My husband, Paul and I arrived home today after being away at “The Farm” for the past week. “The Farm” is lovely piece of rural property belonging to Paul’s brother and sister-in-law situated right in the heart of Craighurst, Ontario. It was an awesome place to ring in the new year!
Of course, I packed every quilt-related thing I could think of….my sewing machine, iron and ironing board, so I could work on Trail Mix. I managed to get 2 complete rows sewn together.
I also brought along my hand quilting supplies (including my hexi quilt top, batting and backing, every quilting needle I own, 3 different thimbles, my small hoop etc.) just in case I had time to baste my layers together. Not only did I find the time, I found the perfect space to baste! I started this quilt about a year ago when I first discovered Inklingo. You can read about that post here. Spoiler Alert: Stitching hexies using the Inklingo method is addictive. Very addictive.
Each day I set myself up in front of the window and quilted for an hour or two. Heaven!
And, (of course!), I brought along Block 8 of Sue Garman’s “Bed of Roses. So, if you have been following along, you already know what I do first. First, I trace the pattern onto the background with a Clover water soluble marker. Block 8 (along with Blocks 1-7) are available on my website Simple Bird Studio.
Next, I made my bias stems using a 1/4″ bias maker. I like to put my stems in a plastic container (this particular container used to hold mushrooms!) and then I spray the starch into the container. That way I am not wasting any starch and the spray is contained to one area.
Once I glue all of the stems onto the background, I stitch them in place before I add any more pieces.
These next little flowers were easy to do. Notice I drew the seam allowance on the pieces before I placed them on the background. I find this such a simple way to make sure that all of the layers line up.
Next, I added a few leaves…..
….and a few more flowers! Now it’s starting to look like something!!!
This next piece has a pretty deep curve in it. Yikes. Just take a deep breath and go for it!
Now for the fun part. Circles. Lots of circles!!
And, to top it all off, a cute little vase!
And here is the completed block. Lovely!
So far, so good!!
Til next time…
Kerry
Simple Bird Applique 
Love all your work, and look forward to your workshop at our Guild this May in New York.
One question about this post…..Once the bias strips are in the container and soaked with spray starch, how do you get such this strips to be folded in half so as to sew them down? They can’t go through a Clover bias strip maker when wet, can they?
Would love to know how you accomplish this.
I am enjoying your blog and your work …I am wondering if you stitch your prepared applique pieces by hand or machine? Your work is lovely! Marthe >
Hi Marthe:
Thanks! I do all of my stitching by hand!
Oh, Kerry — where to begin?! Your Trail Mix fascinates me; I’ve never seen blocks like that and they are really cool. I always enjoy your applique posts, too, especially when you explain how you do things. Spraying the starch into a plastic bucket is genius. I get starch EVERYWHERE — including the wall, the window shutters… 🙂 May I ask what your preparation method is for those flowers with the deep inner curves? Is that a heat resistant plastic template for starching and pressing the turned edge and you remove it as soon as the fabric cools off, or is it freezer paper temporarily ironed to the back of the fabric? Are the fabric edges starched and pressed or glue basted to the template? Do you have to cut into the backing fabric to remove your template after stitching? I know there are lots of different ways of doing applique, but your work is beautiful so I want to know how YOU do it! 🙂
Hi Rebecca: Before I started spraying my starch into my plastic container, I also sprayed starch everywhere, even on my glasses! I don’t use heat resistant plastic, I use 2 layers of freezer paper for my templates. I press the seam allowances over the freezer paper templates. No I do not glue the seam allowance to the templates. I remove the template before I glue the piece to the background so there is no need to cut out the background. Hope this helps!
You make applique look so easy. Trail Mix is fabulous! What a wonderful place to visit! Thanks so much for sharing and Happy New Year!
Thanks so much! Happy New Year to you, also!
Your work is so beautiful – I’ve been an reader and admirer a long time, but haven’t commented before. I am interested, like Joan above, in what you do with your bias strips after spraying them with the starch. Do you let them air dry, then feed them through the bias tape makers, or put them through when they’re wet? Whatever you do, it is perfect, and I’d like to do it too!! Thank you for your wonderfully inspiring blog posts!
Thanks for the lovely comment! I spray my bias strips with starch so they are fairly damp. As soon as I spray the bias strips, I put them through the bias maker.
Your sewing is beautiful. I especially like how you have so generously shared your method. I am still learning and love reading how someone as skillful as you approach your work. Inspiring for sure. Happy Stitching.
Thanks so much for leaving such a lovely comment!
Beautiful block. I often use the blue marking pen like you do. I found that it lessens in intensity over time if a prepped block sits for months on end. I end up having to retrace the design.
Love your creations! I would like to know if you stitch the applique by hand. Thanks for sharing it!
Yes I do all applique by hand. Every single stitch!!
That Trail Mix quilt is so clever…a great mix of strippy scrappy and pieced! You and I work so similarly on applique, except you are a starcher and I am a gluer, LOL! Bed of Roses is beautiful.
Thank you Teresa! Yes I am a huge fan of yours and have been following your blog for quite some time. I think you and I are both really, really obsessed with hand-applique.
Hi Kerry, I love, love your Trail Mix quilt! Great use of scraps. My question is about the very deep curves. Do you use a 1/4 inch seam allowance and trim as needed? I have such problems with Us and Vs, getting them to not fray on me. Do you have a minimum # of notches you cut?
Hi Eileen: Yes I use a 1/4″ seam allowance on deep curves. It is tempting to cut a smaller seam allowance, but don’t do it!! I clip curves but I use the bare minimum of clips needed to turn the edge. Also if the edge is fraying, try some Fray Check. Hope this helps!