Aurifil Artisan Challenge :: Appliqué

During the pandemic, when we did more online shopping than normal, one of the things hubby got interested in was reduced waste items. I think it might have begun with eco-strips laundry detergent, which totally eliminated the plastic jugs our old detergent came in. Another item we tried were TruEarth wool dryer balls. So I'm not really here to laud the praises of these products - though we are still using several of them, and do check out their website if you're interested. But the little (7" x 8.5") bags the dryer balls came in were perfect for a small appliqué project - the theme of this month's Aurifil Artisan challenge. Basically, I wanted to repurpose the bags, cover up the advertising (no offense!) so they could be reused as fabric gift bags.

After mulling over a design to appliqué, I finally settled on Carolyn Friedlander's Bow pattern. Originally designed as a quilt, I printed out the pattern at 71%, which was perfect. It seemed an obvious choice to use some of my CF fabric scraps, and also used Carolyn's method of basting, though I did do mine by machine, where she usually bastes by hand. I'll be sure to try that another time!

As you can imagine, the rainbows were pretty quick to needle-turn. And perfect for the job was a spool of Aurifil 80wt #6722 [Sea Biscuit]. This thread is super thin and sleek, yet strong, and would also be great for English Paper Piecing. It took very little effort at all to hide my stitches with such a thin thread. After I stitched each curve of the rainbow, I removed the related basting stitches, which worked really well, and then I didn't have to dread doing all that at the end.

Once the rainbows were done, I trimmed 1/2" around the top curve, and turned all the edges under and pressed well. I used small, fine Little House glass head pins to place the rainbows on the bags, then appliquéd them on with the same 80wt thread. It worked perfectly, though I did learn two things, unrelated to the thread.

1. With using such a light background fabric, the lettering on the bag faintly shows through on the left rainbow above. 

2. Stitch the bottom of the rainbow first. When I started with the curve, the bottom of the bow shifted ever so slightly by the time I got to stitching it. 

Neither are deal-breakers, but things to remember in the future. Another note - because the bags were already constructed, it was just a tad finicky stitching the rainbows on, basically with one hand inside the bag so I wouldn't stitch through to the back. Appliquing before constructing the bag would obviously be a little simpler. But still, I'm super happy with how they both turned out, and am glad I gave it a go. Plus it felt good to repurpose those cute little bags!

And honestly, I'm glad I had a project that was able to use that 80wt thread, as it's lovely to work with. I'll definitely keep it in mind for my next appliqué project, that's for sure.

Minimal Day

It's been nearly a year since Seattle MQG started its 2017 block-of-the-month, each block a lesson in needle-turn applique. Jonna/@bespokeoutlaw was our hostess, presenting a project inspired by two pieces of jewelry designed by her great uncle, Russell Day. Intriguing, right? If you compare the finished quilt with the photo below, I'm sure you'll be able to see some similar shapes.

photo by Jonna Erickson-Outlaw

My fabric choices included Carolyn Friedlander's linen-cotton blend, euclid, as my background fabric; and a bundle of Anna Maria Horner voile scraps for the applique. [The prints are from her Little Folks line; the brown, I'm not sure.]



In constructing the quilt top, I chose not to use sashing, but did add uneven borders. Wanting to incorporate more AMH fabric in the back, but not necessarily voile, I was happy to find a fat-quarter of her Honor Role in my stash. Pieced with a couple of coordinating solids and some natural Essex was simple but satisfying.



Quilting was done in Aurifil 50wt 2309 (Silver White), echoing shapes in some sections, and creating improvisational designs in others, all done with my walking foot. The actual color blended into the background, while the quilting really provided some stand-out texture. Measuring 38" x 38", a binding in natural Essex finished it off in a subtle way.



I found it very compelling to create this quilt inspired by a real person's designs in a very different medium. Note to self! I did find that the combination of the Essex and my quilting made it difficult to get really clear photos. Even so, it was an enjoyable excursion back to the days where I did alot of applique, and doing so with more modern designs was a treat.



This project was on my 2017 Q4 Finish-A-Long list! If you want to see all the block designs, they can be found on the Seattle MQG website. We've tagged our Instagram posts with #seamqgbom2017 and #minimaldaysampler. Linking up with Finish It Up Friday!

Minimal Day :: Private Drive

When Jonna/@bespokeoutlaw presented this month's Seattle MQG BOM block, Private Drive, I think my jaw dropped and stayed there a while. All sleek and curvy, it was immediately intimidating. But as Jonna encouraged, I shouldn't have worried.



One tip Jonna gave was to place the curvy template on the bias. It must have helped, as I really had no problem with those curves. Another tip was to sew the perimeter of that shape before cutting out the interior portion. That really gave stability to the piece and was good advice.



This is our last block! Next month we'll finally see Jonna's own sample! I'm anxious to see how she quilted it as that is something I've been wondering about all year.

Minimal Day :: Loop

I need to have my eyes checked. Seriously. So short story, I had a little trouble seeing the minute detail of this month's block block-of-the-month for Seattle MQG - a loop involving both some serious curves as well as a deep “v” in the loop itself.

So a few tiny stitches may be visible, but I'm ok with that because everything appears secure and basically as it should be.

So far, so good, and now to wait patiently for next month....

Back in the Day

After posting my latest applique block for this year's Seattle MQG BOM, I confessed to Jonna, our hostess, that I actually had done plenty of applique back in the day, and of course she wanted to see. I had already posted about one of the quilts when I was a new blogger - a Sunbonnet Sue quilt I made for daughter dear back in 1995.

Well there was actually another that came before - Gazebo Garden, completed in 1993. I'd taken a class with Carolann Palmer, who I can't find anything about on the web, but she was a popular teacher at my local quilt shop at the time.

It was machine pieced where applicable, with needle-turn applique blocks and border, and then hand-quilted. Because for the first 20+ years I quilted, hand-quilting was all I knew.



The quilt measures 94" square and was the first quilt I ever made my mom. Besides the hand-quilting, it also has a muslin backing, since that's all I used to back my quilts for ages. And of course, the binding was bias, because that's what I first learned to make and I just thought it was what one did.

So even though Gazebo Garden might not fit with my current style and taste, it holds fond memories and looking at it at mom's the other day, I realized just how much work went into it! And of course it's a reminder of just how varied this quilting journey of mine has been.

Minimal Day :: Fringe

Who would have thought I would be so enamored with this year's Seattle MQG block-of-the-month which is all about needle-turn applique? Certainly not me. Truth is, once this month's assignment was published, I got right on it the first chance I got.

This month's "fringe" block had a little tighter curves than last month's "quarter opals", but definitely manageable. 

The directions for this, our second block, suggested we flip our template for one of the pieces, which I totally forgot in the moment. Oh well. I'm kind of loving it anyway.