Finish a block…start a block!

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

Darn it! Does this ever happen to you? I was stitching merrily along, when I thought my stitches felt a little weird. Then I noticed my background had folded over on itself and I was stitching through two layers. I keep my stitch ripper handy for occasions just like this!

So, once the block was finally finished, I did what I do to all my finished blocks….I gave it a bath! I like to wash everything out of my block…like glue, starch and anything else that shouldn’t be there! First, I fill the sink with very hot water and a bit of soap.

Next, I take a very deep breath…and then I toss my block into the water.

I usually let it soak for a couple of hours. Then I let the water out of the sink and rinse the block under hot water until there are no more suds.

Next, I gently squeeze the block so it is not dripping wet, but still fairly wet. Finally, I spread the block out on a thick towel and pin the four corners. Then I just let it air dry. I should mention that I pre-wash all of my fabric in Synthrapol before even beginning the block.

So…while the block was drying, I started the next block of Civil War Bride. First I traced the block…

….then I made lots of bias. (You can never have too much bias!)

Oh! And speaking of Civil War Bride, I finally made a decision. I chose Nest #2! Instead of putting 5 eggs in the nest just like the pattern, I chose to add 3 eggs…an egg to represent each one of my lovely children!

Til next time….

Kerry

7Apr2013

A Bit of Catch-up….

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

This block from Civil War Bride needed a butterfly in the bottom right hand corner before it could be considered “Officially Finished”.

However, I wanted to find a really interesting fabric for the wings. A fabric that would do the butterfly proud! So I waited patiently. Then, I came across this chunk of fabric in my stash. (For those of you who are wondering, I am taking every bit of fabric for this quilt from my stash.) I love this type of fabric! The pattern repeat is symmetrical, rather than asymmetrical. These fabrics are rare, so grab them when you find them!

This dark curly part caught my eye.

I cut the butterfly wings out of the fabric so that the wings would be mirror images of each other. I placed the pattern so that the black curly part would be somewhere near the middle of the butterfly. The beauty of doing this, is that you never really know what you will end up with!

And here is the proud butterfly!

So once I got that off my mind, I continued on with my “Friends of Baltimore” block. I added some buds, stems and leaves. If you look closely, you will see that I used 2 different greens for the wreath and the stems. (Between you and I, that was a bit of an oopsy on my part. Mum’s the word!)

Then came the flowers, complete with buds and centers.

Next, came a pretty little bow…

… and, FINALLY, a couple of love birds!

Til next time….

Kerry

11Mar2013

Not so fast!

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

I was so excited! My block was finally finished…or was it? I must admit, all along I thought the vase was missing a little something. And it was! So…here is the “unfinished” block…

….and here is the “finished” block!

I thought I would take a break from the flowers, and leaves and vines. The birds on the next block of the Civil War Bride Quilt were calling my name!

First, I started with some stems and beaks, and what I assume is some sort of fruit. (So far I am not impressed!)

Next, I added some branches and leaves. (Still not impressed!)

Okay, now I see it coming together! All the birds need now are some tail feathers and they are ready for take-off!

Til next time…

Kerry

30Jan2013

One Flower at a Time!

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

It may be cold, but the sun is shining (!) and we are all basking in it!!

I am slowly filling my vase one flower at a time. I added a few buds and a tulip…

…and more flowers and leaves.

I love these roses!

So here is the vase full of flowers! Time to start the Album that will fill that empty space!

Til next time…

Kerry

17Jan2013

It’s the little things that amuse me!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Tools, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Believe it or not, this is a freezer paper template! Pretty tiny!

And this is the prepped piece. Stop the madness!

Some of the pieces in the block are smaller than the scraps in my garbage container!

Here is where the itty bitty piece goes…

…and this is the rest of the flower!

It is a little slow-going, but it is starting to look like I am accomplishing something!

I have not done much hand-quilting since before the holidays. It is time to get hand-quilting again! Bruin joins me every evening as I sit and stitch the (very chilly) evening away!

Til next time….

Kerry

10Jan2013

Stitching on the doodads!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Friends of Baltimore, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Once the blue vase was stitched in place, it was time to add the gold doodads. ( doodad: something unspecified whose name is either forgotten or unknown). But first I had to choose the gold fabric. I loved the pattern on this one, but it was just too light.

And this one was too dark. I guess I would classify this as dark brown/gold.

This one suited my fancy!!

So I stitched on some doodads.

And then some circles.

The handles were sort of tricky…

Spiffy!

Next came the vines and leaves….

And a few berries!

It is time to start hand-quilting again. I took a break through the holidays and Bruin was delighted!

Til next time…

Kerry

16Dec2012

Sunday afternoon stitching…

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

My Christmas baking is finally done!

So that means I have more time for important stuff…like stitching!

My Sunday Afternoon Applique Group met today. We all agreed we should have been shopping/baking/wrapping, but it was sure nice to sit and stitch (and relax!) for a couple of hours with a great group of ladies! I decided to work on the tail feathers of my Civil War Bride block. Long, skinny pieces can be tricky to stitch. Here are a few tips:

Remember, there is no need to fold the seam allowance over if it is going to be covered with another piece. Leave it “raw”.

Begin stitching here…

…and end here.

When I am finished stitching the piece in place, I baste along the raw edge, just inside the seam allowance.

So when I put the next feather in place, the piece I am covering lays nice and flat.

I still have a few feathers to stitch!

I have chosen the fabric for the half-square triangle sashing for my Friends of Baltimore quilt. The fabric is not royal blue or navy blue…just somewhere in between! I am going to start to sew the half-square triangles together, and maybe start to stitch the finished blocks together! So exciting!

Til next time….

Kerry

20Nov2012

Hand-quilting the night away!

Posted in Bouquet For a New Day, Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hand-Quilting Tools, Sue Garman Pattern, Sunday Afternoon Applique Group, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

What is it about hand-quilting that is so darn relaxing? I am making pretty steady progress on Sue Garman’s “Bouquets For A New Day”. When I sit down to quilt, I am always surprised at how quickly time (and stress!) seem to slip away.

And here is a close-up. I am using a Frixion pen to mark the cross-hatching. There was a bit of a discussion in my Sunday Afternoon Applique Group regarding these pens. I am always careful to test the marker on a scrap of fabric before marking the quilt top.

When my block is finished, I like to give it a warm bath to remove all residue left from the glue, starch and marking pens. Even though I pre-wash all (and I do mean all!) of my fabric in Synthrapol, my heart still skips a beat when I do this!

I am getting ready to start the next block of Sue Garman’s “Friend’s of Baltimore”. My least favorite part of appliquing is the tracing. So here is how I avoid tracing…

First, I scan the patterns and then “reflect” them. Then I print the patterns directly on to freezer paper. When a pattern has lots of layers and pieces, I usually print two or three copies. Here is the original pattern.

And here are the freezer paper copies. If you look closely, you will see that they are printed “backwards”.

The fabric for this block is already pre-washed and has the usual amount of cat hair on it!!

Til next time…

Kerry

17May2012

Hand-quilting….sooooo relaxing!!

Posted in Amy's Quilt, Hand-Quilting Tools, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

In between working on my Roseville blocks (and a few other quilts in progress), I am hand-quilting Amy and Bruce’s wedding quilt. They will be getting married on September 1 (of this year!) so I better get stitching!

I find hand-quilting (like all hand work) very relaxing. I tell myself that I will just sit and quilt for a few minutes, but before I know it, a few hours have slipped by! Of course, having the right tools makes a huge difference. Just remember, what works for one quilter may not work for all quilters! So…take the time to try different brands of needles, thread, scissors and batting. Find those tools that work for you.

Here are a few tools that work for me:

John James Size 10 Big Eye Quilting needles. They are smooth and very sharp. And the big eye is a bonus for easy threading!

A hoop to hold the quilt layers tight. I have always used a hoop to support the quilt while I am stitching the three layers together. I have even quilted a king-sized quilt using a hoop. The secret is to have lots of basting!!

Gingher scissors. I treated myself to a pair of Gingher scissors for my last birthday! They curve upward at the end so that I will not snip (another!) hole in a quilt!

Various thimbles. “Various” because every time I sit down to quilt, the thimble I used last time just doesn’t feel right!

Hand-quilting thread. I like Dual Duty Plus because it is a cotton/polyester blend and it glides through the layers really well. I also like YLI hand-quilting thread.

100% wool quilt batt. I am using “Legacy” 100% wool. Quilting through a wool batt is like quilting through butter. It is an absolute dream to work with!

A decent light source. Although there is no substitute for natural sunlight, there may be times when it is not that readily available. I always keep my Ott light handy for times when I need just a bit more light.

Time. No matter how busy I am, I can always find time to quilt!!

HAND-QUILTING TOOLS

14May2012

Four blocks of Roseville completed!

Posted in Roseville by Simple Bird Applique

Well! I am thrilled with the way these blocks are turning out! I am having way too much fun choosing fabrics for each of the blocks. The fabric is “Summer House” by Lily Ashbury for Moda. When I bought the fat quarter bundle last summer, I was not sure what I would ever do with. All I knew was that I loved it and had to have it!! I pre-washed the fat quarters and put it in my closet with the rest of my fabric. When I was stumped by my first attempt at Roseville, I went through my closet looking for some inspiration. My eye was immediately drawn to the bright, cheerful fabrics and I knew right away that this fabric was going to work!

Here are four of the blocks: