Back from TESAA!

Posted in Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Where does the time go? I have been back from The Elly Sienkiewicz Applique Academy for almost a week, and I am still overwhelmed. It is so hard to get back to my normal routine! I am happy to report that hand-applique is definitely alive and well. I am actually going to go out on a limb and say that hand-applique must be on the upswing, judging by the amount of first time attendees at the Academy.

The first class I took was with Rita Verroca. Not only is she super-talented and willing to share everything she knows, she is the one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Check out those cowboy boots!

This is a quilt designed by Rita. It is called Album of Roses. As you can see, Rita has a unique style of choosing fabrics that make her quilts stunning and one-of-a-kind! Yes…it is hand-quilted!!

This is a picture of the quilt block we were working on in class. It is part of an ongoing series of blocks Rita is designing depicting early American history.

This is what I have accomplished, so far.

There are some really teeny, tiny pieces in 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

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

7Jan2014

Washing my finished block

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

Once I finished embroidering all the ropes with 2 strands of floss, I was ready to wash my block. I must mention at this point that I prewash all of my fabric in Synthrapol before I even think of putting it in a quilt. That way, the fabrics do not run in this washing process. Why do I wash my blocks? When I trace my pattern onto the background, I use a Clover water soluble marker and a Frixion marker. To prep my applique pieces, I use starch and Roxeann’s Glue. All of that stuff needs to be removed from the block before it can be stitched into a quilt. Oh….and did I mention the cat hair?

It was in a class with Pearl Pereira at the Applique Academy that I learned about washing blocks. By the way, have you seen Pearl’s new Block of the Month on her website? It’s called Forever Blooming and it is free! I have downloaded my patterns and I am raring to get started! I am also super excited to be attending this years TESAA! I will be taking classes with Rita Verroca and Sandra Leichner. Only 42 more sleeps!

So, this is how I wash my block. First, I check to make sure all the pieces are stitched down. You really don’t want this to happen!

Oops! Can you see that I did not stitch all of the bias pieces down? There are bias strips in between the leaves and they are not stitched yet.

They should look like this.

You only need a clean sink, some mild soap and a block.

First, fill the sink with hot water and add a bit of soap.

Now, place the block in the water. If this is the first time you are doing this, you are allowed to hold your breath and close your eyes! I usually let it soak for a couple of hours. No need to check on it, it’s not going anywhere!

Next, drain the water and rinse the block with clear water. Gently press some of the water out. I like to leave the block fairly wet.

I place the block out on a thick towel and smooth it out. From experience, I have found that leaving the block wet means less wrinkles when the block has finished drying. I like to pin the corners of the block to the towel, just to keep it as flat as possible.

Once the block is completely dry, I flip it over on the thick towel and press with a hot iron.

Presto!

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

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!

Til next time…..

Kerry

5Dec2013

Just Play!

Posted in Annabelle, Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I love starting a new quilt! I really have no business starting something new, when I should be starting the last (yipee!) block of Friends of Baltimore, but it’s what I do! The more quilts I have one the go, the happier I am. I believe that a body in motion stays in motion and creativity breeds creativity! So, this is what I did today….I played!

This quilt is called Annabelle. It is based on a quilt made by Ann Daggs in New York and dated 1818. This is my focus fabric. I think of choosing fabrics for a quilt like choosing actors for a movie. Only one fabric (or actor) can play the leading role.

And, no movie is complete without a supporting cast!

So, once I chose most of my fabrics, I started cutting, prepping and audtioning. At this stage, I just lay everything out on the paper pattern and play!

Once I “say yes to the dress”, I start to glue pieces onto the background.

I like to give myself lots of options. I have chosen 3 different fabrics for the leaves. I love them all!

Til next time…

Kerry

24Nov2013

Strawberries…who knew?!

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

Thanks, Gale, for the heads up!! Gale very kindly let me know that what I believed to be tomatoes are actually strawberries. Now that I think about it, I can’t remember the last time I saw tomatoes in a fruit basket! Onward and upward! I prepped the watermelon (pretty sure I nailed that one!) and the pineapple.

Next, I added a few pears and an apple.

Then, I filled in a few leaves.

Let me show you how I tackled those two-tone leaves. I love them because they are very effective! First, take a look at the pieces and determine which is the “bottom” piece and which is the “top” piece of the leaf. This photo is the “bottom” piece and it will be placed on the background first. Notice that the center is not prepped and how I angled the ends in toward the leaf.

The “top” piece is prepped all the way around the template.

So, now I place the “bottom” leaf on the background…

…and then the top.

This next area was particularly dicey, because there is so much green going on. I had to make sure that I used a variety of lights, mediums and darks, so that they did not all blend in together.