It was a rainy day…..

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

There is something about a a rainy day that makes me want to put on a pot of coffee and stay indoors and stitch! And that it exactly what I did!

I wanted to finish the 9th block from Sue Garman’s “Bouquets for a New Day”. So I chose fabrics for the vase and stitched them in place.

I love the touch of embroidery on this block! The sprigs of Baby’s Breath consists of many, many Colonial knots.

Here is the finished block!

Since I was on a bit of a roll (and it was still raining), I decided to start the next block!

First I stitched the star in place.

The leaves and vine pieces are one unit and a little tricky to prep. I ironed the freezer paper to the wrong side of the leaf fabric.

Then I cut around each unit leaving a scant 1/4″ seam allowance.

Using starch and a mini iron, I pressed the seam allowance in place. The deep curves are a little challenging…but still doable! (See below.)

I removed the freezer paper then glued all the pieces in place on the background. They are now ready to stitch in place!

Even though I am not finished all 12 blocks, I started sewing the quilt top together. As usual, Bruin had other plans for the blocks!

doable/ˈdo͞oəbəl/

Within one’s powers; feasible: “none of the jobs were fun, but they were doable”.

Til next time……

Kerry

28Aug2012

Officially Finished…with a few days to spare!

Posted in Amy's Quilt, Bouquet For a New Day, Hand-Applique Techniques, Quilt Labels, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I am “Officially Finished” Amy and Bruce’s wedding quilt! The quilt has a binding, a hanging sleeve…..

…and a label!!

The thing that surprised me the most was how much I loved having a hand-quilting project to work on. I knew I would miss having something to stitch on in the evenings. I kept thinking about my unfinished blocks of “Bouquets for a New Day”. I only have 4 blocks left to finish…. and a sawtooth border that is not going to make itself!! Hopefully, I can get it finished in the near future so I do not suffer too long from “Hand-Quilting Withdrawal”!

I worked on this block today. I am auditioning my fabrics for something that says “vase” to me.

I love this bit of detail. It is ” reverse appliqued” so the background shows from underneath the leaf!

Til next time…..

Kerry

22Aug2012

When bad things happen to good quilt blocks…

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

Normally, I am very careful when I stitch and drink coffee at the same time. But not today!

I am not exactly sure what happened….except that the coffee cup missed my mouth and coffee dribbled down my chin and onto Block #2 of Civil War Bride. Yikes!

When I start an applique block, the first thing I do is trace the pattern on to the background with a water soluble marker. I trace all of the shapes and I even number them so I know which order to stitch. Sort of like painting by numbers…only with fabric!

So when I ran to the sink and rinsed the block under the tap to remove the coffee, I also removed the majority of my markings. Really, just a minor detail. I waited for the block to dry and then I re-traced the pattern and continued on my merry way!

First I stitched a few leaves in place….

…and then the bias stem.

Next a flower and some buds. My first thought was to make all the flowers purple, but now I think I will make them all different colours!

Til next time…

Kerry

7Aug2012

Friends of Baltimore…next block

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

What is wrong with this picture? Well…let’s see!!

First of all it is 31 degrees! The quilt that I am working on has a wool batting in it! Oh….and the cat has decided it’s time to snuggle! It’s just way too hot to hand-quilt today.

So I decided to switch gears until it cools down a bit. I am making steady progress on the next block of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. First the leaves….and then the nuts…….and a couple of flowers!

……and then the twisted vines! They were fun!

And now the bird!

My favourite method of applique is the freezer paper and starch method, especially on a section like the tail feathers. Every piece has to fit exactly.

The seam allowance is pressed over the freezer paper pattern. The freezer paper is then removed and the seam allowance is turned under, ready to stitch! A few dabs of glue will hold the piece in place on the background.

The tail feathers are now ready to stitch in place!

Til next time…….

Kerry

1Jul2012

Not that I need another project!!

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

Oh!!! It finally arrived!! Talk about speedy delivery!!

A couple of years ago when I was at The Ellie Sienkiewicz Applique Academy, a student showed her stunning version of The Civil War Bride Quilt at Show and Tell. You can imagine the ooohhs and aahhhs from the audience! It has been on my radar ever since I saw it. Thank goodness for the internet! I happened upon the pattern on Threadbare’s website. Needless to say, the check was in the mail and I have been (im)patiently waiting by the mailbox.

Now the fun begins!! I am now auditioning fabrics and backgrounds!! This is such a good way to spend an afternoon!

Of course, I am still stitching away on Friends of Baltimore.

It’s amazes me how much I get done when I actually sit down and stitch. Sometimes I can’t sit down because my chair is occupied!!

Til next time……..

Kerry

20Jun2012

Steady progress….

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

I have never considered myself a stalker! Well, that is, until I discovered Sue Garman and her amazing, amazing quilts!

I had heard of Sue Garman, but it was not until I saw an ad in a quilt magazine for her Block- of- the- Month, “Ladies of the Sea”, that my jaw hit the floor! I was awestruck. I had to meet her! I emailed her and asked her how she stays motivated. She gave me the best advice….only work on quilts that you absolutely love, not sort of love, not kind of love….just absolutely love!

I absolutely love Friends of Baltimore (another one of Sue’s BOMs) so it is easy to stay motivated!

I was lucky enough to meet Sue Garman a couple of years later at Quilt Market. I told her I was her biggest fan and she giggled! I wonder if she knows how much of an inspiration she is?

The fuchsias on this block are actually dimensional which makes the block interesting.

Here is how you make them..

Make 2 circles using the 1 1/4″ Perfect Circle. Use a light and dark fabric and make sure you use matching thread.

Fold one of the circles in towards you and pinch with your fingers.

Take the second circle and fold it around the first circle.

Take a few stitches to hold the petals in place.

Thread an embroidery needle with a couple strands of embroidery floss. I used yellow. Knot the thread and stitch through the back to the opening at the top of the flower. The knots will be on the back of this unit. Cut the thread an inch or two from the flower. Repeat this step a couple of times.

I used the starch method on the calyxes, so that means the seam allowance is already turned over.

Now I can just glue it in place at the base.

Lift up the opening and tuck the flower under the calyx and glue in place. Easy peasy!

Til next time…..

Kerry

11Jun2012

This is how I spent Sunday….

Posted in Feathered Star Quilt, Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I have been staring at my Feathered Star quilt wondering how I can incorporate the floral fabric into the border. A skinny inner border would not show the fabric properly. A wide outer border would overpower the delicateness of the Feathered Stars. So I thought: ” What if I cut the floral fabric into a curvy inner border and appliqued it onto a white outer border? It might look like a garden.” That appealed to me! And then I thought “What if I added some appliqued flowers that “grew” out of the garden?” That might be interesting! Finally! My quilt was speaking to me!!

So I needed a curvy line to use as a pattern. I used Illustrator to draw a curvy line the length of the quilt. The quilt is square so all four sides are the same measurement. I just had to figure out how to turn the corners so that the inner border would flow around the corners. I also had to decide how deep I wanted the curves to be. Sometimes the hardest part of a quilt is the thinking part!!

So here is my pattern….and my cat chewing up the pattern!

Once I got it away from the cat, I traced the pattern onto freezer paper. I ironed the freezer paper onto the wrong side of the fabric. Then I trimmed the seam allowance to 1/4″.

I applied some starch to the seam allowance and pressed it over the freezer paper using a stiletto and mini-iron.

Once the freezer paper is removed, the edge is pressed over and ready to stitch!

I glue basted the curvy border onto the 12″ wide white border and pinned it on the design wall for an audition. It is exactly how I pictured it! Now it needs some flowers!

This is what the appliqued flowers should look like!

And now I have a plan!!

8Jun2012

The bird is done…but the grapes are not!

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

This bird is taking on a life of its own!

So…here are the top feathers.

…and the back and head.

The side feathers are stitched on. I also added the band around his neck. At this point I realized I forgot the beak. I think I was just so darn excited about how the bird was starting to look..well..very bird-like!

…and finally the last piece of the bird is stitched in place!

I un-stitched a small section of the head and tucked in the beak. Now I can concentrate on stems and leaves and grapes! Did I mention there are 98 grapes!

I am pre-washing the fabrics for the appliqued border on my Feathered Star. I am not sure what pattern I am doing yet but I want the fabric to be ready when my idea hits me!!

This is why I pre-wash!!

I pre-wash all my fabric in really hot water and Synthrapol. I just sleep better when I do!!

5Jun2012

An honest day’s work!

Posted in Feathered Star Quilt, Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

It was going to be a great day!! Our new counter tops were being installed by a company that required someone over the age of 18 be home…for the whole day!! An entire day devoted to applique! I thought it would be a good opportunity to work on block 5 of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. I had already stitched a few of the grapes in place and I was looking forward to sewing on the bird’s tail feathers. Well! Little did I know that before all the tail feathers could be stitched in place, the grapevine needed to be stitched down. And before the grapevine could be stitched down, the stems and leaves needed to be stitched in place! A lot of stitching needed to be done before I could get to the tail feathers!

Here are a few pictures of the very slow (but extremely rewarding) progress I made today!! I know it doesn’t look like I accomplished much….but really I did!!

I stitched a few skinny stems down so I could add some leaves.

Then I started to add the tail feathers, one by one.

Before I could add the under-body of the bird, I needed to add some brown grapevines.

Then I could finally stitch the bird’s under-body and the very last tail feather!!

I am still working away on my Feathered Star. I must confess, these blocks didn’t excite me too much when I made them 3 years ago….which is why they probably ended up somewhere in my closet. Now that I have sewn the blocks together and added a sashing, I am delighted! I thought I would add some appliqued flowers in the white spaces. I am not sure about that now. I think it looks fine without it. What this quilt really needs is an appliqued border. It’s a toss-up between formal swags cut from the feature fabric or a nice curvey vine with some flowers. (I am waiting for the quilt to tell me what it needs!!)

30May2012

Perfect Circles…every time!!

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

A few of the quilts I am working on have one thing in common: lots and lots of circles! Let me tell you about “Perfect Circles”, a product that should be in every quilters toolbox. I would not attempt to make an appliqued circle without them! “Perfect Circles” is a set of Mylar circles that range in size from 1/2″ – 2″ in diameter.

They are very easy to use but over the years I have come up with a few tips that I would like to share with you. The very first (and most important) tip is that when you have a lot of circles (like 98!) you need some sort of motivation!! I am prepping my fifth block of Sue Garman’s Friends of Baltimore and just about fainted when I saw 98 fairly small circles!

So I came up with a plan. Every time I completed 20 tiny purple circles, I would reward myself with a few chocolate covered cranberries!! Let’s be honest…chocolate covered anything would work!!

Here are the steps I use to make my circles:

1. Trace the circle on to the wrong side of the fabric. You can layer your fabric and cut more than one circle at a time.

2. Cut the circle out leaving a decent 1/4 inch seam allowance.

3. Thread a needle with some contrasting thread. Take your first stitch so that the knot is on the right side of the fabric. (This is important!)

4. Do a running stitch around the circle, halfway between the raw edge and the traced line. Don’t go too close to the edge or your seam allowance will shred into nothing-ness! (Trust me!)

5. Take your last stitch so that the needle comes out on the right side of the fabric, right beside the knot from where you started. (This is important!)

6. Gently pull the thread so that the seam allowance gathers around the Perfect Circle. I like to pull the thread towards myself.

7. Use a paint brush in your left hand to dab some spray starch onto the seam allowance. It should be moist, not wet. You should still be holding onto the thread with your right hand. Take a breath at some point!

8. With your left hand, use your mini-iron to press the seam allowance flat against the Perfect Circle. You should still be holding the thread tight. Turn the circle over and press with your iron to make sure that the fabric is absolutely dry.