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

2May2013

A Productive Day!

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

It is not very often that I sit at my sewing machine and stitch the day away, but that is what I did yesterday! I cut out and stitched…get ready….12 blocks from Grandmother’s Choice Block of the Week! My plan is to make 3 quilts using these 8″ blocks, so I am stitching 3 variations of the same block. I love to see how different fabric placement can drastically change the look of the block. Here are the blocks:

This block is called “I Am An Anti”. Honestly, I did not fussy cut the pink squares on purpose. It just happened!

Next on the runway is “Carrie Nation”.

Followed by “Mr. Roosevelt’s Necktie”.

And, last but not least, is “Jack’s Delight”.

Jenny and Bruin like to keep me company when I sew. They are kind of famous! Check out their youtube video here.

This is my latest finished block from “Bouquets For a New Day”. 5 more blocks to go!

The navy blue fabric in the vase is left over from an Irish Chain quilt I made for my Mom.

Most of this block from “Civil War Bride” is stitched in place. I started to think that maybe the table that the vase is sitting on is too dark for the overall look of the block. So I cut out another table piece and auditioned it. I do like it better.

My #1 rule in applique (and life) is this….fix something while it’s in the block stage, rather than finish the whole quilt and kick yourself because you were too busy…or too tired…or too lazy to fix it! I have been guilty of all 3!

Til next time…

Kerry

15Mar2013

Row 2 of Civil War Bride Completed!

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

I was one block away from finishing the second row of “The Civil War Bride Quilt”! All I had to do was finish the bird block. So I spruced the birds up with some tail feathers that I thought were rather snazzy, added some solid looking feet and gave each bird a colourful comb!

After I finished stitching each block, I washed it in the sink with hot soapy water to remove all of the starch, glue and even a bit of my own blood! (Note to self…my new scissors are really sharp!) When they were dry, I trimmed the blocks to the correct size. (As a rule, I always cut my blocks 2″-3″ larger than needed.) Believe it or not, the blocks do shrink up a fair amount once they are stitched.

Once they were all trimmed to the correct size, I started stitching them together.

And, finally, I stitched 2 rows together! Spiffy!

Since I had my sewing machine out, I took the time to stitch another block of Barbara Brackman’s “Grandmother’s Choice”. I must confess, I am a not exactly keeping up with the weekly blocks, but I do intend to make a quilt (or two!) with the blocks …and maybe add a few applique blocks. We will see!

Til next time…

Kerry

3Jan2013

Itching to stitch!

Posted in Friends of Baltimore, Grandmothers Choice, Hand-Applique Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Sunday Afternoon Applique Group, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I love New Year’s Day! The tree is down. The decorations have been packed away for another year. And now it’s time to get the sewing machine out of hiding! I spent most of New Year’s Day cutting out blocks from Barbara Brackman’s Grandmother’s Choice.

Here is #18.

And here is #15.

And, finally, #11.

I finished stitching the first block of a quilt I am designing for my Sunday Afternoon Applique Group.

Here is the paper pattern. Bruin likes to chew on my paper patterns. See him in action here. (Actually, seeing that post made me realize I have a few UFO’s that need to be finished this year!! Yikes!!) My thoughts are still percolating over the curvy inner border…and which setting I will use…and how many blocks to make…and how big will the quilt be…and so on and so on! Designing a quilt is definitely about the journey!

I have been just itching to start the next block of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. I decided the vase would be a perfect place to start.

First I stitched down the light blue section.

Next I stitched the dark blue section on top. You can see that the light blue section is just a skinny edging, but I used a full piece of fabric to give it more stability.

Then I added a few more pieces.

And finally, an almost finished vase!

Till next time…

Kerry

19Oct2012

Block 5 of Civil War Bride Finished!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Civil War Bride Quilt, Grandmothers Choice, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

The sun was shining and it was a very productive day! I stitched the last leaf on the 5th block of Civil War Bride Quilt.

And the top row is now complete!

Since my sewing machine was on the dining room table anyway, I stitched Aunt Eliza’s Star from Barbara Brackman’s Grandmother’s Choice. Even if you are not making the blocks, the stories that go with these blocks are very inspiring and moving and worth reading.

I went to go visit my quilt today!

Colleen, from Elite Quilting, is basting “Bouquets For a New Day” together for me on her long arm machine. That will save me from spending a couple of hours on my hands and knees basting it by hand. Life is good!! Lucky for me, Colleen was just finishing up as I arrived, so now the hand-quilting can begin!

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

23Sep2012

A Solution for Every Problem!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Grandmothers Choice, Roseville, Sue Garman Pattern, Sunday Afternoon Applique Group, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

My eye doctor is a saint! He understands that I need more than one pair of glasses. In fact, I need three! One for distance, one for medium close and one for extremely close! When I quilt, I spend a lot of time looking for my glasses, only to find them under a pile of fabric. So here is the solution!

Block #2 of Barbara Brackman’s Grandmother’s Choice has set-in seams. So, of course, I have been avoiding it. After seeing yesterday’s block, I decided I better get a move on!!

One of my goals is to hand-quilt Sue Garman’s Bouquets For a New Day this winter. I am making steady progress on the second last (!) block.

My Sunday Afternoon Applique Group met last Sunday after taking a break for the summer. This year we are all playing “catch-up” instead of starting a new project. This is one of my Roseville blocks that I am working on this year. I was sooo excited to find this yummy selection of hand-quilting thread by Amy Butler. I am using it as my inspiration for color.

Gee, Bruin, I wonder why my fabric has so much cat hair on it??

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!