Aunt Millie's Update 4

I adore this block, probably because of the cute little medallion in the middle.  I've been told that most of the folks who participated in this block of the month (organized by Quilting Adventures) didn't sew the medallions.  Some folks made yo-yos and others used fabric to mimic the look of the striped medallion.  I must say, actually sewing the real thing makes the block look a thousand times better!

At first, appliqueing that thing seemed impossible, but after I actually sat down and put my mind to it, the process is fairly simple.  The pattern calls for a circle of fabric with colorful wedges appliqued on, topped off with a smaller circle in the very middle.

First, I traced the circle and the lines on the background fabric.  I didn't cut it out; instead, I left it on a large square of fabric to make handling easier.  Look closely and you can see the traced outline.

Next, I appliqued all the wedges to the background.  It was a fairly straightforward process; I left a bit of overhang in the center and off the edge.  Once the wedges were on, I appliqued the teeny tiny circle in the middle (not pictured here).

After applique, I trimmed the background fabric into a rough circle.  Using a running stitch, I sewed around the outline and cinched it around a plastic template.  Press, remove template, then press again.  Voila!  Circle!

Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry

This year, I decided to enter my piece de resistance, my modern opus, my masterpiece-- my hand pieced grandmother's flower garden quilt. I was inspired to create this quilt by an enormous patch of coneflowers that blooms in front of the Virginia Fine Arts Museum every year. The museum is just down the street from my apartment, so I get to enjoy the flowers all season, every year. The flowers are so colorful and full, and I get sad when they burn up and wilt each summer. Now I can have those flowers all year long!

The quilt measures approximately 93" x 67" finished and unwashed. I used a cotton-poly batting had it professionally quilted by Rebekah Richardson of Kept In Stitches Quilting (Richmond, VA).

The center of the top is entirely hand pieced by me. I followed the English paper piecing method seen here. Each piece is whip-stitched together using waxed or glace thread. For the flowers I used batik cottons, and the path is created with my favorite pink fabric ever, Lakehouse Antique Dots in Berry.

I created a pieced back using leftover pink squares and Cufflink in the Leaf colorway from Summer Soiree by Paula Prass. The quilt is bound with a really cool dot designed by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics. It's super black, and it turned my fingers grey while I was finishing the binding.

I love this quilt and can't wait to use it for many years to come!

Hexagons

A few people have been blogging about paper piecing with hexagons this week. I know I'm not widely read, but I figured I'd chime in with a tip of my own, since I recently finished my full-sized quilt top made of 3" hexagons.


Instead of cutting your paper pieces, purchase them from Paperpieces.com. They use a die-cutter and heavy card stock to cut their paper pieces. You can order all different sizes, all different shapes, and all different amounts.  Their customer service is great and they have super-fast shipping.


The great thing is, you can reuse your shapes since they are cut from such heavy paper. I ordered a package of 300 3" hexagons and spent around $20. This was plenty of hexagons and I still have them for the next quilt!

Black-Eyed Susans

I finally got the nerve to try to baste and quilt my finished grandmother's flower garden quilt.  So, I cleared furniture out of the dining room and painstakingly basted to back to perfection (I use spray baste, remember?).  Then I turned it over and painstakingly basted the front.  When I flipped it to check the back, there were wrinkles and puckers everywhere.  So I re-did it.  When I flipped it to check the front there were wrinkles and puckers everywhere.

So, I pulled it all apart, folded it neatly, and put it back in the closet.  Looks like I'll be sending that quilt out to Kept in Stitches.

Anyway, here's the finished top, if you're curious.

Coats and Clark Thread

I've been piecing with this great Coats and Clark Hand Quilting Thread. It's awesome. The glace' finish is really nice-- the thread glides so smoothly. I like it even better than my waxed thread (and I like that thread a lot)!

Embroidery Again

All finished with Bareroots Little Stitchies #179 - October. The pumpkins are very cute and I got to try another new stitch.



I enjoyed this block, but I'm getting the feeling that something needs to be in the sky other than the moon and some smoke from the chimney. Next block, I might just add something in.

The pumpkin vines were created using the cast-on stitch I blogged about earlier. It took a little bit of practice, but I have gotten quite good at creating those little curlicues. The grassy hills were stitched with a square stitch. I did some couching to create the pumpkins and quite liked the look, as they now look like they have texture and thickness, the way a pumpkin rind does. As before, the tree trunk was filled using a satin stitch and the roof was done with feather stitch.

In case you were wondering, you can find all the patterns for this embroidery block of the month right here on the Bareroots website.

DQS7 Sneak Peek

It's been very quiet around these parts, hasn't it? It's not that I haven't been crafting (I totally have!), it's just that I've been doing other things, too.

For example, telling myself to get my butt off the computer.
Also, visiting Gloria at William & Mary.
Additionally, going to the beach with my girlfriends one last time.
Not to mention going back to work and thus back to school, making myself feel as if the past two months had never happened.

I've finished my DQS7 quilt and am ready to send it out (along with a few goodies). Want a sneak peek?






This is the tag I made using EQ Printable fabric. You can see that it's fraying a little there. I used too small of a stitch, and so when I turned the tag (I didn't want raw edges), it looks like it's coming apart. Hopefully my partner won't mind.






Here's a close up shot of one of my favorite birds on the quilt. I used the free City Birds applique pattern from Cherry House Quilts. I don't think the pattern is available online anymore, but if you email Cherri, I bet she'd give it to you.




Everything on this quilt is done by hand-- applique, embroidery, quilting, and binding. Of course, I did the first step in attaching the binding by machine (I had no idea how to do it otherwise), so I did cheat just a little.

Hopefully my partner likes it. I'll wait to reveal the entire quilt until after my partner has received the package and blogged. Stay tuned!

Handwork Continues

After neglecting my current embroidery block, I have rallied and finished it completely (to much delight!). Check it out.



This is Bareroots Little Stitchies #178 September. Just as with the August block (#177, of course), I made a few changes in stitching and color, and I added a few beads this time!



The tree trunk was filled using a satin stitch, and I did most of the leaves in yellow, rather than adding the light green the pattern called for. I embroidered the roof with a double feather stitch to mimic shingles (like a gingerbread house), just like I did on the August (#177) block. The apples in the foreground were satin stitched, and I added a single green bead for the stem leaves. I outlined the windows and door with the same cerulean floss I used for the house-- that color is too lovely and I had to have more! Lastly, and probably my favorite change, I used bead embroidery for the smoke plume coming out of the chimney.



See my hand for scale? All in all, I really love the way it looks. I used stabilizer this time, and thank God, because the foundation help up much better than the August (#177) block.

***

Summer is coming to a close, and that's bringing me down. As some of you know, I am an inner city public school teacher. The concept of heading back to work after a long relaxing summer is making me anxious. The possibility of having another terrible year is looming large in my mind.

With September comes the DQS7 swap deadline! Oh no! I hope my partner likes what I'm working on...

Wish

thrifted long ago
Originally uploaded by bricolagelife

I found this photo in the flickr embroidery pool. It's awesome, right? The user who uploaded this photo lamented in the description that she wishes she "could embroider like this."

Don't we all?

As my summer vacation draws to a close, I'm starting to get kind of down about the lack of craft time I will have in the future. Since this spring I have attempted and succeeded in areas of craft I never thought possible. Even though I've always felt craft-incompetent, it all boils down to the fact that, really, I just had to try it.

In the words of Nike (not the goddess), I had to just do it. And I do feel victorious about my accomplishments (even if my apartment is a god-forsaken mess).

So, I left a comment on bricolagelife's photo.

"I bet you can embroider like that."

Because, I mean, I bet I can too. We just have to get to it.

A Month of Hand Sewing

red hands sewing
Originally uploaded by Bascom Hogue

What a coincidence! The folks at Sew, Mama, Sew! are rediscovering handwork, too.

To celebrate handwork, the sewing mamas are hosting A Month of Hand Sewing. There'll be tutorials, photos of the day, and giveaways, including this cute little hand sewing kit.

The quiet patience of a needle sewing thread has always appealed to me. A month of hand sewing isn't a bad idea, so I'm going to try not to go near my sewing machine this month. Instead, I'll work on the various handwork projects I've got going.

Buttonhole Wheel

TAST Portuguese Knotted Stem
Originally uploaded by Kay Susan

A while ago I purchased the Leisure Arts Embroidery Pocket Guide Leaflet. It's laminated and folds up just like a map, which is extremely handy. I love using it to refresh my memory on stitches that I already know how to do-- the diagrams are great.

However, it lists some stitches I don't know, which looked pretty cool. The stitch I taught myself today was the buttonhole wheel stitch (seen above in Kay Susan's awesome embroidery).

If you're curious about how to do it, check out this video tutorial for buttonhole wheel stitch from Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread.