Category Archives: applique

Top Ten: Cool Stuff @ CHA 2010 (#1-5)

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More CHA fun! … Without further ado, here’s #1-5 of my top ten cool stuff at CHA 2010:

#5. Grungepaper Coat: Great patchwork coat made from scrapbooking Grungepaper. Check out the fab flowers on the detail photo!
05coat

05detail

#4. Petaloo Color Me Crazy: Fun paper, cotton, velvet and mulberry flowers to color and decorate for all your creative projects!04petal

Take a closer look at some of what you can do with these flowers. I’d love to embellish some wearable art with Color Me Crazy flowers. What would you do with them?04detail

03paint#3. C&T Publishing‘s Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic & Canvas Books: These are the terrific paints I did my CHA demo projects with. (Get the tutorials here: fabric painting | fabric ribbon rosettes.)

Lots of pigment, brilliant colors, and permanent with no heat setting required. Can be used for many different techniques.

03canvasWant a fun surface to paint on? Try these nifty canvas books! They’re ready for your creative touch.

#2. Rabinowitz Design Workshop‘s Waxmelter Electric Batik Pen: How fun is this? Melt crayon bits or batik wax to make fabulous fiber art or scrapbook pages.02batik

Drum roll, please … The most wonderful thing I found at CHA, the best thing ever for applique-quilters since fusible web …

01me hands and scissor free applique!

#1. Making Memories‘ Slice Craft Cutter: Why should scrapbookers have all the fun? Now the fantastic Slice craft cutter can cut fusible fabric appliques!

Place fusible-backed fabric and the Slice cutter onto the magnetic board, select your design, size, press the button and …01slice

Voila! Fusible applique piece ready to be ironed to your background fabric. (Note: The Slice cutter does not dye your appliques and change their color for you. Two different fabrics are shown in these two photos.)01flowerAnd here’s a tea towel to show off the quick and easy Slice applique project. Want to see the Slice in action? (you know you do!) Check out this video from the Making Memories blog.)01towel

That’s all for CHA 2010! Thanks for joining me! ^_^

muse monday: road 2 ca

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While I enjoy the big picture looking at paintings and quilts, what I am most intrigued by are the close-up details: the brush strokes and stitches, the weave of the fabric and the facets of the embellishments. So direct from Ontario, California, I bring you a close-up look at the details of a few of my favorite quilts. I hope you are as fascinated and inspired as I am by these intricate works of art from Road to California 2010.

2010GardenPartyQVases by Suzanne Marshall, MO

2010GardenPartyDWhat I love most about Suzanne’s prize-winning quilt is the way she outlined each applique piece with hand embroidery.

2010SkysLimitQThe Sky’s the Limit by Linda MacDougall, CA

2010SkysLimitD1Linda MacDougall pays such attention to each exquisite detail in all her quilts. (Her Garden Party quilt won 2nd place in the Innovative Traditional category. You should be able to see it and the other winners soon on the Road to California website.) Notice the beads and crystals she used for the tiniest ice cream scoops.

2010SkysLimitD2I also like the way the iridescent sheer changes the colors of the fabric underneath it.

2010FlowersGaloreQFlowers Galore by Cindy Shoop, CA

2010FlowersGaloreDThese pieced center circles look like stacked cover buttons or dimensional applique. It really makes a difference compared to plain circles.

2010InnerBeautyQInner Beauty by Cathleen Miller, NM

2010InnerBeautyDLook at how the trapunto flowers and leaves tie the appliqued borders into the rest of this magnificent quilt.

When you take a closer look, you’ll see that it’s details like these that take a great quilt and make it a fantastic quilt! Visit the Road to California website to see photos of the rest of this year’s winning quilts.

tip tuesday: stitch, breathe, repeat

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bunny-tailToday’s tip is simple, but important: stitch, breathe, repeat.

I’ll be the first to admit that I often hold my breath when I’m machine appliqueing or quilting a tricky section.

Take my bunny’s cottontail at left for example. I thought that breathing might somehow disrupt the smooth curves of the cottontails, so I tried to hold my breath while machine stitching around them. But holding my breath only made me rush around the circles to reach the other side before I passed out.

Turns out that slow, even breathing makes for the smoothest circles of all. Check out that yellow bunny for yourself. It was my first cottontail sewn while breathing. It beat my very best non-breathing cottontail hands down.

breatheTry it yourself and see. About 9-10 steady, even breaths per minute works best for me for both slow and quick machine stitching.

Be patient, it might take a little bit of practice to get it right. In the beginning I sometimes found myself concentrating too hard on breathing and not enough on sewing. Keep it up and you’ll find just the right balance. With good breathing techniques I can now say that making quilts is truly relaxing after a stressful day.

wip wednesday: mini pockets

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mini-pocketsHere’s a little project I’m working on: Mini Pockets, a half-size all-applique variation on my 12- inch Pocket Full of Posies block using the vintage cheater cloth I showed you in September for Fabric Friday.

The pocket pattern fit the print just right so that it looks like two pieces, but it’s really only one. I’m going to stitch the applique pieces down before adding the buttons to the flowers.

tip tuesday: cookie cutter applique

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cookie-cutterWhen you’re not baking in the kitchen, cookie cutters make great gadgets for the quilting room. Just trace around the outside of the cookie cutter onto the paper side of your favorite paper-backed fusible web and voila, easy-peasy fusible applique shapes. Use beads and glitter like candy sprinkles to make them look like sugar cookie appliques or simply use fabric that goes with the shapes.

I’ve got cookie cutters in traditional applique shapes like hearts and the Whig Rose, as well as whimsical animal shapes such as elephants and unicorns.

strawberriesIf you want your cookie cutter applique to be a two-part design like my strawberries at left, just trace around each part of the cookie cutter separately and fill in the gap after you remove the cookie cutter. See image above where I first traced the strawberry part only, then drew a line across the top to make a closed shape. Then I repeated the two steps with the leaf part of the strawberry design. Next get your iron out, fuse the two parts to fabric, cut them out, then arrange the pieces as desired and fuse them together.

Some people also like to use cookie cutters as quilting design templates. That would be a fun way to quilt a holiday quilt.

For more cookie cutter quilting fun, see my post, “Two for Valentine’s Day” where I made an edible Valentine’s Day cookie quilt.

pocket full of posies

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100-blocks_300w390hHappy dance! I’m featured in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks from Today’s Top Designers. Want a peek at some of the fabulous quilt blocks inside? Follow the 100 Blocks Blog Tour daily Nov. 9-13 at quiltmaker.com/quiltypleasures for inspiration, ideas and giveaways galore!

Look for 100 Blocks from Today’s Top Designers in your local quilt shop, or purchase it at quiltmaker.com/100blocks. Besides having 100 fantastic quilt blocks to choose from, there are layouts for quilts in sizes from lap to king, fab free-motion quilting designs, and ideas for neat stuff you can make with just a single 12″ block.

Pocket Full of Posies quilt block

Here’s my block,#41: Pocket Full of Posies. It’s a fun block, combining simple piecing with paper piecing, applique and button embellishment. This block would look great in many different color palettes. Here I’ve used one of my all-time favorite palettes: black & white with brights.

The centers of the flowers are 30 mm Kurumi cover buttons. If you’ve never tried Kurumi buttons, they’re great for making easy perfect dimensional circles. You could also substitute a regular circle of fusible-backed fabric or a yo-yo for the flower centers. Use your imagination and have fun!

kurumi-step-by-stepWondering how to use a Kurumi button? It’s easy!

1. Cut out a circle of fabric a bit larger than your button.

2. Sew a running stitch all the way around the edge as if you’re making a fabric yo-yo.

3. Gather the circle of fabric around the Kurumi button and tie a knot.

Voila! Now just hand applique your covered Kurumi button to your quilt block with matching thread.

Want a chance to win a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks from today’s top designers? Just leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite color palette. Have too many favs to choose from? That’s OK, flip a coin, roll a pair of dice, or simply list them all in your comment. You have until the end of Thursday, November 12, 2009. I’ll draw a number and announce the winner on Friday morning, November 13.

Add a comment

tip tuesday: cut smart! (part two)

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Today’s cutting tip has nothing at all to do with cutting fabric, but it will help the edges of your fusible applique stay nice and neat:

Make a small cut into the paper-backed fusible paper before you iron it to your fabric. This will give you a place to grab the the paper and remove it gently without destroying the edges of the applique.

happy quilting! =(^_^)=

tip tuesday: cut smart! (part one)

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Fusible applique is quick and fun. Here are a few cutting tips to make it easier:

  • Even if you like a bit of fraying, smooth-cut edges are still important. You don’t want it to look as if your new puppy chewed up your appliques, so make sure you have a good, comfortable, sharp pair of scissors, not too large and not too small. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just sharp.
  • Cut slowly and carefully, it’s not a race.
  • Cut smart. Notice the differences between the two appliques above. The red swirl is actually only cut once. The green swirl isn’t cut at all! I traced the outer circle and the inner swirl together onto one piece of fusible, ironed the red fabric down, and cut it apart into the two designs. Cut only one swirl, but get two swirl appliques. Then place a simple circle background beneath each one. Clear as mud? Check the pattern below to see what I traced and the photo at left to see what I cut.
  • Finally, practice, practice, practice! The more you cut, thebetter you’ll get. Try it out for yourself with my Salt Water Taffy pattern below. It has both shallow and sharp curves to hone your cutting skills.

For a pair of candies as pictured at top right, trace the following onto the paper side of fusible web: one swirly circle, two plain circle outlines (just trace the outer circle for these, ignore the inner swirl), and four of the tulip-shaped wrapper ends.

Fuse the red fabric onto the swirly circle, the green fabric onto the two plain circles, and the white fabric onto the four wrapper ends. Cut out the pieces as shown above, being extra careful when cutting the red swirly circle into the two swirls.

Assemble and fuse the candy pieces together as shown at top right onto a teflon pressing sheet or directly onto your quilt block background squares.

Have fun! =(^_^)=

muse monday: holiday candy

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I don’t know about you, but somehow we ended up with literally mountains of candy after Halloween was all said and done. That got me thinking about candy quilt blocks … maybe some orange and black taffy would look nice.

I always like to consider the shapes of the designs I choose. Chocolate bars are delicious, but their shape is slightly on the boring side. Unless of course, you have some fantastic fabric to spice up their wrappers!

Taffy makers come up with all kinds of neat designs for their candies, and even the wrapper itself adds a great deal of interest to the shape. Salt water taffy is just as fun to look at as it is to eat!

Here’s the sketch I came up with. You can see my first attempt through the other side of the paper. I was trying not to make it too tiny, but that pattern would probably turn out an 18″ block, and I’m more of a small block gal.

My second sketch was just what I wanted: fun, a little bit wonky, and exactly the right size. That’s unusual for me. Most of the time I draw dozens of sketches and then have to scan and resize my favorite one on the computer.

I only drew the one side of the wrapper firstly because I ran out of room, and secondly you only really need the one pattern piece anyway. You can just trace it twice. If you turn the drawing just a little so that the wrapper sticks straight up it could be a radish or a perfume bottle!

Don’t the candy appliques look yummy? I decided to go for Christmas taffy instead of Halloween taffy. Halloween is all finished for this year and I just know my enthusiasm wouldn’t last long enough for me to make much progress on this quilt.

These candies are a lot of fun to make. I might even finish this quilt in time for Christmas. I can’t wait to try the taffy pattern out on other fabrics in my stash.

tip tuesday: easy leaf patterns

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It’s fun and easy to make leaf patterns for applique. Just gather a collection of interesting leaves. They don’t even have to be in autumn colors, just find some shapes that you like. When you’re choosing fabric for your leaves, they can be any colors you want.

Lay the leaves down on a computer scanner or photocopy machine and print them out. If they’re not the right size you can enlarge or reduce them. This is a scan of some gingko leaves I collected.

If you’re in a hurry you can use the printout just as it is. Otherwise trace the outlines of the leaves onto a new piece of paper and use that as your pattern. Tape the printout to a sunny window and place a blank sheet of paper on top and it will be easy to see.

You can trace all the details of the leaves just as they are or you can simplify the outlines as I did with my gingko leaf patterns below.

Here’s a fun free project I designed using my gingko leaf patterns, Autumn Gingko Leaves Purse Jewelry. You can download the PDF at CottonSpice.net, September 2007 issue, page 40.