Bed of Roses – Block 9

Posted in Bed of Roses, Bed of Roses BOM, Uncategorized by Simple Bird Applique

Block 9 already! Where has the time gone?

Each time I start a new block of Sue Garman’s “Bed of Roses”, I am pleasantly surprised at how easy they are. I encourage all appliquers (especially beginner appliquers) to give these blocks a try. Block 9 (along with all previous 8 blocks) are available on my website Simple Bird Studio. You can choose to order just the patterns (some of them or all of them) or you can choose to do this quilt as a Block of the Month which includes the pattern and the same fabrics that I am using.

I started this block like all the others. I traced the pattern onto the background with a Clover water soluble marker. This marker comes available with a thick tip or a thin tip. For tracing onto the background, I prefer the thick tip because it is a lot easier to see!

Next, I use a Clover 1/4″ bias maker to make the stems. I glue the stems in place with Roxanne’s Glue Baste it. The marker, the bias maker and the glue are all available on my website.

So now let me show you how I make all those templates. I must confess, I really hate tracing my templates by hand and I will avoid doing it whenever possible! First, I photocopy the pattern onto freezer paper and then I iron that piece of freezer paper onto another one to make two layers of freezer paper.

Whenever I have a unit that has many layers, I could make multiple copies of each unit so I have a separate template for each section (but you know me well enough by now to know I am not going to do that!) Here is what I am going to do instead…

I leave the entire unit intact and prep the piece as I normally would. Because I am making the outer section, I am using R3 fabric.

I iron the template onto the back of the fabric…

…and I cut it out leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance. This piece has fairly gently curves, so I clip just once. Notice I don’t clip all the way to the freezer paper.

I prep the pieces using a stiletto, a mini iron and liquid starch.

So, now it is time to remove the freezer paper.

Now, I take that same template that I just removed, and cut the first section off.

Next, I am going to repeat everything I just did, except on a different fabric…

I should mention that there are two identical units on this block and I am making both at the same time using just this one template.

I just keep cutting the outer section off and reusing the same template….

So here we have 10 separate sections I prepped using just one template. Sweet!

Here is another layering tip that I am happy to share with you. It will make your life a whole lot easier! When you place one piece on top of another, you need to leave that part of the seam allowance un-prepped. I take my template and draw the seam allowance on with my marking pencil.

When I place each piece on the background, the line I have drawn replaces the line on the background that I have just covered up.

Voila!
Now its time to start adding the leaves……

……and berries. Lots of berries!

And finally, a funky little vase! Love it!!

Til next time….

Kerry

14Aug2015

A Few Helpful Hints!

Posted in Bed of Roses, Bed of Roses Quilt Along by Simple Bird Applique

A few of you asked if I could do a little tutorial on how I prepped that centre piece in the third block of “Bed of Roses”. As always, I am happy to share this with you!

First, I always use 2 layers of freezer paper to make my templates and I iron it to the wrong side of the fabric.

I trim the seam allowance to less than 1/4″, even in the inside curves.

Now I need to clip the inside curves. By the way, I never clip an outside curve. Never!

I have drawn lines where I will clip. (I don’t really draw the lines before I clip them, I am just showing the position of the lines.) Notice that the lines are always perpendicular to the freezer paper.

It is very important not to clip right to the freezer paper. I like to leave about 1/8″.

So now, starting at an inside curve, I apply liquid starch to the seam allowance and pull back the seam allowance with my left hand….

…..then I pick up my mini-iron and iron the seam allowance.

And now, if I did not have the camera in my left hand, I would pick up my stiletto and pick up the mini-iron with my right hand and start to press the seam allowance over the freezer paper.

If really just takes a bit of practice! Here is what it should start to look like.

Once the piece is completely prepped, I add a tiny dot of glue to each outside curve.

And now I am ready to stitch the piece in place!

Til next time….

Kerry

7Oct2012

The Luxury of Time

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

I am fortunate to have a large family and every year we take turns hosting major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not only does this mean cooking a turkey with all the trimmings, it also means making the house presentable! And that means using up precious time that could be spent quilting! Lucky for me, this year was not my turn! So I had lots of time this weekend to finish the last block of Sue Garman’s “Bouquets For a New Day.

I glued the stars and circles on the basket.

Next, I added the ribbons…

…and finally, a bow! All 12 blocks are Officially Finished!

The ribbon ends have very deep inner curves, which can be a little intimidating.

Here are a few tips….

First of all, I make 3 cuts at the base of the curve. The first one is at the centre of the curve and about 1\8″ away from the freezer paper. The 2nd and 3rd cuts are on either side of the first cut. Anytime I clip a curve, my scissors are always perpendicular to the freezer paper.

Using a stiletto and mini-iron, I fold the seam allowance over the freezer paper, just until I get to the first clip.

Then I put the stiletto down, and fold the freezer paper towards myself so I can use the very tip of the iron to get into the curve.

Next, I return the freezer paper to its original position and continue folding the seam allowance over. There will be very little seam allowance around the curve. Don’t panic.

Once the complete shape is prepared, I put a dab of Roxanne’s Glue at the base of the curve just to give it a bit of stability. Once the glue dries, I remove the freezer paper template.