The Tale of a Squirrel

Last week we had some very mild temperatures which seemed to bring a few squirrels out of hibernation. Who could blame them? It was 10 degrees…in January!

I wanted to include a squirrel block in the quilt I am designing for my Sunday Afternoon Applique Group, so I spent a bit of time studying the little creatures. I came up with some surprising tidbits. (tidbit: A small and particularly interesting item of gossip or information).

Squirrels always seem to know where to find their next meal, even if it means the birds go hungry!

Squirrels seem to know who the enemy is…in this case, Bruin!

They have crazy families like the rest of us!

This is a sneak peek of part of the pattern I designed for the group…

…and I found the perfect squirrel fabric…of all places…in my stash!

This is a quilt I was working on about 5 years ago. I put it away for a while, and I must admit, I forgot about it. That is until I read Audrey’s post on her blog “Quilty Folk”.

I love words appliqued on quilts. My original plan was to applique words on 3 borders (the top and sides) and applique the year on the bottom. My issue/challenge/dilemna is this: When I found the quilt in the closet, I didn’t find any of the border pieces or any of the green fabric I used for the word “Family”. I would really like to say that I remember where I put them, but I think we all know the answer! So it’s time to put my thinking cap on and figure out how I will finish this quilt!

Til next time…

Kerry

20Jan2013

An Inspiring Sunday Afternoon

Posted in Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

When my Sunday Afternoon Applique Group gets together…look out! We laugh, we eat and we solve the world’s problems! There is no shortage of creativity and inspiration!

I mentioned to my group that I’ve hit a snag with my Roseville blocks. I love the fabrics and the block patterns, but I really want to set the quilt differently than in the original pattern. I was a little unsure how I wanted to set it, so I was in no hurry to finish the blocks. This afternoon, we put our creative minds together and came up with a plan!

Here is a sample of what I am going to do. I will applique 9 of the blocks (instead of 13) and piece together 12 “Single Irish Chain” alternate blocks. I am now “Officially Excited” about this quilt!

All of the 200 or so 2 1/2″ squares are cut. Let the stitching begin!

Oh! I almost forgot! I finished hand-quilting another block on Sue Garman’s Bouquet for a New Day.

That completes a whole row!

Til next time…

Kerry

17Jan2013

It’s the little things that amuse me!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Tools, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Believe it or not, this is a freezer paper template! Pretty tiny!

And this is the prepped piece. Stop the madness!

Some of the pieces in the block are smaller than the scraps in my garbage container!

Here is where the itty bitty piece goes…

…and this is the rest of the flower!

It is a little slow-going, but it is starting to look like I am accomplishing something!

I have not done much hand-quilting since before the holidays. It is time to get hand-quilting again! Bruin joins me every evening as I sit and stitch the (very chilly) evening away!

Til next time….

Kerry

15Jan2013

Slowly filling the vase.

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

Believe it or not, I am working pretty steady on this block from Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. First, I made a flower and some leaves.

And then I did it all over again!

Then came a few more leaves and a stem. (Just between you and me, the leaf on top of the blue handle is supposed to be under the blue handle. Mum’s the word!)

Finally! Some red berries!

Sometimes I trace the pattern onto the background fabric with a Clover wash-out marker. I use this method when it is a simple design, like this one. And by “simple”, I mean it does not have a lot of pieces!

The block I am currently working on is not complicated, there are just a lot(!) of pieces that must line up properly or the whole thing goes bad! So for this block, I am using my light table. Not only is it more accurate, I save tons of time not having to trace the design on the background fabric.

First I tape the pattern onto the light table.

Next, I place a background square on top of the pattern. I always cut my backgrounds a good 2″-3″ bigger to allow for shrinkage. I mark my corners so that I can re-position my block when I remove it from the light box. I like to glue a few pieces on the background fabric, then I stitch the pieces in place, so I do a lot of re-positioning!

This rose was fun! I like to build units off-block when I can. I start with the very “back” layer.

Then I add each layer…

…until I have built a rose!!

And it goes right about here!

Til next time….

Kerry

10Jan2013

Stitching on the doodads!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Friends of Baltimore, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Once the blue vase was stitched in place, it was time to add the gold doodads. ( doodad: something unspecified whose name is either forgotten or unknown). But first I had to choose the gold fabric. I loved the pattern on this one, but it was just too light.

And this one was too dark. I guess I would classify this as dark brown/gold.

This one suited my fancy!!

So I stitched on some doodads.

And then some circles.

The handles were sort of tricky…

Spiffy!

Next came the vines and leaves….

And a few berries!

It is time to start hand-quilting again. I took a break through the holidays and Bruin was delighted!

Til next time…

Kerry

3Jan2013

Itching to stitch!

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Grandmothers Choice, Hand-Applique Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Sunday Afternoon Applique Group, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I love New Year’s Day! The tree is down. The decorations have been packed away for another year. And now it’s time to get the sewing machine out of hiding! I spent most of New Year’s Day cutting out blocks from Barbara Brackman’s Grandmother’s Choice.

Here is #18.

And here is #15.

And, finally, #11.

I finished stitching the first block of a quilt I am designing for my Sunday Afternoon Applique Group.

Here is the paper pattern. Bruin likes to chew on my paper patterns. See him in action here. (Actually, seeing that post made me realize I have a few UFO’s that need to be finished this year!! Yikes!!) My thoughts are still percolating over the curvy inner border…and which setting I will use…and how many blocks to make…and how big will the quilt be…and so on and so on! Designing a quilt is definitely about the journey!

I have been just itching to start the next block of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. I decided the vase would be a perfect place to start.

First I stitched down the light blue section.

Next I stitched the dark blue section on top. You can see that the light blue section is just a skinny edging, but I used a full piece of fabric to give it more stability.

Then I added a few more pieces.

And finally, an almost finished vase!

Till next time…

Kerry

29Dec2012

A Mathematical Miracle!!

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

My Challenge was to have a complete row stitched together by December 31. Well! It’s only December 29 and I have met my Challenge! First I stitched a couple of blocks together.

Then I added another block…

…and another one. Finally, the row was finished. And to top it off, I added a side border! Jenny is thrilled!

Some people asked me why I pressed my seams open for my half-square triangles. Here is the reason: When I stitch and press all my seams open, I have a ready-made guide for my seam line.

I don’t exactly know why this works, but I consider it a Mathematical Miracle!!

Til next time….

Kerry

28Dec2012

Half Square Triangles 101

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

Oddly enough, I found myself with a spare couple of hours on Christmas day…with not much to do! So I decided to start cutting and sewing together the 967 (are you kidding?) half-square triangles needed for the sashings and borders for my “Friends of Baltimore”.

Here is my method for cutting half-square triangles. Beware! It is time-consuming but extremely accurate.

First of all, I always cut my triangles bigger than what is called for in the pattern. In this case, the pattern called for 1 7/8″ squares to be cut. I wanted to cut the squares 2 1/4″, so I needed to cut my strips 2 1/4″ wide. To make the stitching go quicker, I layered a blue and a white strip on the cutting mat…

…then I cut my squares 2 1/4″.

Next, I cut all my squares on the diagonal to make lots and lots of triangles.

Now I just pick up a set of triangles and stitch away!!

Once they are stitched together, I pressed the seam open.

Now it’s time to trim the HST down to 1 1/2″ square. I place the HST on the cutting mat with the seam line running from the bottom left hand corner to the top right hand corner.

Then I line up the diagonal line on the ruler with the diagonal line of the seam. All I want to do right now is to square up the top right-hand corner.

Next, I flip the HST triangle around and line up the diagonal line of the ruler with the seam. But…this time, I am lining up the edge that I just squared up with the 1 1/2″ lines on the ruler….

..and trim it to the perfect size!

The sashing consist of 15 half-square triangles stitched together. And they have to measure exactly 15 1/2″ long, (the blocks measure 15 1/2 unfinished) so an accurate seam allowance is very important. I did a test and realized my seam allowance could be tiny bit bigger, because the sashing was too long.

I re-stitched a few of the seams and voila! It fits!

Til next time…

Kerry

18Dec2012

Another block finished!

Posted in Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

So I finished stitching the remaining tail feathers in place on my Civil War Bride block.

Then I gave the bird’s feet and beak a bit of thought. The pieces were just too tiny and detailed to use cotton fabric to applique. I have a good selection of Ultra-Suede and found a color that I would imagine a bird’s feet and beak to be.

I cut the feet and beak pieces out of freezer paper and ironed it directly onto the Ultra-Suede. I carefully cut the pieces out and stitched them in place. I decided the pieces could use a bit more definition so I very carefully drew around the very edge of the Ultra-Suede with a brown Micron permanent marker.

The right foot has marker on it and the left one doesn’t. Can you see the difference?

And here is the finished block!

Til next time…

Kerry

16Dec2012

Sunday afternoon stitching…

Posted in Civil War Bride Quilt, Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Sunday Afternoon Applique Group, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

My Christmas baking is finally done!

So that means I have more time for important stuff…like stitching!

My Sunday Afternoon Applique Group met today. We all agreed we should have been shopping/baking/wrapping, but it was sure nice to sit and stitch (and relax!) for a couple of hours with a great group of ladies! I decided to work on the tail feathers of my Civil War Bride block. Long, skinny pieces can be tricky to stitch. Here are a few tips:

Remember, there is no need to fold the seam allowance over if it is going to be covered with another piece. Leave it “raw”.

Begin stitching here…

…and end here.

When I am finished stitching the piece in place, I baste along the raw edge, just inside the seam allowance.

So when I put the next feather in place, the piece I am covering lays nice and flat.

I still have a few feathers to stitch!

I have chosen the fabric for the half-square triangle sashing for my Friends of Baltimore quilt. The fabric is not royal blue or navy blue…just somewhere in between! I am going to start to sew the half-square triangles together, and maybe start to stitch the finished blocks together! So exciting!