A Challenge…or is it?

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Applique Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

As I was getting ready to start the next (and last!!) block of Civil War Bride, I noticed the horse shapes looked a little challenging. If I were to cut in between the horse’s legs, there would not be much of a seam allowance.

Don’t get me wrong, I am always up for a challenge! But it just takes a few simple steps to turn a challenging shape into something very do-able. So here is what I did…

First, I added a few lines.

So, now I have 3 very simple shapes!

I prepped the legs and glued them in place…

I started to prep the body, but I thought the ears looked a little dicey. So I drew a line…

…..and I made another simple shape.

I glued the ear in place…

And, finally…a very easy to stitch horse! And I didn’t even break a sweat!

With this cooler than normal weather, I am able to hand-quilt most nights. The borders are coming along very nicely. I am finished the bottom border and I have passed the half-way mark of the side border.

Finally, here is the last completed block of Civil War Bride!

Til next time….

Kerry

5Aug2013

So Many Options!

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

I am very close to have all the blocks of Civil War Bride Quilt finished. Yipee!

This block went together pretty quickly. As I was working on it, I kept thinking that something was missing. Like stems, leaves and flowers. Not a single one in the entire block!

So I started with a bird and a rooster.

And I added a cat.

There was something that was nagging at me about the combination of fabrics I was using, so I moved onto the butterflies. I did a little bit of fussy-cutting for the butterfly wings. I made a few sets of wings so I could audition them.

These butterflies made the final cut.

These ones didn’t. Although very interesting, all I see is raccoon eyes!

And cat eyes!

So you can see from the finished block, the red calico cat is now black, and the blue bird is red. It is always good to keep your options open!

Speaking of options, the brochure from The Elly Sienkiewicz Applique Academy is now online! So many great teachers and awesome classes! Time to start checking out all the options!

Til next time,

Kerry

17Jul2013

Inspiration is Everywhere!

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

Everywhere I look, I see a quilt, or a block or a border! Our summer vacation has officially started and we are flying to Nova Scotia to visit friends and family. We arrived in Toronto early so we could spend some time at the Royal York Hotel for breakfast….and some stitching!

In the lobby alone, I found more quilt designs than I could imagine. This carpet has everything in it that I love, a centre medallion, applique blocks set on point, and an amazing border. Oh, the possibilities!

These blocks are actually on the ceiling! A quilter must have had a hand in designing this!

And this floor tile reminds me that I would love to make a quilt based on round blocks rather than square blocks!

Til next time…

Kerry

1Jul2013

An Intriguing Ostrich!

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

Even in this heat, I am still managing to get some hand-quilting done! Here is another block from Sue Garman’s “Bouquets for a New Day”.

With only 2 blocks left to quilt, I am starting to give some thought to the borders. The half-square triangle inner border has me a little stumped. Not sure how I will quilt all those triangles! The good news is, I found a stencil that I love for the outer border. Not only do I love the cable design, it fits the border perfectly!

Now that I (0nly!) have 5 blocks left of Civil War Bride, I am getting really antsy to finish it! I love this next block! I must say I really don’t know too much about ostriches. But I find them intriguing, just the same! First I started with the stems and some leaves.

Next, I added some pretty pink flowers.

I used Ultra-Suede for the legs and beak.

Next came the fun part! I found this fabric in my stash (of all places)! It is one of those landscape fabrics that looks like tall grass. It has stripes of different colours and shapes of grass, which I think is brilliant.

I turned the fabric upside down and here is what I saw….ostrich feathers!

And here is one very intriguing ostrich!

Til next time…

Kerry

27Jun2013

Setting Goals

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

I like to set weekly quilting goals. Goal #1: To finish the tablecloth block. (Done!)

Goal #2: Stitch a row together. (Done!)

Goal #3: Stitch all three rows together. (Done!)

Til next time….

Kerry

Til next time..

Kerry

26Jun2013

Setting the Table

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

For some reason, this block seemed to be taking a long time! Finally, it’s finished!

The first thing I did was change the carpet. I wanted the tablecloth to be the focus of this block. The first fabric I used for the carpet fought with the fabric for the tablecloth, so I changed it. Maybe it’s because they both read as “mediums” or maybe it’s because they are both “busy”. Either way, it just wasn’t working! I prefer to audition a few (or more!) fabrics until I find the one that screams “I am the one!”

Out with the old…

…in with the new!

Next, I added the bottom layer of the tablecloth. I did not need to make another template, I just used the one from the original tablecloth. Of course, it didn’t have to be the full size, so I just used what I needed.

Then, I added the vase, some vines and a couple of apple stems. The fabric for the vase is from a line called “Maid of Honor” by Bonnie Sullivan and Maywood Studios. It actually looks like cracked pottery!

Lots of leaves followed, along with a couple of apples. Or are they peaches?

This morning I embroidered the cherry stems…

…and yippee! This block has just had a bubble bath and is resting comfortably!!

Til next time…

Kerry

19Jun2013

I See Table Legs!

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

Every quilter looks at fabric differently. Some see color, some see patten and some see possibilities!

When I started thinking about choosing fabrics for the next block of Civil War Bride, I wanted to do something really special for the table legs. I searched high and low through my stash and this is what I found! Do you see the table legs?

First, I measured the width of the stripe I wanted to use.

Then I measured the pattern. Pretty close!

So I cut the freezer paper templates out and placed them very carefully on the wrong side of the fabric.

Since I will be using one of Karen Kay Buckley’s “Perfect Circles” for the round part, I am just cutting straight pieces for the legs.

Here are the legs.

Moving right along to the table cloth! This is how I traced the tablecloth. First I traced just half of the pattern on the freezer paper.

I folded it in half and cut along the line. Call me crazy, but I like when both halves of a pattern are exactly the same!

Next, I ironed the pattern on the back of the fabric making sure that the pattern was centered. I wanted the red stripes to be at each end of the table.

…and here we go! There is still a piece that goes under the tablecloth, I just have to choose a matching fabric!

Til next time….

Kerry

16Jun2013

Another block…another nest!

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

Time to start another block of Civil War Bride. I almost(!) have enough blocks to sew another row together!! And you know how excited I get when I can stitch another row together. So here we go…

First I prepped the branches and stitched them in place. I used a brown fabric with shocking pink little flowers on it just to give the block a bit of oomph! (Definition of oomph…An extra push. An ingredient or a factor that will make something better or perfect.)

Next, came the leaves and the nest. Do you recognize the nest? You may have seen it here.

So, keep this tip in mind if you are making this quilt. You can make a couple of nests, audition them both, and use both! Waste not, want not and all that jazz!

Then, I placed a bird in the branches.

I really like to use Ultra-Suede for the feet and the beaks. First, I cut 2 triangles for the beaks. You don’t have to include a seam allowance, except for the part that goes under the body.

I glued half of the beak in place then trimmed a tiny bit of the corner off.

Then I glued the other half of the beak in place. I trimmed a bit of the corner off, also, so that the triangles would not overlap. Ultra-Suede is rather thick! Finally, I put the bird fabric back in place and stitched it in place, stitching right through Ultra-Suede, and into the background.

On to the feet! I ironed the freezer paper templates onto the Ultra-Suede. I am not really sure if there is a wrong side or a right side. They both look good to me!

So I cut the feet out and placed them under the body. At this point, the entire body has not been stitched in place yet. When I stitch the Ultra-Suede in place I try to match the color of the thread as closely as I can. I take just a tiny “bite” of the Ultra Suede and (very important) I don’t pull the thread too tight. If I do, then the Ultra-Suede looks dimpled along the sewn edge.

Since I wanted this to be a male bird, I added a golden brown wing and tail. Very manly!

I wanted the second bird to be female, so I chose a pretty fabric for her body and a nice red feather and tail. I added the eggs to the nest and…Voila!

Til next time…

Kerry

7Jun2013

New legs for a peacock!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Tools, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

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

4Jun2013

Inspiration….gotta love it!!

Posted in Civil War Bride Quilt, Grandmothers Choice, Sunday Afternoon Applique Group, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Last Sunday, my Sunday Afternoon Applique Group met to chat, stitch and eat. The best part about getting together with other appliquers is that we feed off each others creativity and, best of all, we inspire each other. This month we were super- inspired by Lynne. Lynne started “Flower Garden” by Kim McLean last September and brought it this month for Show and Tell. Awesome!

Since my sewing machine was out (and I had already taken over the dining room table!) I thought it would be a good idea to do a few more blocks of Barbara Brackman’s Grandmother’s Choice. This block of the week is a great stash-buster! I am starting to think about which settings I will use to put the blocks together. So many choices! Even if you aren’t making the blocks, I recommend reading the stories that accompany each block. You will realize how far we have come, baby!

This block is called Nonsense.

This is called Endless Stairs.

This is called Art Square.

And, this is called Nameless Star.

Moving right along, I started to work on the next block of Civil War Bride. This block has the peacock in it and I wanted it to stand out in a very regal way! I went searching in my stash and just couldn’t find anything that said “peacock” to me. I went searching in my friends’ stash and this is what I found! Oh…the possibilities!