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

29Oct2012

All I Can Do Is Laugh!!

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

Well I had a great idea! I am ready to start hand-quilting Sue Garman’s “Bouquets For A New Day’. I have always quilted in a hoop, but I thought it might be time to graduate to a floor frame. I did a bit of research on floor frames and decided I wasn’t ready to jump in that deep. So I opted for an Omni-Grid floor frame. I thought it might give me a feel for quilting on a frame without a huge investment. I could not wait to get started!

So I marked my quilt under the watchful eye of Bruin.

I am doing cross-hatching in the background. The lines are 3/4″ apart. That is a lot of quilting!

I assembled the frame and put the quilt in it. I gathered all my stuff (scissor, needles, thread and thimble). I put on a pot of coffee. Life was so good!

I left the room just for a minute to pour myself a cup of cup of coffee….

…..and Bruin found a new cat bed!

I am making slow (but steady) progress on “Friends of Baltimore”.

Til next time….

Kerry

24Oct2012

Filling the Basket

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

The next block of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore” has me thinking. There is a bird in the basket surrounded by many flowers and leaves and I really I want the bird to stand out. I want to make the bird blue, so I don’t want him surrounded by blue flowers.

So here is the bird. I made him off-block, ready to place in the basket when the time is right!

And here are some of the leaves, flowers and buds. Oh, and a bow!

Some of the flowers have tiny, tiny pieces! So much fun!

Til next time….

Kerry

17Oct2012

Amused by a Butterfly!

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

Today was a “journey” kind of day, rather than a “destination” kind of day!

I had big plans for today and nothing was going to slow me down! I would prep (and maybe stitch!) the next block of The Civil War Bride quilt. First I stitched all of the stems in place.

Then I chose the fabric for the vase and the Granny Smith apples. So far, so good.

After I prepped the flowers and glued them in place, I realized that I chose fabrics that were just not speaking to me. I made a deal with myself. I would go have lunch and then look at the block again. (Maybe it was a low blood-sugar kind of thing!) If I still didn’t love it, I would choose new fabrics for the flowers.

So I went from this…

to this….

to this.

Needless to say I was a little disappointed that I did not accomplish more of the block, but the butterfly more than made up for it! I wanted to find a fabric that shouted BUTTERFLY! So I searched through my stash and I found this!

I fussy-cut the wings and here is my butterfly! I was so amused!!

Til next time….

Kerry

7Oct2012

The Luxury of Time

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

I am fortunate to have a large family and every year we take turns hosting major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not only does this mean cooking a turkey with all the trimmings, it also means making the house presentable! And that means using up precious time that could be spent quilting! Lucky for me, this year was not my turn! So I had lots of time this weekend to finish the last block of Sue Garman’s “Bouquets For a New Day.

I glued the stars and circles on the basket.

Next, I added the ribbons…

…and finally, a bow! All 12 blocks are Officially Finished!

The ribbon ends have very deep inner curves, which can be a little intimidating.

Here are a few tips….

First of all, I make 3 cuts at the base of the curve. The first one is at the centre of the curve and about 1\8″ away from the freezer paper. The 2nd and 3rd cuts are on either side of the first cut. Anytime I clip a curve, my scissors are always perpendicular to the freezer paper.

Using a stiletto and mini-iron, I fold the seam allowance over the freezer paper, just until I get to the first clip.

Then I put the stiletto down, and fold the freezer paper towards myself so I can use the very tip of the iron to get into the curve.

Next, I return the freezer paper to its original position and continue folding the seam allowance over. There will be very little seam allowance around the curve. Don’t panic.

Once the complete shape is prepared, I put a dab of Roxanne’s Glue at the base of the curve just to give it a bit of stability. Once the glue dries, I remove the freezer paper template.

Since I wasn’t cooking a turkey, I took the time to stitch the blocks together and add the 1″ inner border. So far, so good!

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…

can look like this!

The second last block of Sue Garman’s Bouquets For a New Day is finished!

Just one more block to go! Then I can start to stitch it all together, and then on to the sawtooth inner border. Yikes!

Til next time…..

Kerry

26Sep2012

What Motivates You?

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

Working on a large quilt can sometimes be overwhelming. The key to success in quilting (and in life!) is to stay motivated by setting long-term and short-term goals for ourselves. And, of course, when we reach those goals, we need to reward ourselves…with chocolate!

When I have more that just a few circles to make, I need to stay motivated. I reach for my Perfect Circles by Karen Kay Buckley, I make a cup of coffee, I crank up the music and I have some chocolate handy! How much chocolate I have depends on how many circles I need to make…..lots of circles means lots of chocolate!

Before I know it, the circles are finished and I am ready to move on to the next step of the block.

Wonderful….more circles!

I am prepping the 4th block of The Civil War Bride Quilt. It also has more than a few circles on it! It has some interesting loopy tendrils made from bias strips. Here is a little tip I use for making really curvy bias pieces. I used the same technique for making the handles on this basket. So easy!

First, I make the bias strip using bias bars. Here are a few tips for using bias bars.

Next, I put the paper pattern on a padded surface, like an ironing board. Then I place the bias strip on the pattern and put a few pins where I want to start.

I dampen the bias strip with starch and then use the mini-iron to “mold” the bias strip into place.

Once it is dry, the bias strip will actually hold its shape. You can pick it up and toss it around!

Glue in place and you are ready to stitch!

Til next time……

Kerry

16Sep2012

Finally! The Perfect Project!

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

I certainly don’t seem to have a problem collecting batiks, which is not that big of a deal, except that I rarely use batiks! But all that is going to change! These yummy bundles of batiks caught my eye at Quilt Market in Houston about 3 or 4 years ago. How could I leave them behind? I have been waiting very patiently for the “perfect project” to come along.

Well! Not only did the perfect pattern come along, it also had a co-ordinating fat-eights bundle to go along with it! When opportunity like this knocks, you better open the door! The “perfect project” for my batik collection is “Spring Bouquet” by Laundry Basket Quilts. The fabrics are “Over the Rainbow” batiks by Laundry Basket Quilts for Moda.

Don’t they play nicely together! I promised myself I will not start this project until I finish….something!

In the meantime, I have been stitching away on Block #3 of The Civil War Bride Quilt. I could not help myself! I wanted to see what the blocks might look like once they are stitched together. Spiffy!

Oh…and this was fun! The handle on the basket I started last week is made up of 3 long bias strips that are braided together….

…and then glued in place! Spiffy!

Til next time…..

Kerry

11Sep2012

Miles and miles of bias…….

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

I woke up this morning with one thing on my mind: bias strips! I have been avoiding starting the next block of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore” because the basket is made up of what seems like miles and miles of skinny bias strips. Well! Today seems like a good day to get started!!

I usually make bias stems with my Clover 1/4″ bias maker. But the strips in the basket are skinnier than 1/4″ so I will use my bias bars. I have 3 different sets of bars. I love (and use) them all! For this particular project, I will use Perfect Stems by Karen Kay Buckley.

This is how I make my bias strips. (It is not an exact science!)

First I figure out what size bar to use. These bars are a little on the thick side so I always choose a bar that is skinnier than what the pattern shows.

I cut my strips on the bias. (I know that seems obvious, but I had to say it!) How wide I cut them depends on the size of the bias bar. You should to be able to wrap the fabric around the bar and have enough extra fabric to hold onto. I usually leave an extra 1/2 inch.

I place the bias bar underneath the presser foot. Then I carefully lower the needle and then stitch along the side of the bar. Did you know that you can actually sew through these bars and it does not harm the machine…or the bias bars? The needle is a different story! The tube of fabric should fit snugly around the bar. I always use a contrasting thread in my machine.

Trim the extra seam allowance as close to the stitching as you dare!

But not too close!

The contrasting thread is helpful in determining how far away your scissors are from the stitch line! It works most of the time!

I twist the fabric tube around so that the seam is next to the flat side of the bias bar. Next I spray it with starch and iron it flat.

I remove the bias bar and press the strip again to make sure it is flat.

If you are not ready to use the bias strip yet, you can wrap it around an empty paper towel roll or you can glue it in place!

It’s time to dress the Civil War Bride! I took the liberty of auditioning different hairstyles for her and decided on this one…

…instead of this one!

Til next time……

Kerry

9Sep2012

Starting…..as opposed to finishing!!

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

Just when I thought I could not squeeze another project into my already crammed quilting schedule, something exciting came along and grabbed my attention!

While I was checking out Barbara Brackman’s Material Culture, a little button caught my eye. The button reads as follows: September 1st I’ll start a new blog with a free pattern Block of the Week. The topic: The Fight for Women’s Rights. Click on the button to see it.

How could I not click on the button??

So naturally, my life came to a complete halt! Out came the cutting mat and the rotary cutter and the ruler and the sewing machine…oh…and some fabric and away I went! I cut out one block….then said to myself…”If you are going to make one block, you might as well make three!”.

So…here are my blocks for Week 1. (Technically, this is Week 2 and I am already behind!) Wish me luck!