First Border On!

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Ladies of the Sea, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized, washing my block by Simple Bird Applique

Last Wednesday evening I finished stitching all I could on the first border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. I filled the sink with hot soapy water and let the border soak for a while. I use hot water because I think the glue and starch soften quicker in hot water…maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t, but that is just what I do! Next, I like to use Soak in the water, but if I don’t have any Soak on hand, I use dish soap.

I normally let it soak for an hour or two. When I went to take the border out of the water, I was mildly shocked to see that most of the red fabrics had run into the white background. After doing a quick bit of research online, I jumped in the car and went shopping for some Oxy-Clean and some color magnet sheets. Luckily, I found them, came home and threw the border into the washing machine with both products. I am happy (and sooooo relieved) to tell you the border came out of the washing machine without a speck of red dye on it. Thank you, Quilting Gods!

The following day, I laid the border out on a towel and let it dry. Once it was dry, I placed the border onto the pattern and marked the cutting lines with a water soluble marker. I always cut my background pieces larger than the pattern calls for, so they need to trimmed to the correct size.

Next, I stitched the border on.

When I went to press the seam flat, I noticed that some of the navy blue fabric had frayed, and it was sticking out past the seam allowance. I very carefully trimmed off the navy blue bits. I mean….very, very carefully!

So here we are!

I promised myself once I had the first border stitched on, I would start the next block of Ladies of the Sea, another Sue Garman pattern. The ship on this block is called The Xebec Pirate Ship. It looks very interesting with that skull and crossbones! I used a gradient fabric for the bias stems.

If you look closely, you will see the color goes from light to dark green. Fun!

One day (when I have time!) I am going to do some research on cats and quilts. I had not seen Bruin all morning. I placed my quilt on the floor so I could take a picture of it. I went to find my camera and this is what I returned to find. Sheesh!

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

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.

And, I am working away (slowly, but surely) on Rita’s block. I have an awesome plan for this block!

Til next time…

Kerry

29Jan2014

Filling a Vase One Flower At A Time

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

The first border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore” is not nearly as daunting as I thought it would be. No really! If you take a good look at the pieces, you will see that most of them are very simple shapes and easy to do. There is just lots of them!!

I have most of the leaves prepped and glued onto my paper pattern. This is proving to be a really effecient method because I have not lost a single piece!

Once a few of the leaves were in place, I started to add the buds and flowers.

These flowers are so dainty and super-simple. I love them!

Now, it’s time to add the teensy, tiny yellow centre.

Very dainty!

So, now it’s just a matter of adding each flower…one at a time…until you have a vase full of lovely flowers!

I am now going to make a pot of tea. I have lots of stitching to do!

Til next time….

Kerry

24Jan2014

Let’s Celebrate!!

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

I love it when a plan comes together! In my last post I explained how I was trying really hard to stay organized, which is actually very difficult for me. But my plan is working better than I hoped it would and I want to share it with you!

As I prep each piece, I glue it onto a copy of the paper pattern.

I started out pinning each piece in place but soon realized I was going to run out of pins, and, more importantly, the pattern was pinned to the ironing board and I couldn’t move it. So I started to use a glue stick and, now, life is good! I can now move the pattern!

So, once I have enough pieces prepped to complete a section, I am ready to transfer the pieces to the background. In reality, I could wait until the whole entire border is prepped before glueing the pieces onto the background, but I can’t wait that long!

So, I unstick the pattern piece from the pattern. This is the point that I remove the freezer paper template. By leaving in it, I can identify it (each piece has its own number…sort of like a paint by number picture). The other reason I leave it in is just to keep it stable.

I add a few dots of glue…

….and then pop it in place. Then I added a few more leaves and a bias stem….

…and a few more leaves and another bias stem…and Voila! Easy peasy!

This pattern piece scares me. There is very little seam allowance in between the leaf and the stem.

Let me show you how I really feel.

So this is what I do. I take my magic wand and…oh… I am pulling your leg! I take my pencil and just draw a simple line.

Now I can cut out the templates. And now I have two very manageable shapes to prep. I did the same thing with a horse’s leg. Check it out here.

Now I am very happy and I want to tell everyone how easy it is!

And then celebrate!!

Til next time…..

Kerry

20Jan2014

Focused and Organized

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

After a week of procrastinating, I have finally started the first border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore” on Saturday. I traced the whole pattern onto my background, which did not take nearly as long as I anticipated. I like to use a Clover water-soluble marker when I trace my backgrounds. The markers come in two sizes…thick tip and thin tip. I always use the thick tip. The line is thicker (of course!) and much easier to see!

Next, I made a whole pile of leaves. Lots and lots of leaves. The leaves get stitched in place first, and then the bias stem is placed on top of the leaves, so I need to make all of the leaves first . I am trying my darndest to stay focused and organized all at the same time.

As you can see, each leaf has it’s own number. And they are actually backwards because when I print my patterns onto the freezer paper, I reverse the pattern. So…I take each leaf and match it up with the corresponding leaf on the paper pattern. A little time consuming, so when I have enough leaves to complete a vine, I yell “Bingo!” It helps to pass the time.

Once the first set of leaves was complete, I started working on the center vase. First, I did the cute little curly-cues. And then the rest of the vase.

Annabelle is coming along quite nicely. The hexies are mighty small and I am fussy cutting the fabric, so it is taking a bit of time! I love how the hexies gives just a burst of something a little different!

Til next time….

Kerry

30Dec2013

A Good Way to End the Year!

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

Yesterday was one of those days I dream of. I had the entire house to myself for the whole day!! Sure, I could have done lots of things, but I really wanted to end this year with a bang. I desperately wanted to finish putting all 16 blocks of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore” together, complete with all of those half-square triangles. So that is what I did!

First, I finished sewing all of the triangles together and then trimmed them to the correct size. You can read more about that here. It is a lot of work, but so worth it! Next, I stitched them together to make one long strip….

….crossed my fingers and started stitching.

So far, so good!

I did the exact same thing for the other side.

I thought I deserved a break, so I made a pot of tea, grabbed my Ipod and listened to some tunes in the hot-tub. (Remember…I had the day to myself!!)

When I came back in, I was raring to go, but my seat was occupied. Didn’t matter, I was pumped!

Finally! After many, many hours, all 16 blocks stitched together!

Cue the fireworks!

Til next year…

Kerry

23Dec2013

Stolen Moments

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Well…with all the Christmas stuff going on, the shopping, the baking, and the get-togethers, it is hard to find any time to stitch. So I am stealing every spare moment I can to finish the last block of “Friends of Baltimore”. Here is the anchor prepped and glued in place.

Next, I had to decide how I was going to do the chain. First, I prepped and stitched the outside edge of the chain and drew the inside lines with a Frixion marker.

Then, I did reverse applique for all those tiny little holes in the chain.

Yesterday, we had a major ice storm and so we were all housebound, with not much to do. So I dug out the last four blocks of Friends of Baltimore…..

…and washed them…

… and trimmed them down to the proper size. You can read more about that here.

Next, I started to stitch together more of the half-square triangles that make up the sashing in between the blocks.

Here are the last four blocks stitched together in a row. Spiffy!

Merry, Merry Christmas Everyone….

Kerry

16Dec2013

Moving Right Along!

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

I was very excited to start working on this block. First, I started on the right side of the wreath with a few flowers, leaves and buds.

Next, I added the left side.

And, finally, the bluebird!

I have been steadily hand-quilting on Circle of Tupils. I am pleased because it has that antique look I was going for. I love it when a plan comes together! The stencil that I have chosen for the border has me intrigued, so I am anxious to start it!