Hello again, all quiet here at the wooden house. No blowing snow, just dropping temperatures. -22 C on my morning walk and my cheeks felt cold. The warmest clothes, of which there is no shortage here, are being worn inside and out. I love coming in from the cold...it must be one of the best feelings there is.
- I prepped the pieces for hand applique on the 3rd block of my Jacobean quilt.
- While I was set up with the light-box I also traced a small stained-glass fish pattern for an applique technique I want to try.
- I traced just over half of the leaf applique shapes for my tropical quilt, and realized I need to get more fusible to finish that up. I ordered it so it should arrive soon.
- I got started on the green scrap quilt for RSC24-January.
- While I was looking for lining for a dog coat I found ...
Now that the base for the wall hanging was done, I turned my attention to the appliques. Initially, my thought was to make them the same way as the vase. But when I did the vase, I found that the interfacing was fusible after all, and it fused to the underside of the applique. I knew I didn’t want to use that as I wanted to be able to press the edges well prior to sewing. So, there was now a choice, use the same fabric front and back or deal with the dreaded needle turn technique. Same fabric ...
read moreMy project for National Quilting Day is a still life wall hanging. I completed the piecing of the top, and loaded it on the longarm to quilt. The idea is for the white quarter-square triangles to look like patterned wallpaper. I did the stand-and-stare for a bit, then dove in with the same quilting design I have used before.
I began with the QSTs, doing continuous curves in the blocks. I was going to stop at this point, but the seam lines puffed out with the quilting, so I decided to stitch in the ditch, too.
Using my little straight-edge ...
read moreNational Quilting Day is coming on March 16, and our local guild does a small show to celebrate every year. Each year we have a theme or a challenge. This year, the challenge is a really creative idea. We got a fat eighth of the challenge fabric and a non-quilting magazine. It is our guild’s 42nd year, so the challenge is to make a small wall hanging inspired by what is on page 42. I got a Southern Living magazine from a few years ago. Page 42 had a photo of an amaryllis in a bowl with a framed ...
read moreI put the finishing touches on a quilt I’d been working on — or on and off! — for a couple of months. Of course, the holidays were in there, so I’ll blame the slow progress on that.
read moreA finished set of leaves |
- trace 38 leaves onto fusible web and cut them out (10 sets of 3 + 4 pairs)
- fuse 38 leaves onto the fabric and cut them out
- machine applique all 38 leaves in place on the edges of the quilt top
I like all the designs in this project file, and the one above is certainly no exception.
The second design looks very busy, but if it was a real quilt I would not use contrast quilting thread so the effect would be much more restful.
read moreOn my second cup of coffee this morning and a big one at that. Yes, I use a straw to help keep my front teeth white. Weird I know. Anyone else do that?
Tony went to bed for a nap when we finally made it home and I tried to calm myself with ...
read moreThe weather outside is just a little bit frightful...
Seriously?? What did I say the other day about my sewing projects? I said - there is NO applique or paper piecing. And then I spotted this.
My clam shell APPLIQUE block |
Yes, that is a block for the Green Tea and Sweet Beans by Jen Kingwell, which is supposed to be done (the center - no borders) by FRIDAY. I was going to start piecing it and realized that while the clam shells are glued to the block, they are NOT stitched in place. Sigh....................
So - let's get an audiobook going, dig out the thread, and guess what I'll ...
read moreWhen I was at our local guild’s retreat last summer a cute little pattern, Mini Moons, caught my eye. It reminded me of a class I’d taken years ago from Sharon Schamber, who is the most amazing quilter and who came up with a technique called Pieceliqué — kind of a cross between piecing and […]
read moreSewing in community is an important part of quilting history. Family and friends gathered together at quilting parties to finish a quilt. Today, quilt guilds, quilt shows, retreats, and other organized events create opportunities for community. I prefer getting together with my sisters, so today we gathered at my local church and stitched on quilts […]
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