the tiles on to.

Of course my mind started churning with the possibility of making my own set of letter tiles from fabric. 

This is the process I used. 

If you would like to try it as well, these are the things you will need: 

1. Fabric scraps measuring 5 in. Square or larger

2, Fusible web, such as trans web or heat and Bond.  (By the way, if you are wondering what on earth happened to Steam a Seam this is a link to the companies website that explains what has happened and when the product will be back on the market. http://warmcompany.com/sas-update.html

3. a stiff interfacing such as Peltex or decor bond or timtex, but not a real thick heavy one, a more lightweight one that is easy to stitch through with your sewing machine.  I'm not sure what I used, -I had it in my closet for a couple of years.

4. Colorful threads in a heavier weight such as 40 weight,  30 wt or heavier

5. Freezer paper

6. Circle template, this could be something like plastic yogurt container or some other item to trace around to get the right size of circle that you will need.

I first made two practice tiles just to see how it went.

1. For each tile you need a fabric for the front, fabric for the back, and a middle layer of the stick interfacing.  Cut them all 5" x 5", Or even a little bigger on each side, I was aiming for finished tiles of 5 inches in diameter

On a light colored fabric, you can just trace around the template with the pencil, but this might be hard to see on a fabric like the dark blue in the picture.

So for dark fabrics, I cut a five inch circle of freezer paper, and then cut it down in size to about 4 3/4 inch and ironed it shiny side down onto the fabric. ( With freezer paper, when you iron it like this the wax on the shiny side sticks to your fabric temporarily.)

2.   On the light colored fabric, stitch through all of the layers about 1/8 inch inside the pencil line.

On the dark colored fabric, stitch through all of the layers just outside the edge of the freezer paper template.

Now you can trim them into a circle shape, cutting about an eighth of an inch away from the stitched line.

they should both be about 5 inches in diameter

3. Find something else to use as a 4 inch circle template. You will make a colored accent for the center of the tile.   

I used a metal jar lid.

If you haven't used fusible web before, it's not that hard. You just have to remember that it is like a two-sided tape that will stick two pieces of fabric together. You first have to apply it to the wrong side of the fabric that you want to fuse down onto the right side of your base fabric

So in the picture above, you can see that I had a large piece of yellow fabric, with fusible web ironed onto the wrong side. Then I traced around the metal circle with pencil on the paper backing.  

When I cut it out, I cut a wavy line instead of just the solid pencil line to add a bit more interest.

Peel off the paper from your shape and stick it down onto your base circle. Iron well so that it sticks.

4. Then you make the letters out of fusible web and black fabric

Letters are directional, and you are working from the back of the fabric, so you will need to reverse the letter when you trace it on the fusible web.   Then when you stick it down, the right side facing up will be the pointing in the right direction

To do this I drew a letter 3 inches tall on to some graph paper and cut it out.  Just turn it over and trace around that onto the paper backing of the fusible web. You can See the letter A has been flipped over, and traced around in the photo above.  The paper G has been cut out from the paper, but it needs to be flipped over backwards when you trace it on the fusible.

I like to keep little paper templates like this, because they take some time to make and they might be  needed again some time.  I store them in clear plastic page protectors in a binder

5. Cut letters out and peel the paper backing from the fabric, position them on your tile and Fuse them with the iron

6.  To string the tile onto the flat ribbon, you have to cut two slots in the top of the tile. 

For the first tile with the G on it I tried making two buttonholes. For the A tile I just cut two slots with an X-Acto knife. I decided that the X-Acto knife cuts looked best

7.   Stitch more lines onto the tile with different colored threads to make it look more festive.

If your machine does decorative stitching patterns, this is a perfect time to use them.  Have fun with the colors of the thread.

When I made more of the tiles, I waited to cut around the stitched circle line until everything had been fused down. This just made it a little easier to stitch the decorative thread work.

So the tiles can be reused to make other word banners. I'll just need to make some other letter tiles to have on hand.

If you do hand embroidery these would be a fun project to make with handstitching on them. Just imagine the name of a child for their room,  

I also think they would be really nice made out of felt

Applique!!

 This morning I just started in on my applique like a crazy person,

 I have only 7 blocks from the Art to Heart Saturday Surprise blocks from last year, since I also made this pieced quilt using some of the blocks:

At the Show and Tell in September I fell in love with this quilt by Kathy.  Yes, I know that we've used this setting before, but not with those skinny little frames around each block!  Yay Kathy.  I loved the effect of them floating in that light colored background.

So, that's what sparked my plan for my quilt-- I've put a little frame around each of the blocks, and I'll use a lot of white background, on which I will applique a lot of birds and leaves.  (Fusible!)
Definitely fusible, because just yesterday I finished the needle-turn applique on this project:

 Big, isn't it!  Not just the photo....
Actually, the dresden plate blocks are mostly pieced, but I did hand-stitch them to the background.  I love that I was able to use a lot of my Westminster prints that I had collected over the past few years, as well as a lot of American Jane fabrics which I love!

 These blocks with the arcs are pieced:

 However, these blocks were all hand applique:

 The designs are by Sue Spargo, ( yes, we do still have some of her books at the store!)

 Her quilts are usually a melange of cottons, wools, applique, beads and embroidery that make them really rich texturally.  I don't plan to add any wool to this one, but I am contemplating some embroidery.  We'll see.  Right now I have set it aside in order to work on the other project. 

 Whatever you choose to work on this weekend, I hope you have fun with it too!

Store News:
this is sort of an afterthought, and directed at those of you who like to know what's arriving and happening at the shop--
We got in a collection called Aviary, by Nancy Gere for Windham.  There are 14 fabrics in grey, white and black,  you can see them all here,

Plus, we have a new quilt kit! Val sewed it from a pattern called Sweet Pea,

but in beautiful soft greys, yellow and ivory,

These are some from a new collection called Taza, and I brought a whole bunch of them with me to Savannah to play with, because I just love them.  Not sure yet what to do with them though.
(Oh yes, we got in about 12 more colors of Kona Cotton, so don't forget to print off the coupon (below) and use it before Friday to get 25% off of them)
Again, have a great stitchy weekend!

Some Applique Basics

Because we are offering some 12 applique blocks this year that co-ordinate with the Saturday Surprise blocks, I prepared some General Applique Instructions for those who are new to applique.

fusible applique on "Groovin'" designed by Bird on a Wire, sewn by me

needle-turn applique combined with pieced quilt

As well, I'll do free demonstrations of these 2 methods on Saturday afternoon, at 2, 2:15, 3, 3:15, 4 and 4:15 p.m.  

I usually do either needleturn or fusible applique.
There are other methods of applique that you can find in books that you might like better!!!

Needle-turn is a hand sewing method that requires you to add a small seam allowance to your shapes, since you turn it under as you stitch it onto the background fabrics. 
Fusible applique uses a product called fusible web which is a type of two sided tape that is heat activated, which bonds two fabrics together.

You can get more comprehensive instructions in a basic applique book or magazine.  You can also access a wealth of demos and tutorials on the internet.

1 Prepare your fabrics:
           In these examples, my finished block size is going to be 12 inches, so I will start with a larger piece of fabric -- about 14" square.  This is so that later you can trim your block to the correct size.
Iron the background fabric, and then lightly mark some guidelines with a chalk liner or other marking pencil that will wash or brush out later.

I like to draw two diagonal lines that cross in the center of the square, and then mark a perimeter that is   11" so that all my applique pieces will be at least a half inch from the seam line of the finished square.  After all the stitching is finished, and when you are ready to sew your blocks into the quilt setting, trim them to the correct size.

Press all the fabrics that will be used for the applique cut-outs

2. Needleturn Applique:
Trace the applique pattern pieces. onto the dull side of freezer paper,
Cut out. the templates from the freezer paper.  (If you need multiples of a shape, you can stack layers of freezer paper and cut them out in stacks rather than tracing and cutting each piece separately.)

Arrange on the cut out pieces onto the right side of the fabrics, leaving enough space around each shape so that you can add a narrow seam allowance when you cut them out. Press the pieces onto the right side of the cloth.  The heat of the iron makes the shiny side of the paper melt a little bit and creates a temporary bond with the fabric.

Cut the pieces out, adding the seam allowance as you go.  I usually cut add justa little more than 1/8th of an inch.
Using the pattern diagrams and the marked chalk lines on your fabric as guides, lay out the pieces on your background square to get familiar with where they will go.  Remember to keep them contained within the chalk outline you drew.  You might want to lightly mark some reference lines to remind you where you put them as you sew them down. 
From this point on, I add only a few pieces at a time, since it is easier to handle the whole piece without a lot of little pieces glued or pinned on.
In general, add pieces that will be placed underneath other ones first.  Sometimes the pieces will overlap so that you won’t have to turn under some edges since they’ll be covered by another shape.
Use a dab of basting glue or some applique pins (very short ones) to keep your piece in place as you sew it on.

Use an applique needle, called a “sharp”, which has a small eye, and a very thin thread such as silk,  to sew on your pieces with the same sort of stitch that you would use to hand-stitch your bindings.  The color of the thread should match your applique piece, rather than the background.  I tend to use a grey or taupe color that blends with many colors of applique rather than having a lot of different threads. 
 You use the tip of your needle to flip the seam allowance under as you stitch.  Keep knots on the back or underneath the applique pieces. I like to hold a small cushion on my lap under the piece to lay it on as I work.

When you have sewn on all your pieces, iron the block from the back. 

3. Fusible Applique:
There are various brands of “FusibleWeb” that you can use to do this type of machine applique.  They usually come with some instructions on a sheet or piece of plastic.
Again I usually make the background piece larger than the pattern calls for so that I can trim it to size after the applique is completed.
In this method, you need to reverse the patterns.  Often times the shapes are symmetrical, and so it makes no difference, but sometimes you will have a directional piece where this is important.
Place the paper backed fusible web over the applique pattern and use a pencil to trace the pattern.  You won’t need to add a seam allowance unless a piece is layered with another shape.  In that instance, add about 1/8th of an inch to the edge that fits under another piece.   You can trace the pieces close together.  If you need 12 leaves, you will need to trace the shape 12 times. 
Group the pieces into sections by color/fabric use. 

Loosely cut around the shapes and fuse the web and traced patterns to the WRONG side of the fabrics.  Don’t remove the paper backing, and be careful that you don’t get any of the sticky stuff onto your iron.  It can be useful to use a teflon sheet between your iron and the fabrics as you work in order to protect it. 
Use scissors to cut out the pieces along the traced lines, and peel off the paper backing.

Refer to your diagram for placement of the pieces onto your background fabric.  When happy with the arrangement, fuse them to the background using hot iron.

I like to stitch around each shape with a co-ordinating color of thread using either a narrow satin stitch or a machine buttonhole stitch.  You might prefer to use other colors, such as black or something.
Attach a tear-away stabilizer to the back of the piece before stitching the appliques.
Begin by stitching 2 or 3 stitches in one spot to anchor the threads, and then go around each piece, pivoting at corners, and trying to go around curves evenly.
At the end of the stitching, either stitch 2 or 3 threads in one place, or pull the threads to the wrong side of the background fabric and knot the threads. 
Carefully remove the stabilizer and press the block well. 

When your are ready to sew the block into your quilt, trim the square to the correct size. 

4.  Customizing your blocks. 
There are many ways you can make your appliques unique.
    Add more design pieces.  You might want to add to the pattern by layering another shape onto a large piece, or by adding in more of a basic shape, such as leaves or circles.
    Add decorative stitches by hand or machine.  You might want to embroider additional lines onto the design, such as tendrils to leaves, or french knots to the centers of flowers.
You might want to hand embroider around shapes with a stem stitch, or chain stitch to emphasize or outline a shape.
    Some applique blocks can be drawn on with a pigma pen or other fabric marker.  You could add words, or shading to a piece. 

I’ll try to add little tips as I think of them, but keep in mind that I am not an expert!! You might enjoy learning more about applique from a book or a demo/tutorial.
this is a good one from the blog "Applique Today" needleturn tutorial, the blog is here