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

Life is Good (When You're Retired)

This is just a quick post to let you all know I completed my May goal for ALYOF.  :)

My goal was to make something (using scraps) for a friend of mine who is retiring after 24 years of teaching.  She was the teacher who taught next door to me during my whopping 5 years of teaching third grade.  She was a fabulous teacher, mentor, and friend.  She was always so good to let me come in and rant or bounce ideas off her.  She is the kind of person who is absolutely bursting with energy and is constantly on the move.  :)  When things were going well, or when they started to get stressful, she would just brush it aside and remind us all that "life is good."  She was ALWAYS saying that.

Of course, since I HAD to make her something, I decided to go for some embellished kitchen towels.  I traced the alligator (the school's mascot) off of one of our school t-shirts and appliqued everything onto the towels, then added the ruffles.  I was thrilled to finally have a use for this big huge strip of relatively cheap red fabric that I just can't bring myself to use in a quilt.  :)  Hopefully it works okay as a towel...

I'm not sure if my friend is going to be spending more or less time in the kitchen now that she has all that free time, and her kitchen probably isn't red, but she LOVED the towels.  :D

 I'm linking up with Shanna and Melissa over at the Lovely Year of Finishes party:

My goal setting post is HERE.  My entry was #104.


And now for my June goal.  I've been working on these super fun blocks using Geta's "Building Fun" pattern (which is totally on sale until tomorrow!).  The plan for June is to finish up the blocks and sew them into a top.  I'm crossing my fingers that the stripes aren't too busy...

P.S. Don't forget to go vote for your favorite quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival!  Voting closes on May 30th!

 You can find my quilt here:  Viewer's Choice
and here:  ROYGBIV

Twin Boy Onesies and Bibs

One of our cousins just had twin boys.  When I first found out they were having twins I was SUPER excited for them and knew right away that I had to make something awesome for them, even though they live in a different state and none of my other far away cousins got something for their babies.  :)  I guess I'm too partial to twins.  But I'm getting more into this applique thing, who knows what will be next?

After browsing the new mama's Pinterest board for inspiration, this is what I came up with:

The parents are big baseball fans, so I was excited to use a little bit of this baseball fabric I picked up at a yard sale!  Of course, I had to make something with some super cute ties! 

Peanut Butter and Jelly always go together.

I wanted to do something a little extra for these bibs, so I found THIS pattern and embroidered it onto some flannel.  Of course, I don't have an embroidery machine, so all of that stitching was done by hand.  Let's just say it kept me busy during a road trip...

I found the frog fabric in my stash and HAD to use it (I think it was a yard sale find as well).  The little appliqued frogs were totally an after thought.  They were left over from cutting the hole out of the bib for the neck.  What do you think?  Do you like them?

I really love using towels to back my bibs with.  SO easy and cheap and effective.

While we're talking about bibs, I also made this cutie for a neighbor girl who just turned one.   I snapped a quick picture about five minutes before the party (are you surprised?), so this is all I've got.  It's a toddler sized bib - about twice as big as the twin ones, and I stitched around one of those pink butterflies to secure the bib/backing a tad more.  It was SO FUN to get to work with girly fabric!

Since I was in the mood, I decided to whip up a few more bibs for my messy, growing toddler boys.  I ended up making six (three for each of them).  I picked up some flannel at a yard sale for a STEAL awhile ago.  Most of it was smaller pieces, so I had to mix and match a little.  I like the extra weight flannel gives to bibs. 
Here they are!

Rummy Royal II and III

Things have been quiet around here, but that is because I have been busy making gifts!  (And cleaning like crazy.  Our renters moved out and it took two and half weeks to bring the apartment back up to snuff.  :(  Then we bought a house and now I've got to clean OUR apartment - but we bought a house, YAY!!)

Anyway, now that these gifts have been gifted, I can blog about them...

I made both of my dads a Rummy Royal mat, like the one I made for myself.  The Rummy mat has been a huge success and now I won't have to remember to pack mine up every time we visit the family!

My original Rummy mat was made octagonal, which created a problem for anyone who wants to add the "Aces" element to the game.  (If you want to know more about how to play Rummy Royal - check this out:  Rummy.com.  It's a super fun game.).   On the original, I didn't haven anywhere to put the Ace corners, so I just split the Kitty section in half and put them there.  It was a little confusing (just trust me on that one if you've never played before), but I still liked the octagon shape.

After some thought, I decided to make one square mat and one octagonal mat to see which one I liked best.  The square one is for the Dad who introduced me to the game, the octagonal one is for my own Dad. 

Here is the square one:

The suits in the corner are for those who like to bet on the aces. 

This one uses Timeless Treasure Sketch fabrics, just like the original.

My applique skills have improved SIGNIFICANTLY since my last Rummy mat.  These look TONS better.  I really like the appliqued Kitty over the FMQ Kitty I attempted on the original.

The Hubby chose the backs for me - isn't he nice?  I brought out about a dozen prints from my "yard or more" stash and he picked two.  I think this one worked out great.

For binding, I used the same sketch fabrics as the center and attempted to make the center colors match up with the binding colors.  I ended up with slightly more than I needed in yellow and orange, so some of the corners ended up a little wonky with the extra fabric.  Oh well. :)


Here is the octagonal one:

I went back and forth on how to quilt these.  I wanted to try something different on one of them - maybe something with intersecting lines or something.  In the end, I quilted both mats with this spiral octagon.  I felt that having something that laid flat and was evenly and densely quilted was most important.  Thanks again, Mom, for the walking foot!

I wanted to try a scrappy center for this one, so I pulled some green, orange, and blue.  I've got a little bit of Kona, Lizzy House, Tula Pink, and Amy Butler in there.

I combined the aces suits with the kitty section, but added the extra strip of fabric to help divide them and hopefully minimize confusion while playing the game.  I think it looks way better than the original.

I really struggled coming up with a good binding for this one.  Since the center was scrappy, I didn't have enough scraps to match it, so I wanted a one-fabric binding.  At first I picked out that orange/green/brown stripe.  I thought it looked pretty good with the front and even went so far as to make the binding.

 Then I realized that it looked HORRIBLE with the blue backing, so I dug through my stash and came up with this green batik that I've always had a hard time finding a place for.  I think it looks MUCH better!

I did all the binding by machine this time - I wanted it to be extra durable.  

And here's a peek at the original Rummy Royal mat!  Does anyone else want one now?

ETA:  I've created a listing for Rummy Royal mats on Etsy!  You can get your own mat HERE.

Spring/Summer Table Runner and Towels

Of course, I had to make something for my moms for Mother's Day this year.  For my mom, I had to make another table runner to go along with the fall/winter runner I gave her for Christmas.  This time it was a spring/summer runner.
Unfortunately, I don't have ANY photos from any of the steps along the way.  I must have been too busy sewing!  But I have lots and lots of finished photos...

For the Spring side, I didn't want to spend tons of time coming up with my own original idea.  Fortunately, I had the perfect pattern already available.  I won a copy of Quiltmaker magazine from Ribbon Candy Quilt Company - who is the designer of the super cute "Skinnies" pattern line.  The magazine included a pattern for this "Spring Skinnie."

I adapted the pattern a little bit to make it fit the longer table runner and I think it turned out gorgeous!  It was fun to pull out all my spring color scraps and do some matching.

The entire thing is appliqued, except for the borders, of course.

For the Summer side, I really had no clue what to do.  I searched Pinterest and eventually found this pin on one of my boards that kind of stuck:

Click on picture for link

In the end I decided to go Red, White and Blue - so this runner is perfect for the 4th of July.

Once I had decided to do the Circle of Geese blocks, I sat down with some colored pencils and several small copies of the pattern and experimented with color.  These are the three blocks I came up with, all from the same pattern!

 For quilting, I knew that I wanted something that would work for both sides of the table runner.  Last time I used fusible fleece, so I was able to do custom quilting for each side, then fuse it all together.  This time I wanted to use leftover batting that I already had on hand, plus I wanted a thinner runner.

 I wasn't able to get swirls out of my head so I ended up using Angela Walters Concentric Circles design from her book Free Motion Quilting with Angela Walters.  I was a little nervous about it because I had spent tons of time practicing it on paper and wasn't too impressed with my results.  Happily, the design looks MUCH better once it is actually quilted.  I really love how the quilting turned out.  It is dense, which is good for a table runner.  It also adds a new level of texture without interfering with the quilt design, so it is perfect.

I decided to try my hand at curved corners and they turned out great!  Because of the curves, I used bias cut binding for the first time ever (sheepish grin) and it worked beautifully.  Plus I didn't have to worry about mitered corners!  Score!

I auditioned several different fabrics for the binding - some of which probably would have been amazing, but in the end I went with this blue because it seemed the safest.  I really wanted something that would work well for BOTH sides.

And there you have it.  Another table runner.  It's about 15" x 38"


For my sweet mother-in-law, I embellished a few dish towels.  One can never have too many dish towels (especially my MIL.  She loves dish towels).  These are perfect for summer:

 

I think the watermelons are my favorite.

Up next... Father's Day!