No one, but TWO finishes!!

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season", Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Quilting Techniques, Owen's Quilt, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Oh my! I am so excited! Here it is just the end of March, and I already have two finishes! First, Owen’s quilt. Beautifully quilted by Colleen at Elite Quilting.

And, here is the back.

For the lettering, I just printed “Owen’s quilt” in Illustrator and prepped the pieces just like I would prep any other shape. Remember this?

And here is my Civil War Bride quilt breathtakingly machine quilted by Rose at Elite Quilting. I wish you could see this in person!!

Whenever I ask Colleen to machine quilt a quilt for me, she always asks me what design I have in mind. This is the look I give her….

…and then I say, “I don’t know…whatever you think”. As you can see, my input is not needed at all!

Here are some more pics…

This is the backing I chose…I found it on sale for $6 a yard. I bought the whole bolt!!

I am also very excited to announce I am just putting the finishing touches on the first block of my first Block-of-the-Month called “To Everything There is a Season”. It is a quilt designed by MT Designs exclusively for Simple Bird Studio. Would you like a hint or two? Well, the quilt consists of twelve 18″ blocks. And a center medallion. There is a cardinal, a squirrel, a hummingbird, a basket of poinsettias and a wreath of roses…among other delights. Look for it next week!

Til next time…

Kerry

24Mar2014

Inking a Goose…

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Quilting Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Just when I thought I was almost finished the first border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”, I realized I still had some circles to do and a bit of embroidery. A couple of years ago, I took a class from Pearl Pereira, and I learned this nifty way of making circles is that class.

First, I ironed 3 sheets of freezer paper together. Next, I used a 1/2″ punch used for scrapbooking.

I cut out out a bunch of perfectly shaped circles in no time! Then, I prepped them just like I would prep any other piece.

Slick!

So, once I stitched all the circles in place, I embroidered the stems using 2 strands of embroidery floss. Sweet!

I finally worked up enough courage to do the inking on the goose. This is the block I worked on in Rita’s class at TESAA. One of the many skills that Rita teaches is how to ink fine details with a Micron pen and then smudge the lines with a Clover eraser pen. Here is a pic of the goose before inking…

and after!

Til next time….

Kerry

17Mar2014

Surrounded by talent!

Posted in Bruin, Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Quilting Tools, Sue Garman Pattern, Sunday Afternoon Applique Group, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Our Sunday Afternoon Applique Group met yesterday and wait til you see the Show and Tell! This is Christie’s version of Aunt Millie’s Garden. Spectacular! This materpiece was machine quilted by Carl of Lilac Lanes in Alliston. This is the fourth (!) Aunt Millie’s Garden to come out of this group…and we are patiently waithing for one more…stitch, Kathy, stitch!!

Next, we have Lynn’s “Woodland Creatures” a quilt designed by Rosemary Makhan, who sadly passed away recently. The more we looked at the quilt, the more detail we found! This masterpiece was machine quilted by Ruth at Stitching Impressions.

I spent most of Saturday working on my border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”.

Before I know it I will be finished!!

Til next time…

Kerry

14Mar2014

Finally! Turning a Corner!

Posted in Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Just when I thought I was going to be hand-quilting this border for the rest of my life, I am ready to turn a corner. Yippee! It’s about time!

I decided to do a double quilting line around the outside edges of the design. So worth the extra bit of work! I think the double row of stitching gives the design so more much…oomph!

Til next time…

Kerry

6Mar2014

It’s all about the details!

Posted in Circle of Tulips, Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

It’s all about the details! That is what I learned in Sandra Leichner’s class when I attended TESAA last month. This is the block we worked on in class.

Sandra’s quilts have an almost life-like quality to them, thanks to the incredible details, which include embroidery with just a single strand of thread around berries, fabric paint and choosing the perfect fabrics. You can see Sandra’s beautiful quilts here.

I like to use Ultra-Suede for really small, intricate shapes, like calyxes. I purchased some packages of Ultra-Suede from Faye Labanaris, one of the wonderful merchants at TESAA. Check out her website here. If you have any question at all in regard to using Ultra-Suede, make sure you take the time to watch her video. It may just be the best 10 minutes of your day!! Of course, I would have liked one of everything she had for sale, however, I played it safe and chose a green package and a gold package. Each piece measures about 3″ x 6″. As you can see, you get a lovely assortment in each package.

When using Ultra-Suede, simply cut out around the shape (no seam allowance is necessary). I stitch it in place using the same applique stitch I use for “normal applique”. Don’t tug your stitches too tight or you will end up with “dimples” around the edge.

I started to think about what I learned in Sandra’s class and thought I might try embroidering around the calyx, just to give it a more “finished” look. So, I used just one strand of embroidery floss close to the same colour as the Ultra-Suede.

This is a picture when the Ultra-Suede is just glued in place.

This is it after it is stitched with thread.

And, after the embroidery. See? It really is about the details!!

As you can see, I have been plugging away at the border of Friends of Baltimore. I am working on one side of the border at a time, just to make the stitching a little more manageable.