If you have some time on your hands on Saturday, June 15 at 10 am, come on down to Elite Quilting in Barrie, Ontario where I will be doing a demo of the starch and freezer paper method of hand-applique. The cost is $10.00. Colleen will also have all the supplies on hand for you purchase so you can go home and practice this method. Hope to see you there!
Back to the block! I must admit, I was a little alarmed how freakishly out of proportion the birds legs looks! So I gave the peacock some new legs. I like to use Ultra-Suede for the birds legs and beaks when they are just too darn tiny to applique!
Once the legs were stitched in place, I used a Micron marker on the edge of the Ultra-Suede to hide the stitches and add a bit of definition.
Once I felt better about his legs, I added the stems.
Next, some leaves and a bud.
And, finally, the rest of the leaves and the flowers! Spiffy!
I finished hand-quilting another block from Sue Garman’s “Bouquets for a New Day”. (Only 3 more blocks to go! Yippee!) The vase was very baggy!
So, just like the vase in the last block, I needed to add some quilting to the vase to make it…un-baggy! After much debate, I decided to do the same cross-hatching as in the background of the block, except I did the stitching in red thread. Voila!
Til next time…
Kerry
Simple Bird Applique 
Gorgeous vase – love those tulips. And the quilting is perfect – simple and traditional!
Hilda
Thanks so much!
Love the colors/fabrics used in your block.. and am amazed that the quilting was able to take up the “baggy” in the vase. I did not know you could do that… your hand quilting is to die for. so tiny and evenly spaced.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks! I love hand-quilting. It is so relaxing and a great way to unwind at the end of the day!
Wonderful! What type of batting do you use? Your stitches look so nice…
Hi Missie: I used Legacy Wool batting for this quilt. I love to hand-quilt with wool and it is my favourite batting to use. I did not pre-shrink the batting, though. I am a little concerned about that. I also use Hobbs Polyester batting which I love. I don’t use cotton to hand-quilt with. I find it hard to get really small stitches, and I find cotton very heavy. It all comes down to personal choice!!
Kerry,
Your work is so beautiful !! I look forward to your post and am always excited to see your progression. Is there any way you could video your technique for the ones of us who don’t live in your area? I would love to see how you accomplish this.
Linda in VA
Thanks! I am going to be adding videos to my blog. Hopefully it will help!
I have just ordered these kits from Quakertown at a greatly reduced price. I hope mine is as pretty as yours altho the fabrics used probably won’t measure up. Love to see your posts…and need to buy some ultra suede.
Oh! Good for you! I added some of my own fabrics to the kits (I did the block of the month program from Quakertown) I am a firm believer that 10 different reds..or blues…or greens are so much more interesting and fun that one or two. The more the merrier! Good luck with these blocks!
Kerry, the CWB block looks great! I wish I lived closer; I’d be in your class in a heartbeat. As it is, I try to be satisfied with still shots. Along with Linda in VA, I’d love a video of your technique. I’m having a lot of trouble with it.
Your hand quilting is so rich looking. Very good idea to cross hatch the vase.
Thanks! Sorry to hear you are having trouble with this technique. I am looking into adding videos to my blog. I know it is a lot easier to show a techinque, rather than try to explain it in words.
your hand work is beautiful. How do you make such tiny stitches? Can you show us the next time you do a block?
Hi Natashaa: Do you mean tiny applique stitches or tiny hand-quilting stitches? Both take practice! Either way, it a combination of the right needle, the right thread, and finding a techinique that feels right for you!
It always amazes me how much the quilting draws up the fabric. Your before and after pictures are so interesting and your quilting is gorgeous!! Your peacock block is also lovely. I like that block a lot – I think it’s the one I made first. :0)
Thanks so much! I agree with you about the quilting. It makes me wonder how much a full size “shrinks” once it is hand quilted. Interesting!