Hugs and Kisses Almost Finished:)

Posted in Hand-Quilting Techniques, Hugs and Kisses, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Yesterday I had some time on my hands so I went into my sewing room and shut the door. I was on a mission:)

You may recall in my last post I explained how I wash my finished blocks. Once that step is complete, and the blocks are dry, it is time to trim the blocks to the correct size. Since these blocks finish at 12″ x 12″, I simply used my 12 1/2″ square ruler. I placed the ruler on top of the block and centered it. Take your time with this step. You don’t want to mess it up:)

Next, I carefully trimmed the excess fabric away. Easy Peasy!

The pattern calls for 20 appliqued cornerstones, which didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would. I cut my sashings and away I went!

So far, so good!

Right now the quilt measures 52″ x 68″. Once the appliqued borders are on, it will measure 71″ x 87″. I am intending to hand quilt this beauty and I am excited to get started! So scrumptious…

“Hugs and Kisses” is a Block-of-the-Month that will begin in January 2018…that is just next month! Each month you will receive the pattern and fabric (same fabric as shown) so that you can complete one block a month. Also, as a bonus, I am including (free of charge) 5 spools of Mettler 60 weight to match the fabrics. You have until the end of December to sign up on the website. Also, for those that have asked, you are able to purchase a full set of patterns to stitch along with us, using your own fabrics. I am wondering what this quilt would took like in Civil War fabrics. Or browns and pinks. Or totally scrappy. I could go on and on!

Til next time…

Kerry

27Jan2016

Third block of “Love Is In the Air”

Posted in Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Techniques, Love is in the Air, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Yesterday afternoon I started to prep the third block in “Love Is In The Air” a pattern designed by Lori Smith. I thought the blocks were a tad small (8 1/2″), so I enlarged them 125%. I cut my background blocks 15″ square and I will trim them down slightly when I decide what kind of sashing to make. I love working on a quilt this way. So many unknowns and so many possibilities!!

I am using a fat quarter bundle of shirtings for the backgrounds (each square will have a different background). And I am trying really hard to make this quilt as scrappy as possible. Very liberating!

Like most blocks, it all started with the stems and leaves…..

…..and then a pretty flower!

I love using as many greens as I possibly can for the leaves. I try to include as many different patterns and textures as I can.

The whole time I was prepping all the leaves and buds, I was worrying (yes worrying!) about what kind of fabric I should use for the vase. The vase fabric shouldn’t be the focal point of the block, but it shouldn’t disappear into the background, either. I searched until I found a fabric that I think fit the bill.

And here is the prepped block waiting to be stitched!

So far, so good!

I have been making some pretty steady progress on my hexie quilt. I am hand quilting it with the Baptist fan design. So relaxing!!

Til next time….

Kerry

4Jan2016

Bed of Roses – Block 8

Posted in Bed of Roses, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Techniques, Hexagons, Inklingo, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

My husband, Paul and I arrived home today after being away at “The Farm” for the past week. “The Farm” is lovely piece of rural property belonging to Paul’s brother and sister-in-law situated right in the heart of Craighurst, Ontario. It was an awesome place to ring in the new year!

Of course, I packed every quilt-related thing I could think of….my sewing machine, iron and ironing board, so I could work on Trail Mix. I managed to get 2 complete rows sewn together.

I also brought along my hand quilting supplies (including my hexi quilt top, batting and backing, every quilting needle I own, 3 different thimbles, my small hoop etc.) just in case I had time to baste my layers together. Not only did I find the time, I found the perfect space to baste! I started this quilt about a year ago when I first discovered Inklingo. You can read about that post here. Spoiler Alert: Stitching hexies using the Inklingo method is addictive. Very addictive.

Each day I set myself up in front of the window and quilted for an hour or two. Heaven!

And, (of course!), I brought along Block 8 of Sue Garman’s “Bed of Roses. So, if you have been following along, you already know what I do first. First, I trace the pattern onto the background with a Clover water soluble marker. Block 8 (along with Blocks 1-7) are available on my website Simple Bird Studio.

Next, I made my bias stems using a 1/4″ bias maker. I like to put my stems in a plastic container (this particular container used to hold mushrooms!) and then I spray the starch into the container. That way I am not wasting any starch and the spray is contained to one area.

Once I glue all of the stems onto the background, I stitch them in place before I add any more pieces.

These next little flowers were easy to do. Notice I drew the seam allowance on the pieces before I placed them on the background. I find this such a simple way to make sure that all of the layers line up.

Next, I added a few leaves…..

….and a few more flowers! Now it’s starting to look like something!!!

This next piece has a pretty deep curve in it. Yikes. Just take a deep breath and go for it!

Now for the fun part. Circles. Lots of circles!!

And, to top it all off, a cute little vase!

And here is the completed block. Lovely!

So far, so good!!

Til next time…

Kerry

10Apr2015

Stippling and other fun stuff!

Posted in Bed of Roses, Bed of Roses Quilt Along, Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I really wish I had more to show! I have been working away on my hexie quilt and loving every moment of it. The top left corner is almost complete, then I will continue the dark brown border and then…well who knows? This quilt seems to be designing itself! My only goal was to use up all 5 meters of the beige background, which I have had in my stash for 8 years…8 years! Seriously, it’s time to let go!!

I have finished all of the background stippling on the eagle block of my “Friends of Baltimore”. Turns out stippling is very relaxing, soothing and almost hypnotic. Time stands still when I work on this block. Still not sure what I am going to do with those triangles…..

Because the background is so heavily quilted, everything pops out, like the flowers and leaves, which I love because it almost looks dimensional! The eagle is a little baggy and needs some quilting. So, this is the “before” picture and in my next post you will see the “after” picture.

Life is short and we are not supposed to sweat the “small stuff”. So, I am not going to worry about the cat hair anymore. I just purchased a bulk package of lint rollers and I am making really good use of them!

My new and improved website is still under construction and hopefully will be ready to launch the end of next week. You have probably figured out by now that I am a huge fan of Sue Garman and her wonderful applique patterns. So, I will be selling some of her patterns on my website. And, I will be doing one of her patterns, Bed of Roses, as a Quilt-Along, complete with fabric kits! Last night I prewashed the fabrics so I could get started on the first block. So exciting!

Til next time….

Kerry

2Mar2015

Basting and Basting and Basting!

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

My initial thought was to put “Friends of Baltimore” away for a while before starting to handquilt it. You know…maybe start a new quilt….finish up a quilt or two…I just needed a bit of “space” between the quilt and I. But, for reasons I cannot explain, I found myslef in my local quilt store on Thursday buying a king size wool batt and 9 meters of unbleached muslin for the back. I came home and washed the backing and stitched it together in three equal sections. Next thing I know, I am laying the backing and batting out (with the help of my daughter) and laying the quilt on top. And then I spent the day basting the layers together. A huge job…but well worth it.

I didn’t mark the quilt because I am not sure how I am going to quilt it yet. Sounds odd, I know. To be perfectly honest, I am more concerned about how I am going to keep the cat off of it!

Til next time…

Kerry

25Jan2015

Slow Stitching Sunday

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Grandmother's Flower Garden, Hand-Piecing, Hand-Quilting Techniques, Hexagons, Inklingo, Slow Stitching Sunday, Sunday Afternoon Applique Group, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

This past week I have been busy with non-quilting activities, but I still managed to find the time to work away on the last corner block in the border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. And, as usual, I started with the vase. This just might be my favourite vase!

Slowly, I filled the vase….first with some stems and leaves. You can see that some of the leaves and flowers cover the seam line and flow from the block onto the border.

So now I have prepped as far as I can. I am going to stitch everything…well, maybe not everything!… in place this afternoon at my Sunday Afternoon Applique Group. Once all of the stitching is done, I will attach this border to the rest of the quilt, and then fill in the missing pieces. I am linking up to Slow Stitching Sunday. Check it out and see what some fine quilters are up to today!

My hexies are taking on a life of their own. I am not exactly sure where this quilt is heading. I am just making it up as I go! Have you tried Inklingo yet? All of these hexies were made using Inklingo. Inklingo is fast, efficient, super-simple and extremely addictive! Betcha can’t make just one!!

And, finally, a couple of people asked me if I would show the back of my hexie stitching once it has been pressed. It’s all about spiralling the seams!

Til next time….

Kerry

22Nov2014

Ah…Memories

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

It’s been 9 years years (to the day) that my Mom passed away. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. Although she did not quilt, she was always very interested in whatever quilt I was working on. My Mom did a fair amount of travelling and she always returned home with quilting fabric of some sort for me. Ah, memories!

This is the quilt that I made for my Mom.

It brings back some lovely memories for me and for that reason, I cherish it. I started this quilt about three years before she passed. I chose a pattern that I could stitch together fairly quickly and I assumed I would just have it machine quilted and that would be that! But no, my Mom insisted that I hand-quilt her quilt. I put up a bit of a fuss…I was working full time and my three teenage kids always seemed to have to be driven somewhere. I just didn’t think I had the time to hand-quilt a queen sized quilt at that stage in my life. But, there was no arguing with her. Long story short, I set aside 1 hour every evening to hand-quilt her quilt. Those small chunks of time added up and before I knew it, the quilt was finished! Not long after I finished the quilt, my Mom was diagnosed with cancer and a year later, she passed away.

I had some of the navy blue fabric left over and I have used it in a few special quilts. I used the fabric on my “Bouquet For A New Day”….

….and I used it in my daughter’s Christmas quilt……

…and, I also used it for one of the birds in my Civil War Bride quilt. Where will the special fabric show up next?

Till next time….

Kerry

1Nov2014

Filling a Vase and Binding My Grandmother’s Flower Garden

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

This past week I have been working away on the corner block that finishes off the third border on Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. I get goosebumps just thinking about how close I am finishing this once-in-a-lifetime quilt!!

First, I traced the design on the background with a Clover water soluble blue marker. I always like to start with the vase.

Next, I added the base.

Next came the decorative oval and I knew I just had to use this gold swirly fabric.

I used this fabric already on this vase and I loved the effect it gave.

Something told me the red vase was lacking something, but what? The two fabrics have a lot of motion going on and I needed to separate the red and the gold swirly fabric. So I cut a freezer paper template just a little bigger than the gold swirly piece. Using this new template, I cut an oval out of the same gold I used on the base, placed it underneath and voila!

Once I was over that little hurdle, I was ready to start filling the vase!

I stitched the block to the border so that I could continue adding the flowers and leaves.

Since the right-hand side of the block is complete (and everything is stitched in place, I might add!), it is now time to add the border to the rest of the quilt. Now I can start to fill in the left-hand side of the block. So far, so good!

Still here? Good! Since I already had my sewing machine out, I decided to put the binding on my Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt. First, I carefully trimmed the quilt so I had straight edges to work with. I am always a little nervous when putting my rotary cutter anywhere near my quilts! I always mark the line I am going to cut with my blue marker, just as an extra safety precaution.

I chose a bright orange polka dot for the flange. I cut the pieces 1″ wide and pressed them in half lengthwise. Then I stitched them to all 4 sides of the quilt. The folded edge is towards the middle and the raw edges are lined up with the edge of the quilt.

Next, I cut my binding strips, joined them into one long strip and pressed them in half lengthwise. I stitched the binding on as usual, on top of the orange flange.

So, now I am going to make a pot of tea and spend the afternoon hand stitching the binding. Sweet!

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

14Jul2014

Third Finish of the Year!

Posted in Circle of Tulips, Civil War Bride Quilt, Hand-Quilting Techniques, Owen's Quilt, washing my block by Simple Bird Applique

For some reason this post from yesterday disappeared:( So I am re-posting it. Thank you, technology, for keeping me on my toes…

We have had a couple of cool evenings lately, so it seemed like a good time to stitch the binding on Circle of Tulips. So this is my third (!) finish of 2014! My first finish was Owen’s quilt…

…and my second finish was Civil War Bride..

So, once I finished the binding, it was time to wash the quilt. I didn’t have the heart to put this quilt in the washing machine, so I decided on the bathtub instead. First, I filled the tub with cool water…

…and added half a scoop of Oxi-Clean.

I let the quilt soak for about an hour, swishing it around with my hands now and then. I used a wool batt so once the quilt was wet, it smelled very much like a wet dog!

I let the water drain out, rinsed the quilt under the tap (the quilt was very, very heavy) and pressed out as much of the water as I could. I carried it downstairs where I had laid out a thick, clean blanket. I placed the quilt on the blanket and smoothed it out, making the edges as square as I could.

Even though I squeezed out a lot of water, within minutes the water was starting to be absorbed by the thick blanket. I could have used towels, but I didn’t have enough clean towels at the time! As you can see, even after soaking for an hour, the marks left behind from the Frixion marker did not come out, but I had a plan for that!

Once the quilt was completely dry, I used my steam iron to remove the pen marks. I never touched the quilt with the iron, I just held the iron 1/2″ or so away from the quilt and let the steam do the work. So this picture is before I steamed it…