Always more than one option….

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

It occurs to me from time to time that quilting is a lot like life. You rarely are in a situation where you do not have options. And the option you choose is really up to you (and not the Quilt Police!). There are a few dainty buds in the border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. How you decide to make them is totally up to you!

Here are the buds……they are the same but I am going to prep them two different ways.

First, I ironed both buds to the wrong side of the fabric and cut them out.

For the first bud, I prepped it in my normal way.

Next, I removed the freezer paper and cut out the circle to use as a pattern for the red centre and prepped it.

Bud #1.

For Bud # 2, I decided to do reverse applique. I think this term often confuses people. (You are not appliqueing in reverse!) You are simply reversing the layers. For Bud #1, I placed the red piece on top of the green piece. Bud #2 involves placing the green piece on top of the red piece.

This technique involves cutting a hole in the centre of the fabric and still leave a seam allowance that you can turn.

I carefull clipped the seam allowance. You can see that I didn’t clip right up to the freezer paper. And you can see how small the hole is!

Then I carefully turned the inner edge.

And once the outer edge was prepped, I removed the freezer paper.

And finally, I cut a piece of red to place under the bud. There is no need to prep the edges of the red piece of fabric. It will be covered up.

So here are both buds glued in placed in the border. Remember, you always have options!!

In my spare time I am still making hexies…and still loving it!!

Til next time…

Kerry

16May2014

Prepping and prepping…..

Posted in Circle of Tulips, Civil War Bride Quilt, Friends of Baltimore, Hexagons, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I have been spending most of my spare time prepping the second border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. I must admit, it is a little tedious, however, I am sticking with it!! It isn’t long before this…

…and this…

….becomes this! For those people who have asked how I prep my pieces, you can see more here.

Once the pieces are prepped, I use a dab of glue and attach them to the paper pattern. I do this for a few reasons…one is so I can make sure I prep all of the pieces and don’t forget any. The second reason is so I do not lose any pieces (been there, done that!). And I can preview my fabrics, which is especially useful when doing multi-couloured flowers.

Once I get a section prepped, I am eager to glue it to the background and then I stitch it in place. I find it easier to break the process down into smaller chunks rather than to try to do the prepping all at once, then all of the stitching at once. That is just the way I work!

Yes, I have been hexi-ing! I have a special project in mind!

And finally, I am in the process of turning the last(!) corner of Circle of Tulips. So exciting!

Speaking of excitement…my Civil War Bride Quilt received a ribbon at the Plowing Match Quilt Competition! All quilts that received a ribbon will be exhibited in the Lifestyles Area at the 2014 Simcoe County International Plowing Match and Rural Expo September 16-20, 2014. Sweet!

Til next time….

Kerry

8May2014

Back to the border…

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season", Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Once I had the second border of Sue Garman’s “Friend’s of Baltimore” traced, I was raring to go! (I really don’t like tracing, so I will put it off as long as possible.)

When I am filling a vase with flowers, I like to prep the pieces and place them onto my paper pattern before I glue them to the bacground fabric. That way I can tweek anything that looks out of place.

First, I added a few stems and buds. But then I realized, I couldn’t go much further until the vase was in place. (A few of the flowers and leaves overlapped the vase.)

So I started to build the vase. The edges of this piece will be totally covered by more pieces…keep watching!

Then I added the base.

Next came the second layer of the vase.

…and finally, the very last piece of the vase!

Well, except for all those circles! Sweet!

Some of you have asked me if the patterns for “To Everything There Is A Season” are available for download only or can I mail them out. Yes, I can mail you a paper pattern instead of emailing you a link. I have added this option to my website. The cost is $10.00 and includes a color picture of the block and shipping anywhere in Canada or the U.S. To have the patterns shipped to other countries, please contact me.

Til next time…

Kerry

4May2014

Put the hexies down and walk away!!

Posted in "To Everything There is a Season", Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Hexagons, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Even though I am OHOH (Officially Hooked On Hexies), I still have some projects that are needing my attention. As of this moment, I have 3 (how did that happen?) hexie projects on the go. First, my brown-ish-neutralish kind of scrappy collection.

Then, there is my bright-cutesy could be a baby quilt collection.

And last, but certainly not least, it the first block of a Hexie Quilt Along (Value Proposition Quilt Along) that I found on an amazing blog by Karen at Faeries and Fibres. If you want to know anything about hexies (I mean anything!) and English paper piecing in general, this is a blog you must visit! But make yourself a cup of tea first, you may be there a while!

Last night, I took the time to trace the second border of Sue Garman’s Friends of Baltimore. I would really (I mean, really!) like to have this quilt finished by the end of this year. You know, one more thing to cross off the bucket list! Yikes! Do I see ferns??

I thought I would show how I assembled the hummingbird block, the latest block of “To Everything There Is A Season”. Looks complicated, but really it isn’t!

First, I traced the pattern on to my background. Next, I added the leaves and the blue flowers.

Now, I have a dilemma…the leaves have covered up some of the traced lines, and I cannot see where to put the flower petals. Here is my solution. I “build” the flowers on an applique pressing sheet.

Then I pick the flower up in one piece and glue it in place. Easy peasy!

Here is how I stitched the hummingbird. Don’t forget that the “underneath” wing goes on the background before the feathers. I forgot, so I had to un-stitch the feathers and insert the wing underneath.

Next, the head, the underbody and the tail feathers…

…and the top body and a beak. He just needs an eye!

Til next time….

Kerry

6Apr2014

First Border On!

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

Last Wednesday evening I finished stitching all I could on the first border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. I filled the sink with hot soapy water and let the border soak for a while. I use hot water because I think the glue and starch soften quicker in hot water…maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t, but that is just what I do! Next, I like to use Soak in the water, but if I don’t have any Soak on hand, I use dish soap.

I normally let it soak for an hour or two. When I went to take the border out of the water, I was mildly shocked to see that most of the red fabrics had run into the white background. After doing a quick bit of research online, I jumped in the car and went shopping for some Oxy-Clean and some color magnet sheets. Luckily, I found them, came home and threw the border into the washing machine with both products. I am happy (and sooooo relieved) to tell you the border came out of the washing machine without a speck of red dye on it. Thank you, Quilting Gods!

The following day, I laid the border out on a towel and let it dry. Once it was dry, I placed the border onto the pattern and marked the cutting lines with a water soluble marker. I always cut my background pieces larger than the pattern calls for, so they need to trimmed to the correct size.

Next, I stitched the border on.

When I went to press the seam flat, I noticed that some of the navy blue fabric had frayed, and it was sticking out past the seam allowance. I very carefully trimmed off the navy blue bits. I mean….very, very carefully!

So here we are!

I promised myself once I had the first border stitched on, I would start the next block of Ladies of the Sea, another Sue Garman pattern. The ship on this block is called The Xebec Pirate Ship. It looks very interesting with that skull and crossbones! I used a gradient fabric for the bias stems.

If you look closely, you will see the color goes from light to dark green. Fun!

One day (when I have time!) I am going to do some research on cats and quilts. I had not seen Bruin all morning. I placed my quilt on the floor so I could take a picture of it. I went to find my camera and this is what I returned to find. Sheesh!

Til next time…

Kerry

17Mar2014

Surrounded by talent!

Posted in Bruin, Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Quilting Tools, Sue Garman Pattern, Sunday Afternoon Applique Group, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Our Sunday Afternoon Applique Group met yesterday and wait til you see the Show and Tell! This is Christie’s version of Aunt Millie’s Garden. Spectacular! This materpiece was machine quilted by Carl of Lilac Lanes in Alliston. This is the fourth (!) Aunt Millie’s Garden to come out of this group…and we are patiently waithing for one more…stitch, Kathy, stitch!!

Next, we have Lynn’s “Woodland Creatures” a quilt designed by Rosemary Makhan, who sadly passed away recently. The more we looked at the quilt, the more detail we found! This masterpiece was machine quilted by Ruth at Stitching Impressions.

I spent most of Saturday working on my border of Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”.

Before I know it I will be finished!!

Til next time…

Kerry

6Mar2014

It’s all about the details!

Posted in Circle of Tulips, Friends of Baltimore, Hand-Applique Techniques, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

It’s all about the details! That is what I learned in Sandra Leichner’s class when I attended TESAA last month. This is the block we worked on in class.

Sandra’s quilts have an almost life-like quality to them, thanks to the incredible details, which include embroidery with just a single strand of thread around berries, fabric paint and choosing the perfect fabrics. You can see Sandra’s beautiful quilts here.

I like to use Ultra-Suede for really small, intricate shapes, like calyxes. I purchased some packages of Ultra-Suede from Faye Labanaris, one of the wonderful merchants at TESAA. Check out her website here. If you have any question at all in regard to using Ultra-Suede, make sure you take the time to watch her video. It may just be the best 10 minutes of your day!! Of course, I would have liked one of everything she had for sale, however, I played it safe and chose a green package and a gold package. Each piece measures about 3″ x 6″. As you can see, you get a lovely assortment in each package.

When using Ultra-Suede, simply cut out around the shape (no seam allowance is necessary). I stitch it in place using the same applique stitch I use for “normal applique”. Don’t tug your stitches too tight or you will end up with “dimples” around the edge.

I started to think about what I learned in Sandra’s class and thought I might try embroidering around the calyx, just to give it a more “finished” look. So, I used just one strand of embroidery floss close to the same colour as the Ultra-Suede.

This is a picture when the Ultra-Suede is just glued in place.

This is it after it is stitched with thread.

And, after the embroidery. See? It really is about the details!!

As you can see, I have been plugging away at the border of Friends of Baltimore. I am working on one side of the border at a time, just to make the stitching a little more manageable.

And, I am working away (slowly, but surely) on Rita’s block. I have an awesome plan for 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

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!