Quilt Canada 2017 | Simple Bird Applique

As promised, the paper patterns for “To Everything There Is A Season” are back on the website! I tweaked the patterns a little, and now every pattern piece is labelled for easy colour selection. The pattern is available on my website. Here I am (proud as punch) after my quilt received an award of Excellence in Applique at Quilt Canada in June. You can order the complete set, but each pattern is also available as an individual pattern.

This is not a difficult quilt to make (I wouldn’t lie to you!). If I could give you one tip, this would be it…when you prep your pieces, lay the freezer paper template on top of the prepped piece (shiny side up) and trace the remaining seam allowances. Here is a blog post showing this technique. You will thank yourself when it is time to put the pieces altogether because they will actually fit! Also, I found these roses easier to construct “off block”. I use a piece of freezer paper (shiny side up) which I have taped onto the pattern. Then I build the roses on top of the freezer paper.

Ta Da! Both easy and stress-free!

Easy Peasy!

When I chose my fabrics for this quilt, I went with the thought that “More is Better”. That is, when the pattern called for light pink, I used many light pinks, not just one. As long as there was contrast between the fabrics, I was good with that. Also, I used many, many different shades of green. Feel free to switch up the colours (like I did on the Hummingbird block). The flowers are “supposed” to be pink, but I had a piece of purple fabric in my stash that was calling my name. Remember, it is your quilt and do what makes you happy.

Speaking of fabric stashes, I started a quilt in the hopes of using some of my scraps. Some of these scraps are 10 years. Time to let go! I stitched a couple of blocks, just for the fun of it. I liked what I saw and so I continued cutting and sewing. Notice there is no applique…yet!

Have you had a chance to look at the Catalogue of Classes for The Academy of Applique? Registration opens Labour Day Weekend. The majority of classes fill on that weekend. These are the class samples that I will be teaching. I can’t say enough about The Academy. The food. The venue. The classes. The best part is being surrounded by people that “get” your passion for hand-applique, because they have the same passion. It is so inspiring to see what everyone is stitching. I hope to see you there!

Til next time…..

Kerry

So excited to announce my quilt, To Everything There Is A Season, has won the Award of Excellence in Applique at Quilt Canada 2017! This quilt is superbly machine quilted by Rose Bell of Fancy Feathers.

It was a thrill just to have my quilt juried in, but to win an award is definitely the icing on the cake. For those that have asked, the complete pattern for this quilt will be available on the website mid-July. We are fine-tuning a few of the blocks, so sit tight!

Meanwhile, I am busy getting my borders ready for the current BOM, a combination of 2 patterns designed by Sue Garman. I love a border with swags on it (especially on an appliqued quilt). I just think it has such a classy look:)

First, I taped 6 copies of the swags together (each border has 6 swags on it). Then I placed the border fabric on top of the paper pattern and traced the swags. I used plastic to make a template of the swag to make tracing much easier and so much faster.