A Few Things - Mini Mini, Kitchen Set, and Some Fun Quilting

I've been busy lately, believe it or not! I decided to take a few weeks off from my Etsy shop. Mostly so I could go on vacations (one to our cabin at Island Park, and another to the Virgin Islands with just the hubby), but also so that could work on some just-for-fun projects. And now I have more works-in-progress than I've ever had at one time. Haha. Ah well, they will be finished soon. Soon.
For now, I want to share a few smaller projects I made at the beginning of the sumber.
First up is my mini mini quilt. We were challenged by our local quilt guild to make tiny mini quilts to swap. The rules were that they had to be less than 10 inches square. I think mine ended up about 2.5" x 7".
Here's the sneak peak I shared on IG to show just how tiny it is:

And the whole thing.   I used a cathedral windows tutorial from Moda Bake Shop and I think I halved the measurements.

The back:

And some close-ups:

Next up is a set of hot pads and hanging kitchen towels I made for a cousin's wrong. I finished binding these in the car on the way to the reception. :)

It's always hard sewing for people who have different tastes in colors and fabric. I got a little bit of advice from the mother, so I hope these went over well!

And the last thing I wanted to show you is this little charity quilt I volunteered to quilt for the guild. The nice thing about charity quilts is that they are good for trying out new skills. 

For the pieced section, I tried out some Baptist fans: 

Then in the negative space I had lots of fun trying out some graffiti quilting:

I think I'll be using these FMQ motifs in the future!

Be back soon!

WHW RS Sampler Quilt Class: Block 10: Applique

Alright friends!  It's time to talk about some non-traditionally pieced quilt block techniques.  We're starting with applique, which is basically sewing a shape onto a background piece.

There are basically two types of applique:  raw edge, and turned edge.

Raw edge applique is the easiest and the fastest, plus it's usually done entirely by machine.

Nikki in Stitches - GREAT TUTORIAL HERE

Turned edge is more traditional looking, is generally done by hand, but sometimes the stitching is done by machine.  The shapes are cut 1/4" to 1/2" larger and the edges are turned under before stitching.

The Crafty Quilter

I'll be teaching raw edge applique, but I'll link to some of my favorite turned edge applique tutorials.

There is also such thing as reverse applique.  My favorite tutorial for that is here:

Lindsay Sews: Reverse Applique Tutorial

Applique is great because there are so few limitations.  You aren't restricted to squares and rectangles, or even triangles.  If you can trace it and cut it out, you can applique it!

Applique quilts vary so much, that it was hard for me to narrow down the quilts I wanted to share with you, but here are a few examples of applique quilts:

Sew What Alicia

Attic Window Quilt Shop

Angie's Textile Arts, Quilts, and Crafts - the Sunbonnet Sue design is a very popular traditional applique design

Pleasant Home

 

Piece N Quilt

ME!  These were made using a super fun "sketch stitching" applique method.  Very easy and the results are very forgiving.

So.  Let's talk about how raw edge applique is done.  The first time I tried this, I simply cut out my shape and attempted to sew it down on my background fabric.  It was pretty hard - my fabric kept shifting and my background fabric got all puckery looking.  Plus it's kind of hard to cut shapes out of flimsy, non-stiff fabric.

I have since discovered the wonders of fusible webbing.  Heat N Bond Lite is my favorite, but you can also use Wonder Under or Steam-A-Seam Lite.

Basically, this stuff is a paper backed product that you first trace your pattern onto.  Next you'll iron it onto your fabric, with the paper side up.  Then you can cut out your shape - it's like cutting paper, WAY easier than cutting fabric.  Then you peel off the paper layer (you'll be left with this shiny stuff stuck to one side of your fabric), and iron your shape directly onto your background fabric (shiny side DOWN).  Then your shape won't budge while you stitch it down.  You can stitch it using a regular straight stitch, a zig-zag stitch, or my personal favorite - a ladder/blanket stitch.  And that's it!  Some applique patterns require layering, so make sure you plan ahead and stitch the bottom shapes down first.

The MOST important thing to remember about using fusible web for applique is that you MUST REVERSE YOUR PATTERN (if you're using an actual applique pattern, this will probably already be done for you.  But if you are just tracing an image from the internet or from a coloring book or from your own brain, this is important).  Normally this isn't a huge deal, but if you are doing something like letters and you don't reverse them before tracing them onto the paper side - your letters will come out backwards.

Now that I've explained the whole process, go check out these posts for more in-depth tutorials (with PICTURES).

Nikki in Stitches:  Raw Edge Applique Tutorial

April Rosenthal:  Machine Applique Tutorial

I'm planning to provide some basic shapes and letters for those who come to quilt class, but if you have something else in mind - by all means, bring it!  As long as it's smaller than 12" (or 9") square, and you can trace it, you're good.  :)  Everybody is going to make whatever shapes they choose and I'll talk about the basics of machine applique.  I'll probably make my block with a group of 3 or 4 flowers.
These are the shapes and letters I'm planning to provide:
Homemade Gifts Made Easy: Free Applique Patterns


And now let's talk about turned under applique.  Normally you would do one of two things.  1.  Trace your design directly onto the back of your fabric, cut approximately 1/4" from the line, then fold/iron the outside edges under the line you drew.  2.  Cut your shape from a piece of cardstock or paper, cut your fabric slightly larger, then fold/iron the outside edges around the edge of the cardstock.

I have found two methods that are even easier and pretty genius, actually.  The first uses another type of fusible web for giving your shapes a "turned under" look, while also holding your shapes in place while you sew by hand or machine:

The Crafty Quilter:  Turned Edge Applique Tutorial

The second method uses starch and freezer paper to get nice, crisp edges that won't move around while you're trying to stitch them down:

A Little Bit Biased:  Freezer Paper Applique

And there you have it.  Pretty much everything I know about applique.  Any questions?

Here's the link:  WHW RS Sampler Quilt Class: Block 11: Applique

WHW RS Sampler Quilt Class: Block 9: Hourglass (More Triangle Blocks)

This block looks complicated, but if you can make an HST, you can make an hourglass block.

I have since realized that our blocks will end up colored differently than this one... Ours will only have two colors.  You could make one with four colors, but you'll have lots of triangles left over (enough for a second block, actually).

In doing research for these quilt class posts, I've come across a lot of Jenny Doan's Missouri Star Quilt Company YouTube tutorials.  When I first discovered them I didn't give them much thought, since most of her tutorials are for blocks I already know how to make.  But now I wish I had taken her more seriously sooner!  She's seriously a genius - most of her tutorials include little tricks for making the block construction even quicker!  If you're ever in need of a quick quilt pattern, check out her feed.  Most of her tutorials are for layer cakes and charm packs, so if you hate cutting - you will love these.  :)
Okay.  Moving on.  Check out Jenny Doan's videa for making hourglass blocks.  This is exactly what we'll be doing in class, only with different measurements:

Missouri Star Quilt Company:  The Hourglass Quilt Block

These two quilts come with tutorials (they are pretty much the same, and both good) for making the hourglass blocks - just with an extra step.  This extra step gives you more options for mixing your fabrics up a little bit.  Either way, you'll end up with 4 total triangles per fabric, same as in the Missouri Star tutorial.

Cluck Cluck Sew

Diary of a Quilter

And here are a few more hourglass quilts:

Amy's Creative Side

My Fabric Obsession

Beech Tree Lane Handmade

For our alternate block, we're making another block with triangles.  The Economy block was all the rage a few years ago when everybody was making them with fussy cut centers.  Fussy cutting is when you cut your square around a specific image on your fabric.  Here's a quick tutorial on fussy cutting:
Cut To Pieces:  Fussy Cutting with a Square Ruler

Here are some examples of Economy Block quilts:

Michael Ann Made

Wombat Quilts

Sew Delicious

I don't know any cool tricks for making these Economy blocks, but they are fun!  After making all those blocks with triangles in them, this is the first time we will actually be cutting our fabric into triangles and sewing the triangles onto our blocks.  :)
Here are two excellent tutorials on the method:
Red Pepper Quilts:  Economy Block Tutorial
Sew Can She:  Classic Economy Block
And this tutorial comes with a handy cheat sheet for making these blocks in ANY size:
Catbird Quilt Studio:  Economy Block Any Size

And there you have it!  This will be our last pieced block, can you believe it?  Up next - Applique!

Here's the link:  WHW RS Sampler Quilt:  Block 9:  Hourglass