Slowly filling the vase.

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

Believe it or not, I am working pretty steady on this block from Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”. First, I made a flower and some leaves.

And then I did it all over again!

Then came a few more leaves and a stem. (Just between you and me, the leaf on top of the blue handle is supposed to be under the blue handle. Mum’s the word!)

Finally! Some red berries!

Sometimes I trace the pattern onto the background fabric with a Clover wash-out marker. I use this method when it is a simple design, like this one. And by “simple”, I mean it does not have a lot of pieces!

The block I am currently working on is not complicated, there are just a lot(!) of pieces that must line up properly or the whole thing goes bad! So for this block, I am using my light table. Not only is it more accurate, I save tons of time not having to trace the design on the background fabric.

First I tape the pattern onto the light table.

Next, I place a background square on top of the pattern. I always cut my backgrounds a good 2″-3″ bigger to allow for shrinkage. I mark my corners so that I can re-position my block when I remove it from the light box. I like to glue a few pieces on the background fabric, then I stitch the pieces in place, so I do a lot of re-positioning!

This rose was fun! I like to build units off-block when I can. I start with the very “back” layer.

Then I add each layer…

…until I have built a rose!!

And it goes right about here!

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

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

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

28Nov2012

Stitching merrily along!

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

I was all set to start the “Family Album” block in Sue Garman’s “Friends of Baltimore”.

Then I looked at the pattern cover to see exactly how much I had left to do…(heavy sigh)…a lot!!

So I put all my finished block on my design wall to gather some inspiration and I realized that I almost had a complete row finished… except for one block.

So I am working on that block instead in the hopes that I can have a row completed by December 31. That is my goal! If you look closely at the pattern, you will see that the sashing is made up of many, many, many red and white half-square triangles.

First I stitched the bias in place.

I always join my bias stems underneath another piece of fabric. You can use up a lot of short strips this way.

Then I added the bird and some leaves….

…and some more leaves.

Til next time….

Kerry

24Nov2012

Stitching the day away!

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

The weatherman was right. We have snow! I love a good snowfall. Especially if I am indoors…quilting!

All that was left to do on the Civil War Bride block was to embroider a few stems.

So now the block is complete!

All of the blocks are on my design wall to keep the inspiration flowing! It is sort of the opposite of “out of sight, out of mind”. (Always in sight, always on my mind!)

The fabrics are chosen and my freezer paper copies are ready for the next block of Civil War Bride quilt. The tail on this bird is made up of 18 (yikes!) feathers!

I can’t think of a better way to spend a snowy day than curling up on the couch, stitching the day away! This block has lots of starts and stops, so it’s a bit time consuming.

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

29Oct2012

All I Can Do Is Laugh!!

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

Well I had a great idea! I am ready to start hand-quilting Sue Garman’s “Bouquets For A New Day’. I have always quilted in a hoop, but I thought it might be time to graduate to a floor frame. I did a bit of research on floor frames and decided I wasn’t ready to jump in that deep. So I opted for an Omni-Grid floor frame. I thought it might give me a feel for quilting on a frame without a huge investment. I could not wait to get started!

So I marked my quilt under the watchful eye of Bruin.

I am doing cross-hatching in the background. The lines are 3/4″ apart. That is a lot of quilting!

I assembled the frame and put the quilt in it. I gathered all my stuff (scissor, needles, thread and thimble). I put on a pot of coffee. Life was so good!

I left the room just for a minute to pour myself a cup of cup of coffee….

…..and Bruin found a new cat bed!

I am making slow (but steady) progress on “Friends of Baltimore”.

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

28Aug2012

Officially Finished…with a few days to spare!

Posted in Amy's Quilt, Bouquet For a New Day, Hand-Applique Techniques, Quilt Labels, Sue Garman Pattern, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

I am “Officially Finished” Amy and Bruce’s wedding quilt! The quilt has a binding, a hanging sleeve…..

…and a label!!

The thing that surprised me the most was how much I loved having a hand-quilting project to work on. I knew I would miss having something to stitch on in the evenings. I kept thinking about my unfinished blocks of “Bouquets for a New Day”. I only have 4 blocks left to finish…. and a sawtooth border that is not going to make itself!! Hopefully, I can get it finished in the near future so I do not suffer too long from “Hand-Quilting Withdrawal”!

I worked on this block today. I am auditioning my fabrics for something that says “vase” to me.