Let's Begin

I thought that tonight I'd start the applique tutorial I've been promising you. The method I'll demonstrate is the one I prefer, but there are many, many methods and variations of hand applique--none are wrong and none are exclusively "right"; it's just a matter of trying methods and finding the one you enjoy the most. This method is usually referred to as the freezer paper and starch method.

An applique pattern will look something like this:

The main supply you'll need for the first part of this method is freezer paper. Note that freezer paper has a dull, paper-textured side and a shiny, somewhat waxy side. You'll also need a pencil or pen--I prefer pencil because I don't want to worry about ink transferring onto the fabric. You might like to use a light box, but most of the time, I don't find I need one for this part of transferring the pattern onto paper. An acrylic ruler comes in handy too.

Each pattern designer has his/her own way of writing patterns, and the patterns should come with instructions. Bunny Hill patterns--and this is one I'm using to demonstrate--are very helpful in numbering the pieces. The pieces are numbered in the order they'll be placed onto the background. The pieces are usually drawn with a solid line, but dotted lines signify that portion of the applique piece will be underneath another, and the edges of the piece don't need to be turned under.

If you look at the first picture above, you'll see the two pumpkins. Piece 7--a stem--is placed first, and piece 8, a pumpkin, is laid on top. See the dotted lines showing what part will be under another part? Same thing for piece 9, another stem, and piece 10, a second pumpkin. And if you look again at the dotted lines, you'll see that pumpkin 10 overlaps pumpkin 8, right?

The first step is to place freezer paper over the pattern, with the dull, paper-textured side up. Trace all parts of the pattern that would look the same going in either direction. For instance, the pumpkins aren't facing in any particular direction. If the pumpkins were turned over and the right sides became the left sides, they would look pretty much the same. All of the pieces I traced below are pieces that don't have a particular direction.

If part of the applique piece will be placed under another piece and the edge doesn't need to be turned under, you may want to make some type of mark on the freezer paper template that will alert you that particular edge doesn't need to be "finished." I normally finish most of the edges whether they need to be or not, so I don't bother marking my paper pattern. I know I'll remember not to turn under the major ones--like the top of the birdhouse where it lies under the roof. You may also want to mark the pieces with the number so you remember which pieces to lay down first. Marking details such as these are a matter of personal preference. See what works best for you.

When I want to trace a piece with straight lines, I use an acrylic ruler to help keep the lines straight. Usually the pattern can be seen through the freezer paper, but if not, placing a light box under the pattern will help in accurately tracing it. Here I could see the pattern lines, so I didn't use a light box. (A window during daylight hours can serve the same purpose as a light box.)

For pieces that DO face a particular direction, in order for them to turn out facing the same way as the pattern, we need to trace them onto the shiny side of the freezer paper. I know it's harder to see, but I've traced a bird on the shiny side of the paper, and the pencil is just visible enough for our purpose--cutting out the shape. (Sometimes pattern designers will provide a mirror image of a directional piece so it can be simply traced onto the dull side of the freezer paper--check the instructions to find out if the pattern has already been reversed for you.)

Once all the applique pieces are transferred onto freezer paper, cut the shapes on the drawn lines. Usually I like to lay them all out at this point, just to make sure I haven't forgotten any of the pieces.

To test to make sure the pieces are all facing in the correct direction, lay them out with the shiny side of the paper facing up. Does the layout look like the pattern? Then so far, so good! If any of the pieces are facing the wrong direction, redraw them onto the other side of the freezer paper and recheck the layout.

In the next step, we'll move from working with the freezer paper to the doing the starch part of the process, and the block will begin to look like this:

See you back here tomorrow!

A Day With Friends

Today was the monthly gathering of my stitchery friends. I'm a little worried that I'm a bad influence on them, because every time I show you all a block of the month project, it seems they click right over and sign up. I sure hope all of you aren't doing the same thing, because I don't like the thought of all your husbands blaming ME!

It seems there are four out of six of us anxiously awaiting Shabby Fabric's Sweetheart Houses block of the month that begins in July. And a couple who have ordered Sew Spooky. And maybe just about all of us interested in Pumpkinville or its wool twin--the new Bunny Hill patterns.

Another project I think we're either all working on or still planning to work on is the Country Cottages by Shabby Fabrics. I showed you the new block the other day and a bit of the cottage I was going to use for block six. Today I finished it--

Well, actually I finished it tonight, after I came home, but I got most of it done while I was with my friends today.

As always, we ate really, really well. And often. I think we eat just as much as we stitch. And one of these days, I need to get photos of all the different projects the gals are working on to show you, but while I'm with them, we're all so busy talking--and eating--that I forget!

But I can pass on to you a little idea if you're making these cottages too. For the kite, I machine sewed a pinwheel block by cutting a 4-1/2" square of orange and a 4-1/2" square of pink and making the block. (Actually I made TWO blocks but I only used one, of course.) I then used the pinwheel block for the kite applique. Make sense?

While I was with my friends, I DID think of my blog friends too. Today I took several photos of Imelda as she appliqued using the method she taught the rest of us using starch and glue. I'll put together a little tutorial as soon as I have a little time.

Finally, Heckety (who is "noreply") asked in a comment about using buttons in quilts, as I plan to do with the cottages, so I thought it would be a good time to answer. I usually don't use buttons on quilts that we use for sleeping or cuddling, and if I do, I try to make sure they're the type of buttons that will lay flat--not the molded decorative kind that could scar a person for life if they lay on one. For the Country Cottages block of the month, each block will finish at 12", so this project will end up the size of a decorative wall hanging, and the buttons I plan to use will work out fine.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend! Thanks for stopping by to visit.

Wedding Day

Not much sewing was done on Friday because it was my nephew's wedding day. Do you remember that last month I started a Country Cottages block and then decided the colors I picked weren't "right" for May? I set that one aside and started over. As it turns out, though, I like it pretty well for a June block, so what time I had on Friday was spent getting the block ready for applique. First, though, I laid out all of the blocks so far--the June block puts us half way through both the year and the project.

I've been matching up buttons with blocks--that's why there's a package of buttons sitting on that sixth block. For June, I'll add some bug buttons. You might remember from the block pattern I posted yesterday that besides the house, this block has a tree and a kite. I think it's going to be really cute!

Speaking of cute, I wanted to show you the happy couple as they were exchanging their vows. The bride's maid of honor was actually a man of honor and the groom's best man was a best woman--that's why the wedding party may look a bit mixed up. Unusual but really great.

The wedding was somewhat casual and was held outdoors at a lavender farm. Really a nice day, although the wind picked up and it got a little chilly in the evening.

Chris is the third grandchild born on my husband's side of the family but the first to get married, beating out Soccer Son and his Lovely Wife to be Someday by about three and a half months. And since I mentioned the next happy couple to wed, here they are--

The Wild Child was with us too--here she was talking to Manager Man who was attending a different wedding--June IS the month for them, right?

We had nearly a two hour drive home, and we're all tired and ready to call it a day. My nice, comfortable bed sure sounds good right about now! I'm glad you could stop by for a visit.

I Just Can't Talk to You Right Now . . .

Thursday night, 10:45 p.m. I've been off work for 45 minutes now, and during that time, I drove home, wolfed down a couple pieces of room temperature pizza, and exchanged the essential end-of-the-day information with Hubby. My brain is mush--I gave it my all and left whatever remained at the office.

Work on a "normal" day is crazy and tends to demand a bit of overtime, but the evening before a vacation day heightens everything to the level of insane--and that's what it was today. I'm taking Friday off to attend a nephew's wedding and there was just too much that needed to be done before Monday and no matter how many hours I have to stay late on a weeknight, I'll do it to avoid giving up any of my weekend time.

So, anyway, sorry for the rant--it's just my way of saying I have nearly nothing for you tonight, although I WILL let you in on this bit of information: Shabby Fabric's Country Cottages block six was posted today. Isn't it darling?

You can get your own copy of the pattern HERE. I just love Shabby Fabrics, don't you? Not only are they an excellent online fabric shop, but they have great designs. Speaking of which, this block of the month program, a Shabby Fabrics exclusive pattern, starts in July:

I signed up for this one a couple months ago and I can hardly wait! At least I know with all this overtime I seem to be working, I won't have to worry about paying the bill!

Just Yell!

Hey! Guess what? I finished the May Harrington & Hannah block! I think that means that for the moment, I'm caught up on my block of the month projects, although I expect the next Country Cottages block will be posted any day now.

A funny thing happened when I was uploading this photo to my Flickr photostream (and then to the H&H Flickr group). I realized that people actually look at my Flickr photostream and comment on photos! Oh, I knew people commented on new photos, and I take a look at those comments every now and then, but I guess I never really thought that people might look at and comment on the older photos.

I was kind of embarrassed to find comments on some of my photos asking me about the patterns or the fabrics I used, and I never responded! How rude am I?! Sheesh!

What I've realized is that I can click on something like "new activity" and it will then bring up a list with the most recent comments on the top, and I can see what people have said--I don't recall ever seeing that function before. So now I just need to remember to check that every so often, right?

I don't know if the same people who look at my Flickr photos are also the people who read my blog, but if ever you ask something of me--on Flickr or anywhere else--and don't hear back? Click on my profile over in the sidebar and then click on the link to email me. I will always respond to emailed questions unless you're "no-reply" and I can't--but if you email me directly rather than post a comment, then I'll have your email to respond to.

Awhile back, I mentioned that I knew there were blogs out there that published directions on how to change from being "no-reply" but I couldn't seem to figure out what blogs had that information. I recall there were a couple comments then with the information, or links to blogs with the information, but I never posted those here. If any of you leave comments on blogs and never hear back from anyone, you may be "no-reply." To fix that, click HERE and visit Woolie Mammoth--the directions are in her sidebar for anyone with Blogger. Besides the "no-reply" instructions, her blog is fun to read and she's recently (like last week) retired, so if you visit, wish her a happy retirement! (I wonder if she'd be interested in owning a food truck? Oh, and by the way, go back and read some of the comments on yesterday's post--there are some really good fantasy jobs there!)

And in case you were wondering, if you follow the directions and change from "no-reply" by clicking on "show my email address"--it doesn't really show your email address to all the robots out there searching the blogs for easy prey. It will just show your email to the people you leave comments for and to the people who go to your profile so they can email you directly about something. I've always had my email listed on my profile and with my comments and, at least so far (knock on wood), I don't get any spam in that mailbox, so I think it's fairly safe.

Ah, and that reminds me: Marilyn, you're one of the "no-reply" commenters, so I couldn't let you know the other day that as far as I know, my blog background can't be found as fabric. Bummer, eh? Those birds are kind of cute!

I'd Like a Food Truck Please

Have you ever purchased food from a gourmet food truck? Have you watched Eat Street or other food truck TV shows?

I was driving home from my job tonight--my job with the law firm I've been at for 19 years and 7 months; the job where I do the same thing I've been doing since 1974--and it occurred to me that it might be fun to own a food truck.

What kind of food would I sell from my truck? What would be my gourmet gimmick? To tell you truly, I hadn't a clue, but driving around in a truck, stopping here and there wherever the whim struck and the law allowed, and then making people happy with yummy food . . . well that sounded like a pretty good deal.

But maybe I could narrow it down a little. Would I do breakfast? No, because that would mean I'd need to get up early, and I don't DO early. Lunch, maybe? Well, maybe. Just as long as it wasn't summer and I didn't have to sit in the hot sun too late into the afternoon. Dinner didn't sound very appealing though. People have gone home by then and aren't as excited about lining up for truck food, although the late night bar crowd has its possibilities.

So I kind of narrowed down my work day on the food truck to maybe 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. I'm not sure I could really earn much of a living working those hours. And then I remembered that one of the reasons I originally decided to seek employment as a secretary was because I didn't want to deal with people as customers. Probably because the concept of anybody but me being always right just doesn't sit well. So maybe I DON'T want to own a food truck after all.

But hey, suddenly it hit me! Since I'm always right, maybe I'd make the perfect food truck CUSTOMER. First, though, I'll have to find a truck or two selling their wares, and since by local law, they have to move every 20 minutes, that might be tough to do. I've heard you can sign up for alert tweets to find out a truck's location, but I believe you need a cell phone and I don't have one.

It was just about at this point in the thought process that I arrived home and my commute was over for the day. Maybe I'll plan out my food truck future a little more tomorrow. Or maybe I'll come up with a new fantasy to occupy me on the drive home. What's your current fantasy job?

A Handy Idea

I was fixing one of these to use tonight, and it occurred to me that I don't think I've shown these to you before. I'm not much for gadgets and notions, but sometimes someone tells me about something to try, and then I can't imagine getting along without whatever the thing is. This is one of those things, and it's quite inexpensive too!

What are they? Rolls or "keepers" for applique blocks of the month or embroidery--or virtually any other project you want to keep together and wrinkle free for long periods of time.

Start with a roll the length you need--24" is a nice size since it's longer than most blocks. My roll is about 3 feet long, but I have a variety of lengths, and although I could cut this shorter, there's not much I could do with the piece I cut off, so I'll leave this one long. Also, use a nice, sturdy roll--not the flimsy kind that paper towels come on. The cardboard roll inside a roll of batting is excellent and can be cut into a couple lengths. Mailing tubes are also nice and sturdy although you don't want one that's too wide in diameter.

Next, cut a piece of batting a few inches longer on each end and wide enough to wrap around the roll about twice.

Roll the batting around the tube and tuck the ends in.

As you finish each block or embroidery piece, wrap it around the tube, "good" side toward the inside to protect it.

Tie a ribbon around the tube to hold everything together--a ribbon that "matches" the theme of the project will help identify the right tube next time you're ready to work on that project. For instance, a blue with white polka dot ribbon tells me that tube holds the Country Cottages BOM, and a zebra striped ribbon tells me that particular tube holds Harrington and Hannah (okay, zebra = animals, and that was as close as I had to bunnies!). Although it's not in the bucket right now, an orange ribbon identifies the Autumn House tube.

My embroidery expert, Gran, first showed me the tube idea for embroidery, and later, our applique expert, Imelda, showed our stitchery group the same thing, which she used for her applique projects--something I hadn't even thought about before. I hope this idea works for you too!

Full Steam Ahead

I hesitate, just a little bit, in telling you I finished the fourth block of the Merry, Merry Snowmen block of the month. The reason for my hesitation is that I was instructed recently, by one of my friends, not to complete any more applique blocks until everyone else in my stitchery group had caught up. To tell you the truth, I'm pretty sure she meant I should stop until SHE caught up. But gosh darn it, every time word gets back to me, I hear she's out golfing, antiqueing, or shopping sales. Me? I have no life, so what am I supposed to do while I'm waiting for her to catch up?

Well, one of the things I do--something that seems to get ME into trouble--is play around on the internet, looking for inspiration and new "stuff." Today's troublesome new stuff? Have you seen Bunny Hill's new pattern, Pumpkinville?

Please feel free to get into trouble along with me--Anne has listed the pattern in her Bunny Hill store HERE. She also has a wool version called Pumpkin Hollow and you can find that one HERE--just in case the first one didn't get you. Still not quite sold? The Fat Quarter Shop will be offering it as a block of the month--as I'm sure many other shops will be too.

I've ordered the Pumpkinville version and I've decided I'm going to make it using my own fabrics, so I won't sign up for the block of the month on this one. It's anyone's guess on if and when I'll get around to starting it, but when I do, I'm probably not going to go slow so my friends can keep up with me. Just sayin.

Score!

A local thrift shop held their annual craft/quilting sale on Saturday morning, and contrary to my normal preference for sleeping in on Saturday mornings, this particular Saturday I got up just about the same time I do for work every day and headed out with Hubby to the thrift store. The draw for him was the mention of Louis L'Amour books in the same thrift store ad.

Hubby struck out on the books and I didn't find very much either, but I did find these two items--and I'm kind of excited about them too!

The Michael Miller fabric was $2 for two yards, and the wooden cigar box--which is perfect for holding bobbins--was also $2. Not bad, eh?! And as a consolation prize for Hubby, we stopped on the way home and I bought him breakfast--something else that rarely happens on a weekend morning.

Last weekend I stopped by Sherri's blog to visit. I immediately became infatuated with some Bonnie and Camille fabric she was working with called Marmalade--YUM! Of course I thought I needed to have some of my own, but I found when I checked the Fat Quarter Shop that the fabric wouldn't be out until OCTOBER! How could I possibly wait that long?

Guess what? I don't have to! Look what arrived in the mail a couple days ago:

Yep, Marmalade! Buying a fat quarter bundle was a splurge for me, but the fabric is SOOOOOOO beautiful, I couldn't resist! I was fortunate to be able to find it, too. After I checked the Fat Quarter Shop and found out it wouldn't be released for some months, it occurred to me that someone may have scored some at market and put it up for sale, so on the off chance, I checked eBay, and boy I sure got lucky! Now I just need the perfect pattern--and a little play time.

I hope you're having a lovely weekend full of fun and luck! Thanks for stopping by to visit.

Found Fabric!

Have you ever tried to find a specific fabric and been unable to locate it ANYWHERE? You know what I mean--that one fabric that you really, really NEED for a project and can't do without? Maybe you got half way done making an older kit and found you didn't have enough of the background fabric. Maybe you wanted to match the upholstery Aunt Martha used on the dining room chairs. Well, do you know about Missing Fabrics dot com?

I've known about the existence of the website for quite a few years but I'd never used it until I was trying to find the border fabric used in the original Autumn House quilt--a piece from the Fig & Plum line by Fig Tree--and couldn't seem to find enough of it for all four of us who are making the quilt. Sure, I found a little under a yard at one internet shop, so I had enough for me, and one of the other ladies had found enough for her quilt, but the other two women would have to do without unless we located more. That's where the Missing Fabrics website came in handy. I posted an ad on the site and a day or two later, I heard from Wendy at BlackbirdCounty dot com.

The ads on Missing Fabrics are often browsed by quilt shops all over the world, so I wasn't too surprised to hear from Wendy, but then I learned she had only come across my ad by accident--she didn't normally look through the missing fabric ads but was checking for something in particular. As a further coincidence, we--our applique group--had seen the fabric on Wendy's shop's website the week before, but by the time I'd checked with the other ladies and was ready to order the fabric, the website showed there was no more in stock!

I later learned that someone in Australia had contacted the shop about purchasing the fabric but couldn't decide how much they needed, so Blackbird Country held the fabric back. After Wendy and I emailed each other, I had to wait a couple days before it was confirmed that the Australian buyer had not gotten back in touch and the fabric was ours, but before long, it was on its way to me, and it arrived from Canada yesterday.

Somehow, it feels a little like fate--we were obviously meant to have this fabric. Or maybe we were meant to "meet" Wendy, who was super great to deal with!

Placing an ad on the Missing Fabrics website is free but the woman who runs the site, Tricia, gladly accepts donations in payment for the work she does--it's very time consuming for her to upload all the ads she receives twice a week and maintain them until the customer's fabric is found and the ad can be removed.

If you're in need of that special fabric, check into Missing Fabrics by clicking HERE. I'm sure I'll try them again next time I can't find what I'm searching for.