Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Posted in Grandmother's Flower Garden, Grandmothers Choice, Hexagons, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

My apologies for not including the information regarding my new hoop. It is made in Canada by Quilters Woodwork in St. Mary’s, Ontario. I purchased mine at a local quilt shop in Cookstown, Ontario called Country Concessions.

When I can get my hoop away from the cat, I love to sit and hand quilt in the evening. Here is my Grandmother’s Flower Garden, which I am currently working on. I am already thinking about my next hand-quilting project. I don’t like too much time to slip by between projects, because the callouses on my fingers soften and then I have to go through the whole process again!

Maybe I will take the time to put the rest of my Grandmother’s Choice blocks together so that I have something to hand-quilt. These are the fabrics I am considering for the sashing and borders. Pretty pink!

I mentioned in an earlier post that my Civil War Bride Quilt won a ribbon at the local Ploughing Match. The quilts were judged and awarded ribbons back in May and the ribbon winning quilts were kept until the Ploughing Match, which was held in Essa Township while we were in Barbados. So, I just recently was re-united with my quilt. Yippee! I had no doubt that it would be kept safe and sound, but the fact that I had a more than one dream about my quilt disappearing made me think that maybe it was on my mind more than I realized. I was pleasantly surprised when I came home from running errands yesterday to find that the my Hubby has taken the time to hang the quilt in the livingroom. What a lovely sight!

Till next time…

Kerry

10Jan2014

So….I went shopping!

Posted in Annabelle, Circle of Tulips, Grandmothers Choice, Hand-Applique Techniques, Owen's Quilt, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

This is Annabelle…so far.

I have been working on Annabelle between other projects. The pieces are huge compared to anything else I am working on, so it’s a nice break.

It has an appliqued centre, surrounded by applique borders. I have chosen to use mainly browns, rusts and golds. At some point, I have to add some dainty hexie-flowers that are in the borders, as well as the centre.

Each time I made these little hexie flowers out of brown, they just weren’t dainty enough. So….I looked at my focus fabric, and saw this colour, (circled in red) which I can only describe as “not exactly grey…not exactly blue”. I think little hexie flowers in this colour would look lovely!

I don’t think I have any fabric this colour. Even if I do have some, I wouldn’t know where to begin looking for it, so it might be quicker just to go fabric shopping! So, I went shopping and I found exactly what I was looking for!! Dainty!

Of course, I found a few more pieces to add to the mix!

Also, I am slowly, but surely making progress on “Circle of Tulips”.

This is a little something I am also working on. Sometimes I like to sit at my sewing machine and not applique! I have a large stack of blocks from Barbara Brackman’s “Grandmother’s Choice” Block-of-the-week and it’s time to do something with them. Barbara has a new Block-of-the Month starting soon, called “Threads of Memory”. Check it out here. I made 3 blocks every week, (instead of 1) so I have lots of blocks! The 16 blocks I chose varied in size a little, so I added corner triangles to all 4 sides of the blocks.

Then I was able to trim them all down to a consistent size (12 1/2″).

This is what I have done so far. I am making this quilt for Owen, a little boy who has a place in a lot of hearts. Owen is just a little over 1 year old so he is still in a crib. But one day he will be moving to a big boy bed and he will need a quilt.

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!

First I started with the body.

Then I added the tail section.

And now comes the fun part! I love fabrics that beg to be fussy cut! I thought these medallions would make awesome feather details.

I used Perfect Circles by Karen Kay Buckley to make the circles. You can read more about Perfect Circles here.

So I stitched on a few circles and liked the effect…

…so I added some more!

Next, I added some legs and a place for the peacock to stand!

Til next time…

Kerry

2May2013

A Productive Day!

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

It is not very often that I sit at my sewing machine and stitch the day away, but that is what I did yesterday! I cut out and stitched…get ready….12 blocks from Grandmother’s Choice Block of the Week! My plan is to make 3 quilts using these 8″ blocks, so I am stitching 3 variations of the same block. I love to see how different fabric placement can drastically change the look of the block. Here are the blocks:

This block is called “I Am An Anti”. Honestly, I did not fussy cut the pink squares on purpose. It just happened!

Next on the runway is “Carrie Nation”.

Followed by “Mr. Roosevelt’s Necktie”.

And, last but not least, is “Jack’s Delight”.

Jenny and Bruin like to keep me company when I sew. They are kind of famous! Check out their youtube video here.

This is my latest finished block from “Bouquets For a New Day”. 5 more blocks to go!

The navy blue fabric in the vase is left over from an Irish Chain quilt I made for my Mom.

Most of this block from “Civil War Bride” is stitched in place. I started to think that maybe the table that the vase is sitting on is too dark for the overall look of the block. So I cut out another table piece and auditioned it. I do like it better.

My #1 rule in applique (and life) is this….fix something while it’s in the block stage, rather than finish the whole quilt and kick yourself because you were too busy…or too tired…or too lazy to fix it! I have been guilty of all 3!

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

29Nov2012

No room to sew!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Grandmothers Choice, Hand-Applique Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I am very lucky to have a room that I can dedicate to my quilting hobby/passion/obsession. I store all my stuff in the room…fabric, patterns, books, batting, notions, and 2 ironing boards! (I don’t actually use both ironing boards, I just keep fabric on them!) I do not have any room to have my sewing machine set up or a decent place to cut out fabric. (To be fair, it has been brought to my attention that if I tidied the room up, I would have more space. But that is another story!)

So when its time to do some cutting and sewing, I move to the dining room table. And, of course, I have lots of company!

These are the blocks from Grandmother’s Choice BOW. I am a teeny bit behind with these blocks, but I will catch up!

I have finished hand-quilting another block of Sue Garman’s “Bouquet For a New Day”.

Christmas is fast approaching and it is time to bring out the Christmas quilts. This is my daughter’s Christmas quilt. It is called “I Believe” by Pat Sloan.

Instead of appliqueing my initials, I stitched the word MOM…..

…just to remind her that MOM upside down, is WOW!!

Til next time…

Kerry

4Nov2012

Filling the Basket

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

Slowly (but surely!) the basket is filling up!

First, a few more flowers and buds…and some bird feet!

Finally! I stitched the bird in place…and I added a few more flowers.

And then more flowers, buds and leaves. I love it when the end is in sight!!

I am constructing some of the flowers off-block. Here is the front of the flower…

…and here is the back. Now it can be stitched onto the background. Because this flower has four layers, I trimmed out one of the layers so that it is not so thick.

I am almost caught up on Barbara Brackman’s Grandmother’s Choice Block of the Week.

This is “Alice’s Flag” from Week 7.

Week 9 is “Brick Pavement”.

Week 10 is “New York”.

Til next time….

Kerry

19Oct2012

Block 5 of Civil War Bride Finished!

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

The sun was shining and it was a very productive day! I stitched the last leaf on the 5th block of Civil War Bride Quilt.

And the top row is now complete!

Since my sewing machine was on the dining room table anyway, I stitched Aunt Eliza’s Star from Barbara Brackman’s Grandmother’s Choice. Even if you are not making the blocks, the stories that go with these blocks are very inspiring and moving and worth reading.

I went to go visit my quilt today!

Colleen, from Elite Quilting, is basting “Bouquets For a New Day” together for me on her long arm machine. That will save me from spending a couple of hours on my hands and knees basting it by hand. Life is good!! Lucky for me, Colleen was just finishing up as I arrived, so now the hand-quilting can begin!

Til next time…..

Kerry

11Oct2012

Finally Finished!!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Grandmothers Choice, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

As it turns out, the blocks were the easy part! This is one of the most challenging borders I have ever done. I had lots of help!

Once I saw that the sawtooth border did indeed fit, I could relax a little.

Ta da!

Now that it’s finished, I have been rambling around the house feeling a little lost! So I worked on the blocks from Barbara Brackman’s Grandmother’s Choice.

Til next time….

Kerry

2Oct2012

Civil War Bride Block 4!

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

The 4th block of The Civil War Bride Quilt is finished! I love the shadows on the bird created by the dark fabric.

I am stitching the blocks together as I complete them to keep me inspired and to keep the momentum going. If you look at the original quilt, you will see that I have actually flipped this block upside down so that the bird is flying upwards, and not toward the ground. Now, on to the 5th block!

Jenny is impressed with the progress I am making on Barbara Brackman’s Grandmother’s Choice. These blocks are an amazing way to use up some of that stash! In my infinite wisdom, I decided to make 3 blocks a week instead of one block. Here are the “Union Square Blocks” from Week 3.

I hand-pieced one Kansas Sunflower Block from Week 4. I think I will try English Paper Piecing the remaining 2 blocks. The points are just a little daunting to attempt on the sewing machine! It is hard to believe that this…