I'm always keen to try different ways of doing applique. Needle-turned is OK for most things that I do, but I'm soooooo... slow at it and therefore find it a tad frustrating. When there's lots of applique to do I really like this freezer paper method and, once you get into the swing of it, it's a doddle and gives neat results - fairly neat in my case! Freezer paper is great because you can use the same piece many times - it sticks over and over again.
I seem to have a bit of a "thing" about jugs! I hadn't realised until I counted up how many I have accumulated from jumble sales, etc. Even those that I diligently put in a box to car boot someday, have ended up back on my shelves filled with flowers from the garden. Now they're even appearing in my quilts!!
I did both of these with the freezer paper method below, apart from the tulip leaves.which are raw edge zigzagged in two colours of thread to give them a bit of depth. I "splodged" some fabric paint here and there for the same reason, and to give a bit more realism to my fruit.
I start by drawing my shape onto the matt side of the freezer paper just as I want it to appear in my picture. Then I cut it out on the line.
I iron this onto the right side of my fabric and cut out approx 1/4" larger all around.
I remove the paper, turn the fabric shape over on my ironing board so that it's right side down and place the freezer paper, shiny side up, on top.
Now I turn over the edge of the fabric with the point of my hot iron so that it sticks to the edges of the paper - and being a bit hamfisted this process is accompanied by "Ouch...ouch...ouch!!"
If there are inside curves I snip these before turning the hem.
Now I place the prepared piece of applique onto the backing fabric, iron it to temporarily stick in place and sew around with the natty stitch on my machine - called blind hem stitch on some machines.
Lots of people use invisible thread for this, but I'm quite happy for my stitches to show. After all my machine can sew far more neatly than I can!!
When I need to change direction (or if I'm feeling out of control) I stop with the needle down in the backing fabric.
To remove the freezer paper I cut a slit in the backing fabric and carefully pull it out.
This is a link to my one page printer-friendly pdf on:freezer paper applique
Can one have too many jugs?? - Anita :)
How lucky we were to have Marilyn Hornby of Patch Flora as our speaker at Flowerpatch Quilters last Thursday evening. Marilyn is a very experienced quilter who has written many articles for national patchwork and quilting magazines. She showed us all her designs and very generously, included lots of tips on making them up. How lovely to be able to have a really close look at work you have seen, and admired, in magazines. Some of the Flowerpatch members were already great fans of her designs and had made their own versions in the past.
Marilyn has always been interested in sewing and other crafts, but her first foray into quilting was with applique of botanicals. Not finding any designs that she particularly liked because they weren't very realistic, she resorted to drawing her own and has proceeded in that fashion ever since.
I really liked this poppy:
Another great love of Marilyn's is redwork, in which she excels, and again always draws her own designs. She showed us wall quilts, cushions, bags, notebooks and even a hat.
This is just a small selection of Marilyn's redwork:
and I must have a go at this "Square Dance" patchwork pattern:
Marilyn also showed us some fused work and Hardanger embroidery, and finally finished with her larger quilts which included "Stack and Whack", Willow Pattern, Music - with the score of "London Bridge" around one of the borders, and a beautiful crazy patchwork medallion quilt with a crazy ninepatch centre.
There was so much to enjoy that this blog can never do it justice so please do click on Patch Flora to see more.
One thing in particular that Marilyn encouraged us to do was to practice and practice our free motion machine quilting until we can relax in the doing and are happy with the results. This would make so much difference to our quilting life. So guess what I've been doing this weekend!! Maybe I can show you some results later ............................much later!!
With the Flowerpatch Quilters annual exhibition less than two months away members are all sewing frantically to get their entries finished. Entry forms have to be at Dy's before 1st July. The exhibition runs from Tuesday 4th to Saturday 8th August and is held at Central Methodist in Launceston, Cornwall.
The next meeting is on 9th July and is an exhibition preview when we get to hear some of the stories behind member's quilts, etc.
Sewing frantically! - Anita
"Waste not, Want not" - it always feels good to make something from old clothes and it frees you from that scary thought that you might cut your lovely, but expensive, fabric wrongly. All you will be wasting is a little time and you'll probably learn a lot in the process.
I like to use old denim skirts and jeans, with perhaps a curtain leftover, to make my bags. This much used example is looking a little the worse for wear now. It is far more simple to make than it appears at first glance.
Here is a sort of step by step of how I made another the same way and at the end is a link to a printer-friendly one page version with drawings instead of photos.
- I used ¼" seam allowance throughout and before I started I should have thought about the handles because these two need to be cut 3" wide x approx 30" long so it's a good idea to put enough fabric to one side before you begin.
THE BAG SIDES
- For each of the two sides I cut 6 pieces of fabric 11”x 2½ “ and 5 pieces of contrasting fabric 11” x 1¼“. If you're using a plain fabric it looks nice with a line of sewing down the centre of the wider pieces - a chance to try out some of those fancy stitches that my machine can do and I rarely use!
- I sewed these together along their long sides to make the back and the front of the bag and I zigzagged the seams as my fabrics frayed easily.
- I trimmed to 10½ “ wide and marked the centre of each narrow band at the top with a pen.
- I folded the wider bands to meet at this mark making box pleats, then pinned each pleat and sewed across to hold them in place.
- At the bottom I made tiny pleats of only ⅛” in the same way and sewed across to hold.
TIP - when I'd pinned the second side I checked that it was the same width at the bottom as the first - of course it wasn't and I adjusted the pleats a bit.
These small pleats at the bottom are well worth doing as they make so much difference to the shape of the bag, especially when I'm carrying lots - as I usually am!
THE TOP PIECES
- I measured across the top of the bag sides and cut two pieces of fabric (this time I've used the same fabric as the wider strips) 4½ “ wide x this measurement. With right sides together I sewed one to the front and one to the back.
- I added flat piping in this seam.
THE LINING
- I cut two pieces of fabric 10 ½ “ x the measurement across the bottom of my bag side.
- I sewed a pocket from the jeans to one of the linings.
- I gathered the top (the longer edge) of each lining piece until they measured the same as the top of the bag side.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
- I sewed these linings to the other sides of the “top” fabric and ended up with two like this:
- I used a 3” circle to mark the sewing line at the bottom corner of each bag side and lining – rounded corners are so much nicer, and with right sides together and bag fabric against bag fabric, lining against lining, I sewed from X to X around the bag edges and then around the linings.(X is 1½ “ from the seam)
- This is the really exciting bit - turning the bag the right way out through one of the openings in the side and tucking the lining inside the bag. What a transformation!
- I turned in the sides of the “top” fabric where the handle goes through and sewed a line of stitching approx 1” below the fold at the very top of the bag. I did this for both front and back.
- Now I turned in the remaining raw edges and slip-stitched the bag fabric to the lining, this leaves a nice wide opening to the top of the bag.
HANDLES
- For the handles I cut two pieces of fabric approx 30” x 3”
- I folded them in half along their lengths and pressed to mark the middle. I opened them out and folded the edges to the middle and then folded in half again, pressing each time. This made four thicknesses. I opened them out and slipped a little wadding inside, refolded and sewed along the handles close to the open edge.
- These handles are threaded through the very top of the bag, the ends are joined and pulled back inside to hide the join.
- Now I gathered the top of the bag on the handles, and then sewed the openings to the handles to secure - see my pictures at the top of this post.
BUTTON LOOP
- I made a button loop in the same way as the handles (no wadding), cutting the strip approx 10” x 2”.
- I neatened the ends with zigzag and sewed the loop to the back top of the bag, hiding the ends with a button. I sewed another button to the top front.
So, all done and I assure you that it's far more difficult to write about than to actually sew!! But I'm pleased I did write about this as it has spurred me on to finally finish this bag. Ta da!
This is the link to the one page instructions: pleated shoulder bag
Happy Stitching - Anita
What a lovely evening at Flowerpatch Quilters last Thursday, when Chris Pattison came along to tell us "What your sewing machine can do for you". And according to Chris the answer is - a great deal!!
She brought along her own machine and lots of attachments explaining their many uses. We've all got those feet that sit in the drawer scowling at us and daring us to take them out - which we're too scared to do!!
She had lots of tips for when you're free motion machine quilting including wearing gardening gloves to stop your hands slipping about on the fabric. Of course everyone is butting in with lots of questions and their own ideas - it was that sort of evening, and a great idea from Iris was to put wedges under the back of the sewing machine to tilt the extension table towards you. This saves an aching back and you can actually see what you're trying to do! Chris coped with our many interruptions with patience and humour. Her main message was "practice, practice, practice!" and we would all get the hang of it.
This is one of Chris's samples, measuring approx 8" across, of background machine quilting with an apple and pear in relief.
Chris stressed the importance of cleaning your machine regularly - it's amazing just how much fluff collects, but I'm always so keen to get sewing in those precious few spare minutes, that this always gets neglected. Also to change your needle often - if stitches are going wrong sometimes this may be all you need to do!
Lots more tips and laughs later and the evening ended far too soon. Chris does an all day workshop on getting to know your sewing machine and can be contacted through Soft Touch in Tavistock, Devon.
Here are two fun wall hangings that Chris brought along to show us.
Thank you, Chris for such a good evening.
The next Flowerpatch Quilters meeting is on 11th June when we will be joined by Marilyn Hornby of "Patch Flora" with her Show and Tell.
Happy Sewing - Anita
Occasionally I see a really cute design in a book or online and I just have to use it and make something. I'm no good at drawing "cute" myself!
I saw this sheep gamboling around a cot quilt in a book by Carolyn Vagts - "Quilted gifts from your scraps and stash".The quilt also used stripey pink fabric and I can't resist stripes.
The sheep and the hearts are appliqued in fleecy fabric.
I made it for a little girl called Ruby who is almost 2 years old, and likes nothing better than helping her grandparents in the lambing shed.
This is a link to a one page, printer-friendly instruction sheet on how I make up a basic cushion cover.Making up a cushion
Feeling a bit sheepish - Anita X
PS. More "cute" and more "stripes" - the PG tips monkey loves my cat (knitted from a Sue Stratford pattern).
Some quilts just evolve and my rotating flower blocks quilt is one such.
I love these flower squares - a design by Lynette Anderson. I just couldn't stop making them! I particularly liked the Suffolk Puff centres and the way Lynette had shadow quilted around the flower right to the edge of the square. The piece of plain fabric with the flower applique was cut 4" square, which includes the seam allowance, and each finished flower square with the added 1/2" borders, ends up as 7" x 7" including the seam allowance.
But how to use them in a bed quilt? I made up twice as many simple four patches to compliment the busy flowers. It's easy to make four patches the right size - you just make them a little bit bigger and then trim them to size once sewn.
And also another simple square with a centre square cut at 4" so that I could quilt the flower design on it. I was so pleased to be able to use up some of my favourite saved scraps for the little strips on two sides of this centre square. I made the same number of these as the flower squares.
I sewed 4 of the squares together as below to make my blocks. These are just two of them.
By rotating the blocks as I laid them out an interesting pattern started to emerge - I felt inspired!! ....................... but it was pure luck really!! I've drawn a square around some of the blocks so that you can pick them out more easily.
So this is the finished quilt
and the eagle-eyed will notice I added extra 7" squares all down one side, keeping the pattern going, and that I ran out of fabrics before the quilt was quite big enough, so had to have some different pattern fabrics in the border of plain squares. This made the quilt a perfect fit for my bed.
I've just realised - I could call it my evolving, revolving flower block quilt!!**
Flowerpatch Quilters members made a double bed quilt to raise money for charity, which also had a flower appliqued on a square in one corner. These are just two of the blocks:
The blocks were rotated before being sewn together and two borders added - plain and then strips. This is the finished quilt and I love it.
I have written out some instructions for making this quilt and below is a link to the one page, printer-friendly pdf.
Flowerpatch Daisy Patch Quilt
I think this idea of rotating the blocks would look good with almost any square block with an asymmetrical design and I really must get around to trying it out again ....some day!!
Happy sewing - Anita
In every quilting book there is something that makes you sit up and take notice, and "Quilting Happiness" by Diane Gilleland and Christina Lane is no exception. They wrote of a super, fun idea to find out what your quilting style might be and we decided to do as they suggest at the Flowerpatch April meeting - what an eye-opener for some!
We all brought along old unwanted magazines (not quilting ones - they're far too precious!), paper cutting scissors and a glue stick.
We tore whole pages out of the magazines whenever we came across a picture that we liked, be it because of the colour or shape or whatever.
Then we cut out our chosen pictures from the pages.
The last stage was to make these pictures into a small collage on an A4 sheet of paper, cutting again as necessary.
These are just a few of our results.
Finally we answered these questions about our collage - with a lot of help from our friends.
Which colours are prominent?
Are there shapes or symbols that appear often?
What is the mood of your collage?
Is it simple or intricate?
Have you chosen large or small scale images relative to the page?
Are there mostly straight or curved lines?
Is your collage bold or subtle?
Fascinating to see all the results. Maybe even the fact that some chose landscape and some portrait orientation is meaningful. What about Elizabeth whose collage extended to twice the length of the paper and Ellen who made three collages!!??
Next meeting is on 14th May when Chris Pattison will be showing us "What your sewing machine can do for you!".
Have fun - Anita
