To Everything There Is A Season…Block 8

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season", Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Where did October go?!? It’s time for me post the 8th block of “To Everything There Is A Season”, a BOM I launched back in April. If you are new to my blog and you haven’t seen the blocks yet, here they are! All of the patterns are available for purchase on my website Simple Bird Studio. The patterns are available either as a digital pattern (which I will email to you) or as a paper pattern (which I will mail to you). The choice is yours.

Block 1

Block 2

Block 3

Block 4

Block 5

Block 6

Block 7

And here is Block 8, The Poinsettia, just in time for the upcoming festive season. (It will be here before you know it!)

Here are a few close-up photos. The yellow centres are made of Ultra Suede. This is where I purchase my Ultra Suede. I love the little bit of texture that Ultra Suede adds! I also stitched around each yellow centre with one strand of gold embroidery floss. I added a few French knots to the flowers, but I used 2 strands of embroidery floss for those.

I also used one strand of brown floss to embroider around each of the ovals on the vase and around the darker handle on the right side. Fancy!

Til next time…

Kerry

10Oct2014

A New Hoop and Other Fun Stuff!

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

Earlier this year, I treated myself to a new quilt hoop. I have always hand quilted using a hoop, and I thought it was time to graduate to the kind of hoop with a base that tucks under my legs, which leaves my hands free to quilt. I love it!! No more aching shoulders and neck, because the quilt is supported with the hoop and not my arms.

Today, we discovered that my hoop also can be used as the perfect hiding spot. “Gee..has anyone seen the cat?”

“Here he is!” Sneaky!

Last year I taught a Beginner Applique Class to a great group of ladies. They wanted to continue to improve their skills, so I am teaching them how to make a Baltimore quilt. Pretty ambitious, I know! But I have faith in them! Yesterday was our first day. We will meet once a month and work on various blocks while learning new techniques. These are the fabrics I will be using for my blocks.

Here is first block. It is a variation of the Rose of Sharon block.

First I started with the buds. The buds actually are made of two layers of fabrics.

Next, I added the leaves…

…and some more leaves and some bias stems.

Next, it was time to stitch the flowers. The flowers are also two layers, so I wanted to reduce the bulk before I stitched them onto the background. First I prepped both layers.

Then I stitched the top layer onto the bottom layer.

Next, I carefully trimmed the bottom layer of fabric away, cutting a 1/4″ away from the stitching.

And finally, I added the flowers to the block.

I am still working away on the third border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore” quilt. I have finished the right side of the vase and now I am working on the left side.

Til next time…

Kerry

2Oct2014

To Everything There Is A Season…Block 7

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season", Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Here it is the beginning of another month and that means it’s time to post the next block of a block-of -the-month I launched back in April. To see the last 6 blocks, click here.

For those that have ordered the patterns, thank you very much!! I am really overwhelmed by the positive response to the patterns. I’ll answer some FAQs…there will be 12 blocks in total. The blocks measure 18″ x 18″ without the seam allowance. There is be a beautiful center medallion that combines elements of all the blocks. It is spectacular! And, finally, there will be outer borders. The finished size should approximately 90″ square.

There are 2 ways to order the pattern, which are available on my website. You can purchase a full size paper pattern and I will send it to you in the mail. The cost is $10.00 and includes shipping in Canada and the US and also includes a colour picture of the block or….you can purchase the downloadable pattern for $7.00. Some people have had trouble downloading the pattern (you will need Adobe Reader to download the patterns) and for those people, I sent a 6 page PDF of the pattern which seems to have worked well. This month I have included the 6 page PDF in the link. along with the full-size pattern and a colour picture. Hopefully that works for everyone!

So….here is the block!

I must admit this block intimidated me because of the shading and I just didn’t know if I could carry it off. I procrastinated all month long (not like me at all!) and when we came back from Barbados I finally started the block. That way, I only had one week to make the block. Talk about pressure, but sometimes that is the only way to get things done!! Can anyone relate to that?

So I started (very cautiously) with some leaves…

…then I added a few apples and thought they looked pretty darn good!

So good, in fact, that I added a whole basket full of them.

I knew I had some wood grain fabric left over from a BOM I did about 10 years ago and I searched my sewing room until I found it.

Next, I added the straw…..

…and finally, a sweet little bird!

Til next time…

Kerry

24Sep2014

Awesome time had by all!

Posted in Grandmother's Flower Garden, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Time flies when you are in Barbados! We had an awesome time, but before we knew it, it was time to get back on the plane and back to reality! If you have the chance to go, I highly recommend that you go. If you do go, make sure you take in a few of the local landmarks. The first one we went to was an absolute delight. Hunte’s Garden is a tropical paradise with too many beautiful plants and flowers to mention. Here are just a very few of the photos I took…..

Another great place we visited was Sunbury Plantation House, a 300 year old house filled to the brim with antiques and a room devoted to sewing machines….

….and an antique quilt that caught my eye!

Of course, I checked out the back!

It was hard to tell how big the hexies were (none of us had a ruler!) but they are smaller than the ones I am working with.

The pattern was a little random, a little planned.

Of course, I found time to do a bit of stitching.

So now, back to the routine of sitting down to hand-quilt in the evening with a nice pot of tea!

Til next time….

Kerry

10Sep2014

Getting Ready For A Vacation!

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Grandmother's Flower Garden, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hexagons, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Hubby and I and 2 other couples are leaving on Sunday for a week in the sunny south. We have had this holiday planned for a while now and we are all very, very excited. Who wouldn’t be? We are going to Barbados! The other 2 wives are busy planning where we will be eating, daily excursions to must-see tourist areas and flight schedules. Not me. I am too busy prepping my applique so I can do some serious stitching! My biggest fear is that when I travel, I will have absolutely nothing to do. True story. So I always take my applique with me wherever I go. I have stitched in Nova Scotia….

…at the cottage….

…The Royal York in Toronto. We actually missed our flight to Nova Scotia so I had lots of time to stitch while we waited for the next flight.

…on the Amoeba in Antigua…..

…and in Florida.

Wherever I go with my stitching, I take my bag with me. I pack this bag before I pack my suitcase. Again…true story! My bag has everything in it that I will need….thread, a package of needles, a few pins, scissosrs, close-up glasses, Thread Heaven and ThimblePads.

So…on to the border. I love fabrics that go from light to dark across the width, like this purple one.

I needed some purple berries to finish off the bouquet in the vase and I thought this might be the perfect fabric. I cut a few dark berries, a few medium ones and a couple light ones.

I just kept adding flowers, buds, leaves and stems, until the right side was complete. Voila!

Finally, I have something to hand-quilt! I spent the weekend marking and basting my Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt. I decided to quilt a Baptist fan design. So far, so good!

Til next time….

Kerry

18Aug2014

Talking to myself and other fun stuff!

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

I made a deal with myself…I couldn’t start the third border of “Friends of Baltimore” until I completed The Elissa block from Sue Garman’s “Ladies of the Sea”.

Oddly enough, I make deals with myself all the time……clean the bathroom and then you can sit and stitch…start dinner and while the pasta is cooking you can sit and stitch….get up a little earlier and you can sit and stitch. You get the picture!

So, here we go! I decided to start with the vines coming out of the bouquet. I should mention that I have traced the design on the background with a Clover water soluble marker.

I was just itching to start the vase…so that is what I did! I used the same blues as I did for the flowers in The Elissa block.

I am not going to be shy…I love the way this vase turned out!!

Next, I added a few more leaves and tiny stems.

And a few purple flowers….

Next, I added some pretty posies!

When I filled the vase with all of the flowers, something started to niggle at me. The light pink rose gets lost in the boquet.

So then, I started a conversation with myself. I guess by now you have figured out that I talk to myself…a lot!! I started to think that in real life, someone may have put a pale pink rose into a vase with brightly coloured flowers and it might look just fine. Someone else might look at the block and think it looks just fine. Maybe I am just being too critical of my work. But the reality is, I know that if it bugs me now, it is going to bug me even more once it is quilted. So I replaced the flower with one that has just a little more oomph!

Dandy!

I have added a few more rows onto my Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt. Only two more rows to go…yippee! I have already decided (after many converastions with myself!) about how I am going to hand-quilt it. I will keep you posted!

Til next time…

Kerry

5Aug2014

To Everything There Is A Season, Block 5

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season", Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

My apologies for being a little late in getting the next block of “To Everything There Is A Season” posted. Hubby and I have been camping at a local campsite. I told him I had to come home early to get some laundry done, but really I wanted to come home to finish the block. Mum’s the word!

This block, Fall Kaleidoscope, is available on my website Simple Bird Studio, along with Blocks 1-4. You can choose from having a digital pattern emailed to you, or you can go old school and order a paper pattern. If you order the digital pattern, I will email your pattern to you as soon as I can (usually within a couple of hours).

Oddly enough, I was a little slow starting this block because I found all the points a little intimidating. Once I finally started the block, I found myself thinking that there is not one single thing in this block to be scared of. Honestly! It went together very nicely! Here are a few little hints to help you along the way…

I used 3 different shades of gold for the petals and just placed them randomly.

Next, I prepped a complete section of straw and leaves and left it on my design wall for a while. I decided the dark green leaf was too dark and so I switched it up. (Yes, you are allowed to change your mind!)

Once I decided on which green to use in place of the dark one, I completed all of the leaves.

Then, I added the rest of the straw.

And, finally, some cattails!

Til next time….

Kerry

21Jul2014

I Turned A Corner!

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

When I stitched the first border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”, I did what I do to all my blocks and borders. I washed the border. (I should mention that I pre-wash all of my fabrics in Synthrapol before I cut into them.) Something odd happened. For the very first time one of my red fabrics ran. Yikes! You can read more about that post here. If you remember, I Googled “what do I do when my fabrics run” and did exactly what I was told! I went to the store and purchased Oxi-Clean and some colour magnet sheets so I could re-wash the border and (hopefully!) remove the spots of red. The article I read also said to dry the fabric as soon as possible so, once the border was re-washed, I put it in the dryer and all was good. The red marks disappeared!

When I put the border on the paper pattern to trim it to the correct size, I noticed that the the appliques didn’t exactly match what was on the paper pattern. It looked like the area that was appliqued had shrunk in length. I know that a certain amount of shrinkage happens because of all the stitching. And the dryer would have caused a certain amount of shrinkage, also. Certainly not the end of the world! This is what I did to correct the (minor) problem…..

Just to give you an idea of how much shrinkage there was, the bud is supposed to be where my finger is. Just so you are not confused, you can only applique so far to the edge of the border, then the overlappping pieces can be glued and stitched in place once the corner block is added.

I moved the bud to where it was “supposed” to be. (Luckily, I had not stitched it in place yet!)

Next, I cut the bias stem. Notice I cut it under a piece of bias that crossed over it, so I could hide the join.

I just added a longer piece of bias.

Then I added a leaf to fill in the space. Looks good to me!

So once I shifted a few more pieces (and added 3 extra leaves) to fill in the space, the corner is finally complete!

I decided not to wash the corner block until it was part of the border. That way, I could also wash the pieces that overlapped the borders and the block. I filled the bathtub with just a few inches of water and placed the body of the quilt on the edge of the tub. I may not sound like it, but I was starting to get a little stressed!!

Once all the glue and starch was washed out, I pressed the water out and laid it out on a couple of thick towels to dry. All is good!

Til next time…

Kerry

7Jul2014

Moving right along…

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

I have gone as far as I can go stitching the pieces on this block. The remaining pieces will cover the seam that joins the block and the border, so those pieces cannot be stitched until the block and border are sewn together. This presents a bit of a problem…..I am not going to wash the block before I stitch it to the border, because some of the pieces are just glued (and not stitched). The reason for that is some of the vines from the border tuck under some of the pieces on the block. My idea is to wash the block once it attached to the quilt. I picture just dipping the 4 corners in the sink, one at a time. This first block will be an experiment to see if that will work. Keep your fingers crossed!

When I first marked the block, I also marked the seam line and the cutting line. That way when it comes time to trim the excess off, I don’t have to wonder “Is that the seam line or the cutting line?” I know it is only a 1/4″, but it would truly be a disaster if I cut on the seam line! The solid line is the seam line and the dotted line is the cutting line.

Next, I lined up the border and the block and stitched them together. Notice I didn’t trim the 3 remaining sides of the block, just the one I am stitching right now.

So now, I can prep and stitch the remaining pieces in place…and do some embroidery!

Til next time…

Kerry

3Jul2014

Block #4 The Summer Vase

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season", Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

It’s that time again! Time to post the next block of “To Everything There Is A Season”, a block-of-the-month I launched in April. The first 4 blocks are available on my website. There will be 12 blocks in total and a centre medallion and borders. You have your choice of a paper pattern mailed to you, or a digital copy that I will email to you.

This block was an absolute delight to make! I am going to show you a few tricks to make this block go really smoothly. First, this is how I make my really skinny bias stems. I make a piece of bias using my 1/4″ bias maker.

Next, I iron it half lenthwise to set the fold. I run a line of glue down the centre of the strip…

…and finger press it in half. As you can see, it really is skinny compared to a “regular” 1/4″ stem. It also has some “dimension”.

It really is a lot easier to construct these flowers “off block”. To do that, I build the flowers on my applique pressing sheet. I actually glue the pieces to the appliue pressing sheet and wait for the glue to dry. Then I just peel the flowers off…..admire it….and then pop it in place!