Back to Applique Redux

I figured if I was committing to this project, I was going to be deliberate about the process.  The stabilizer arrived in advance of the quilt retreat weekend and I had a few hours to myself after work.  I used rubber cement to glue a sheet of sandpaper to the inside back cover of a half used graph paper pad and made a portable work table for tracing the template.  I sat down with a glass of wine and my mechanical pencil and opened the shrink wrapped roll of stabilizer. As we said in grammar school, " Sugar-Honey-Iced.......T."  I had ordered the regular tear away instead of the  fusible wash away stabilizer. It's a dilemma.  There's no chance that the right roll will come before I leave for my quilt retreat. Do I resort to the tried and true methods of needle-turn or templar and starch?  I think I'll pack it all and see.  Good thing there is the UFO that is the William Morris nine-patch to work on.

Back to Applique

This is the third quilt I'm doing using Barbara Brackman's collections of William Morris reproduction fabrics for Moda. This one is Tapestry.  I used jelly roll patterns for the other two quilts, but I wanted to play with EQ this time.  I finally settled on alternating scrappy nine-patches with a repeating split rail fence block. I needed two jelly rolls for the nine-patches (99 of these) as well as yardage for the split rail.  All the blocks are made and the corner and side setting triangles cut and ready to be sewn while on retreat next week.  Hooray!



Now that spring is here, I want a hand project for warm weather. I have been thinking about an Orange Peel or Jacob's Coat for a long time. Seeing this one at the Armory got me psyched, so I did a little search online and found a quilt-along that Kellie of Don't Look Now started a while ago.  Her method is appealing because the petals are appliqued onto 12" squares and cleverly sew together.in rows. Guess I won't be quilting along with too many others because from the looks of photos that the QAL members have posted, there are already finished quilts out there. I think that speaks volumes.

I love needle turn applique. Kellie has another way.  Her method is to iron on a wash away stabilizer and glue down the turned edges in advance.  I like the idea of prepping and having all those pieces ready to sew when the mood strikes.  A bit daunting though - there are 49 main blocks and a total of 688 petals.

I believe that Jacob's Coat was a many colored splendid thing.  I've pulled 172 fabrics from my stash, sorted them into color groups, ironed them and cut scraps large enough for 3 or 4 petals.  The stabilizer has been ordered and I am HOPING that it is delivered before it is time to pack for the quilt retreat.

Oh right, I have already have a project packed!

Infinite Variety - Passing it forward

If you missed the experience of the show sponsored by The Folk Art Museum, Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts or simply want another look, you can thank John Kubiniec - Big Rig Quilting. John took hundreds of photos at the Armory, NYC, earlier this month.  His partner edited them for sharing via YouTube. The files were so large they needed to be divided into three parts. Each runs for less than fifteen minutes. Take a few breaks today or watch them back to back. Either way, you'll be transported.