Prepping Handwork

 In a few days I will be teaching a two-day class with the Needle Chasers of Iuka, Mississippi, at their annual retreat. These are a great group of women and  I look forward to being with them again, for at least the third time. We will be working on Western Sun. Here is my "wild" version:

Wild Western Sun

And the more traditional fabric selection:

I still have a lot to do to get their substantial kits ready. But what I did first was prep some handwork for me to have for the evenings. This is an important quilt for me and it is taking some time. The circles will be prepped with Karen K Buckley Perfect Circle templates, then machine appliqued in place. I did try Sarah Fielke's aluminum foil technique for circles--I believe I will be faster with Perfect Circles.

First, I marked the circles on the background with a chalk pencil. Then I traced either the cutting line or the finished size line, depending on the size of the circles onto a variety of fabrics. I will decide which fabrics I want for each background and prepare them:

If time permits, I will do some simple embroidery stitches, as I did here on the first section of this "block" I made: 

There are lots of 1/4" bias stems already made--they are machine appliqued first to the background, then the circles will be machine appliqued. I used light green thread, except for the darkest stems. Blanket stitch, #1329 on my Bernina, W 1.0 L 3.0.  Here are two backgrounds ready to get circles: 

I am really tempted to use a decorative thread and some of the many decorative stitches I have on my Bernina 765 SE machine for appliqueing the circles. These great machines come with so many stitches and I only use 2-3. Machine stitching would be so much faster than hand embroidery.

The other project I had to get done was my top for "Aether", which I have named "Sunrise, Sunset". This will be a class offered locally February 4 and 25, 2023, at Southern Charm Quilting. The pattern is by Patty Murphy and is available at the store. I have some good ideas for quilting designs but that will have to wait until later this year:

LOCALS: There is a last minute OPENING for my 4th Joyful Journey Retreat at Red Rooster Retreat Center in Crane Hill, AL. It is March 1-5, 2023. We have a wonderful time and have become a close group. If you are interested, please contact me right away so I can send you all the particulars.

Here are photos from prior years to tempt you. Spend 5 days sewing, laughing, eating, loving time for yourself. Spend NO time cooking, cleaning, or working for someone else. It's all about YOU:

I have written about these events here:

First Retreat 2020

Second Retreat 2021

Third Retreat 2022

Let's quilt.

Barbara 

GPDU--MONTH 2: VINE APPLIQUE AND DOGTOOTH BORDERS

Garden Party Down Under, aka GPDU, is the 2022 Block of the Month quilt for The Quilt Show. Designed exclusively for The Quilt Show by Irene Blanck, the patterns are FREE all year to Star Members. If you are not a Star Member, you can still watch the Show I taped last August. You may learn tips and tricks that will encourage you to try applique. Watch the Show Here

This month we add a vine applique border to the center made in Month 1 and then surround it with the matching Dogtooth Border on the outer edges.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND this MONTH:

1. Cutting the borders for the vine applique:

The pattern tells you to cut 4 background borders, 23.5" x 5.5" and two 6.5" squares of background for the Basket corner. To have no seam in the border, cut FOUR Width of Fabric (WOF) strips 5.5" wide, then sub-cut into a 23.5" x 5.5" border. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO  HAVE A SEAM IN THE MIDDLE, cut TWO WOF strips 5.5" wide. From those, cut TWO borders, 23.5" x 5.5", then use the leftovers to create the other TWO borders--be sure the seam is at the exact center--11.75" from the center seam to the outer edges makes the background borders 23.5" x 5.5". 

The center seam isn't noticeable and after quilting will be very hard to see:

2. Understand the Vine Applique Border PATTERN:

The pattern presented is HALF the required size. At the Center, it says to "MIRROR pattern at this point". First, check to be sure your pattern is printed the correct size. This is easy--join pages 3 and 4 and MEASURE from the outer edge to the Center--not including any seam allowances, the pattern should be 11.5" x 5.5". With the seam allowance, it will  measure 11.75" x 5.5". If yours is not this size, adjust printer settings to get it the correct size before you begin.

Using a lightbox, you can see where the narrow stems go for the 48 leaves, 12/border. I marked them with a Self-Erase Marker, one border at a time, then stitched a Satin Stitch, 1/8" wide, instead of making 1/8" stems. Satin Stitch is a zig zag stitch with stitches very close together. My settings were 4.5 W by .15 L. It was fast and easy, the same green thread I am using for machine applique was perfect. Stabilizer is necessary for machine stitching like this--I simply lightly fused a small scrap of Print & Piece Fuse Lite to the area where each stem was to be stitched--it tore away easily after stitching: 

VERY IMPORTANT TO  UNDERSTAND: to MIRROR the pattern, you  have to TURN THE PATTERN OVER TO THE BACK SIDE. Consider printing on Vellum, a thick tracing paper, which allows you to see through it. ALLOW INK TO DRY FOR A FEW MINUTES--you don't want printer ink on your fabric. 

Here the pattern is right side up--you can READ the words: 

Here the pattern is MIRROR IMAGE--the words are BACKWARDS:

I could see through a copy paper pattern when it was upside down with a Lightbox, but the Vellum makes it very easy to see from the top side.

It is absolutely essential the vines come in and out of the border to the corners exactly as the pattern shows because the vines attach to the Basket corners as shown:

UPDATE, PLEASE NOTE: the pattern does not include two additional leaves at each of the baskets, where the vines attach to the baskets. The instructions say to add the additional leaves after the borders are attached, I missed that. See them in this photo:

3. READ Irene's Instructions before beginning:

The pattern tells you the length of vine needed for the 8 vines that go on the vine border. It says to leave at least 4" of vine off each end--these will be attached to the Basket Corner blocks AFTER THE FOUR VINE BORDERS ARE SEWN IN PLACE. 

Here vines are hanging off the vine borders. waiting to be stitched onto the Basket Corner block:

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Here the top vine has been added to the Basket Corner block. The right vine will be added to the Basket Corner block after the top border has been sewn to the middle: 

4. Flower Petals on Large Center Circle:

I found it difficult to sew the 6 flower petals onto the large circle since I had cut  out the large circle and hand sewed a running stitch to the large circle first. In hindsight, it would have been easier to start with a 5" square of fabric for the Large Circle--sew the 6 petals in place to it, THEN carefully draw the large circle, being sure the petals were centered. Again, the pattern printed on Vellum makes it easy to see where to place the petals:

5. Double Circles:

Karen K Buckley's Perfect Circles are the method I am using for the many circles in this quilt. I waited until the borders were completely sewn on to add the Double Circles--this can be done when adding the leaves and vines if you prefer. 

Having learned my lesson with the Flower Petals on Large Circle, I first stitched the small circles to a square of fabric which would become the larger circle:

Once the small circle was sewn to the square, I used a circle template to draw the cutting line for the large circle on the back of the square. Cut out the large circle, baste a running stitch in the seam allowance, then add the Perfect Circle disc--this allowed me to be sure the small circle was centered, or very close to centered. Sew the Double Circles to the borders--there are 8 of these:

6. Dogtooth Borders: 

Whether making the Dogtooth borders by hand with Irene's pattern/instructions, or paper-piecing them with my Optional Alternative Instructions, BE SURE YOUR PATTERN IS THE CORRECT SIZE. 

Each of the 4 borders is 33" x 2.5" FINISHED--meaning when sewn into the quilt. The patterns to work with must be 33.5" X 3", including seam allowances. Irene's pattern is half the needed size, mirror at the center. My PDF paper pieced pattern is full size--when glued together, be sure they are the exact correct size. 

Be sure you sew the Dogtooth borders in the correct orientation--the "teeth" in Month 2 point IN. Month 1 they point OUT. Ask me how I learned this lesson...

They are made like the Dogtooth border in Month 1, review the video for this step in Month 1 Videos.

7. The Dangling Leaves:

There are 8 leaves which dangle off the edge of the Vine Applique Border onto the Dogtooth borders. After sewing the 4 Dogtooth borders to the outside edge, add those remaining 8 Leaves:

Missing Leaf: 

Dangling Leaf ready to be sewn in place:

Next month, we will make an applique vase and one of  six pieced blocks. We will make a tiny Dresden Plate for the center of the pieced block. More fun to come!

Need a Laugh? Here is the first photo I took, of Month 2 completed--when I thought I was done. It happens to all of us from time to time: 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

AFTERNOON DELIGHT--Month 2

This pattern is the 2020 Block of the Month pattern offered FREE to Star members of The Quilt Show--join today to receive the entire year of patterns free. This is in addition to all the great content provided by The Quilt Show, 26 shows, a new one every two weeks, and so much more. If you want to know more about why I am such a fan, here is why.

THE PIECED BLOCKS--SHOO FLY VARIATION:

This month we will make 2 more Shoo Fly Blocks, using the same instructions as last month. See my blog post for more information:

Month 1--Part 1

Let's talk about PRESSING these blocks.

All 9 of the Shoo Fly blocks will be sewn to a Double Nine Patch block--we start making those in June. To allow the seams to "nest", it is best to press the Shoo Fly seams AWAY from the center, toward the outside edges:

You have to be assertive in pressing sometimes. Using starch or sizing or a product such as Best Press, can help get those seams to lay flat. I also found I like to "twirl" the intersection seams just as we did with the little four patches. The block on the left has been pressed with twirled seams, the one on the right has not been pressed:

THE APPLIQUE BLOCKS--HOW TO CUT OUT THE PATTERNS

I have decided to use raw edge applique for my applique blocks. The speed of preparation, compared to turned edge or needle turn hand applique is the reason. Review both the pattern instructions from Month 1 and my Month 1 blog instructions for more information:

Month 1--Part 2

TIP: Before cutting out the pattern, use a light mark with a pencil or other marker you know will not bleed, to give a few "positioning marks" on the background. This white fabric is easy. With a darker fabric, you may need a lightbox or window to trace a few simple lines:

First, I rough cut the printed patterns. I do save all the remaining fusible sheet, these pieces are large enough to use for other small projects. I simply store them in a ziploc bag:

Blocks 5 and 6 from my Sample Quilt:

Block 5

Block 6

Let's look at Block 5. The large shapes, P1 and P2, bump right up against each other. This is true for many of the blocks. With raw edge applique, if I cut all those pieces exactly on the black lines, I will have to be certain I position the pieces exactly next to each other, so none of the background fabric shows through.

NOTE: Had I followed Sue’s directions, making a pieced four-patch to cut the appliqué, this block would have been easier. Always READ the directions, she said to herself...

Instead, I cut the shapes from the lighter fabric, P1 here, with 1/4" extra sticking out on the two sides that will touch shape P2:

Yellow pencil line drawn 1/4" beyond edge of shape

Both sets of shapes cut

This allows the darker shape to be attached to the lighter shape as all four shapes are glued to the background, with no chance of white background fabric showing. Notice the extra fabric goes beyond the center lines:

I did the same thing with the P1 piece in the center:

Here is the block, stitched, soaked, trimmed and done:

For Block 6, I used Sue's directions in Month 1 to make the stems--they are straight so they don't need to be made from bias.

The tulips, leaves and center circle can be cut exactly on the black lines for raw edge. Make a few reference lines on the background, add the leaves, then the stems, then the tulips, and the center circle.

There are a LOT of circles in this quilt and if you prefer a turned edge, Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Circle method is a winner. Perfect Circles, Show 2007. There is no reason you can't use turned edge circles along with raw edge shapes in the same block--I call it the "hybrid" method.

Let's look back to Month 1 for a moment:

Block 1 from last month has a lot of pieces that touch edges. Here is how I cut those flowers out. The edges cut right on the line, the lower edge of pieces 5, 4, 3, and 2, will have the fabric extended so the piece below it sits on fabric, just as if I were doing these with traditional hand needle turn.

The center of Block 1 has a double circle--there are several of those in this quilt, too. Feel free to only add one circle, the larger one--that's a great place to fussy cut a fabric if one is perfect for that size--here I only cut 1 circle, not 2:

I liked having the extra fabric under each small piece and it wasn't hard to stitch. The finished block. Notice I changed my mind and did both circles in the center:

Post photos of your blocks on the Forum Show and Tell page. The Forum is a great place to get the latest information and ask questions. If something comes up that I think lots of you will want to know I post it on the Forum.

Also, the Newsletter which you sign up for  comes out every couple days--another way to know what is  happening in the quilt world--not just about this quilt or our shows. Personally, I love the puzzles!

Here are the other two applique blocks from my sample quilt. Remember, if using the Kit, you get to choose which fabrics you want to use for each block:

Block 7  

Block 8

Let's quilt.

Barbara