Post-Retreat Report

So… the High Point Quilt Guild’s annual “Drop Everything and Just Quilt!” Retreat was last week, hence the reason there was no blog from me.  Instead, I was with 32 other quilters at Haw River State Park, quilting four days away.

Boy, did I have a good time!  And boy, do I love those ladies.  They are sorely missed as this week I had to get back to reality and my “real job.” 

Unfortunately, I have no photos of the retreat.  In the process of getting my things hauled from the DH’s truck to the main room, I left my camera in the cab and by the time I realized it, he was long out of sight.

But trust me when I say a good time was had by all and a lot got done.  I finished three quilt tops, my next round of the Round Robin, sewed over half the strips for my Double Wedding Ring, and almost finished Peppermint Place.

Two of the quilt tops I made were doll quilts for my two grand darlings.  I’m not sure which one will go to Evangeline and which will go to Elli, but there are dolls and doll beds to accompany each of the quilts.  I have one quilt marked and will quilt that one out hopefully this weekend. 

 One of the doll quilts sandwiched and marked for quilting

 Back of the above doll quilt

Second Doll Quilt

Before I left, I did the center square for my Raspberry Swirl flannel quilt.  It’s a fairly simple pattern – the pieces are large and the most complicated technique is half-square triangles. Patterns like this lend themselves very well to flannels as long as the biased edges aren’t exposed until the last minute and the fabric is pressed and not ironed.  There is also some flannel applique involved. Lots of fun stuff!

 

I promise there will be more next week.  I’ve received several suggestions for topics that should be pretty interesting. 

Love and Stitches,

 

Sherri

Make Me a Blessing

We give a lot away as quilters.  The first thing that comes to a lot of quilters’ minds over this statement is money.  And indeed we do give a lot of our hard-earned cash out for fabric and patterns and machines and classes.

We also give away a lot of quilts.  Almost every quilter I know of richly blesses her family (and quite a few of her friends) with the quilts he or she makes.

Quilters are giving folks.  If we feel like an organization or a person needs a quilt, we usually step right up to the batting box and either pull a quilt out of our stash or put one together.

And that’s wonderful.  Let me encourage you to continue to do so.  And if you quilt and haven’t blessed some of these organizations with the work of your hands, let me tell you straight up, you’re missing a blessing.

There are national organizations such as Project Linus (quilts for kids) and Quilts of Valor (for those that serve in our Armed Forces) that accept quilts.  If this sounds like something that’s right up your alley, be sure to go to their websites and read the requirements before whipping up your quilted donation. 

If local needs tug at your heart, call your community hospital and ask if chemo patients  need quilts to keep them warm during their treatments, or if their children’s wing needs quilts or even the newborn and maternity department have a need.  Be sure to clarify what is expected:  Do they want the quilts washed before you bring them?  Are rag quilts okay?  What size is preferred?

The local law enforcement folks are another organization that may appreciate quilts (and teddy bears and/or dolls) for the wee ones they are involved with.  Removing a child from an abusive environment is hard, and sometimes something warm and wonderful to hang on to and snuggle goes a long way. 

Other organizations have needs that don’t involve quilts so much, but if you are a person who loves to sew regardless of the project involved, Project Alight has a need for mastectomy pillows.  These pillows take two small pieces of flannel and something to stuff the pillows with.  Be sure to go to their website and read the size requirements.  Hospice often needs Fidget Blankets for their Memory Wings. Brenner’s Children’s Hospital loves colorful pillowcases for their patients.  And of course there’s the Pillowcase Dress project for the girls of many third world countries. 

Lastly, and the one that tugs at my heartstrings the most, is the need that some hospital have for preemie burial gowns.  Many times these young hospital patients don’t get the chance to go home with their families.  And many times either the parents can’t afford a tiny gown to put on their child or there just isn’t one available that’s small enough.  If you feel that this is a need you would like to fill, contact your local hospital and see if that’s something you could do for them.

And if you’re an animal person, here’s something you may want to check into.  Many of the local animal shelters need dog beds.  Save your scraps and use them to stuff a dog bed that you make.  Shelters also may have specific sizes in mind, so do call them before blessing our furry friends with anything.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are quickly approaching and most of us are fortunate enough to have to buy gifts for family and friends.  We look forward to dinners and parties and turkeys and trees.  We are blessed.  But there are many that are struggling with circumstances beyond their control that we can bless with the work of our hands. 

Be that blessing.

Love and Stitches…

 

Sherri

 

Living with the Fray

This week I want to continue talking about flannel quilts, highlighting using flannel with applique.  I belong to a group that is using Bonnie Sullivan’s Bertie projects and we’ve used wool on flannel and flannel on flannel for the applique.

 

Let me just say upfront that flannel is wonderful to needle turn or use the freezer paper applique method.  It responds well to either.  However, at this point, I want talk about raw-edge machine applique and the use of flannel.

After the background for applique piece is cut (remember to allow for the “fray” margin, although with machine applique you are actually handing the fabric less, thus the flannel does not fray quite so badly), stabilize it with your choice of stabilizer.  I use Sew Knit from Pellon.  I cut the stabilizer about a quarter inch larger than the background and press it on.

 

  Notice that I am using an applique pressing sheet as I do this.  This handy-dandy little tool is like Teflon for quilters.  Nothing sticks to it.  So you can iron fusible web or iron on stabilizer or interfacing on the surface and the fabric will release quickly and cleanly. 

 

After the stabilizer is pressed, cut the excess from around the background.  Then closely examine the fabric.  Flannel tends to have that cling factor – it picks up every little fiber and thread around it.  I go over mine with one of those lint rollers that can be picked up at the Dollar Store (those things are incredibly handy to have in your sewing room for a myriad of reasons).  This gets rid of even the tiny threads I can’t see.

 

One of the most frustrating things I had to overcome with flannel is that I couldn’t use a light box with it (at least most of the flannel).  Good quality flannel is not thin, so a light box is of no use.  I had to get used to “eyeballing” the layout and transferring that to the background.  For a long time not only was I not used to this, I didn’t like it.  It wasn’t precise enough.  However, given time for trial and error, I have come up with a method that I can live with. 

The first step is to mark the center width and the center height with some type of marker.  I use the Miracle Markers on the dark fabric.   I like this marking system for dark fabrics and flannels, however, it’s important to remember that it disappears with heat.  So all the applique pieces will have to be placed exactly where you want them before pressing any of them. 

 

The next step is to also mark the center width and height of the applique layout diagram:

 

This layout diagram by Bonnie is very small, but it still allows me to see that the center of the flower is not exactly on the center line of my background and I can adjust accordingly.  It shows me where the parts of the bird need to be positioned in reference to the center lines and the edges of the background fabric.  This still isn’t exact, but it gets close enough that I can live with it!

You will also notice that I drew in the lines for my vines and stems so I could place my bluebells and know where the berries will go.  The berries have not been cut out yet.  I still like to do any circles with Perfect Circles and applique those by hand.  As much as I do love machine applique, circles on the machine are difficult and I have not perfected them yet.

 

Once everything is in place (and a stiletto helps with placement – especially small pieces), press all the applique pieces in place at once…and notice that all my placement markings have disappeared.

 

From this point on, raw-edge flannel applique can be handled in the same way as raw-edge applique with cotton fabric.  However, there are a couple of very important factors to keep in mind.

First is once again the “fray factor.”  You will want to make sure that the edges of the flannel applique pieces are as encased with thread as you can.  So first let’s talk about thread.  From my previous blog about thread, everyone knows that I love long-staple cotton thread.  So pick quality thread that closely matches the color of your applique pieces.  I like Mettler thread for applique and have used it for years.  I choose the cotton finish for flannel applique, as it does have more of a folk-art appearance and the cotton thread blends well with that.  Save the silk finish for delicate cotton fabric applique.

 

Last spring at the Pigeon Forge Quilt Fest I was introduced to a new applique thread.  I had the wonderful opportunity to take a class with Sue Nickels, machine applique artist extraordinare.  She has her own line of variegated applique thread through Superior Thread Company.  This thread is simply wonderful. I love variegated thread anyway, but this thread saves you so much time.  Just think…if you have leaves on your applique and the leaves are several shades of green fabric, if you can use a variegated green thread, you probably don’t have to stop and change your thread with every fabric color. 

The only down side is that currently you can only buy it in sets instead of individual spools.  I do hope Superior Thread changes that in the future.

I use a blanket stitch with all raw edge appliques – a zig zag stitch will work just as well, but the blanket stitch is a personal preference of my own.  With either stitch, you will want your stitches close together (but not so close that it’s a satin stitch if you’re using the zig zag).  On my Janome 7700, I have found both a 1.8 for width and length is about perfect.  Line up the sewing machine needle right next to the edge of the applique fabric and be sure to use an open-toe or clear foot for visual accuracy.  Slow down your stitch speed – this is not one of those projects you can “put pedal to the metal.”  Slowing down will help you be more accurate.  The stitches on the outside of the fabric need to be as close as they can be to the edge of the fabric, and the stitches that “bite” into the fabric need to hit on inside cleanly.  Be sure to pivot the fabric as needed – don’t slide it.  If the fabric is slid, this will result in slanted, crooked stitches.  If the applique piece is small, you may find you’re having to pivot the background fabric every few stitches.

 

 

And that’s is fine.  It’s absolutely just what you need to do.

And since all of the applique pieces are pressed and fused into place, you can complete all the pieces that need one color of thread before switching to the next thread color. 

If you’re really liking machine applique, there is a book I would highly recommend – Stitched Raw Edge Applique  by Sue Nickels and Pat Holly.  It covers everything concerning raw edge applique and it has some lovely projects in it.

For those of you that have sent messages and emails concerning the rain/floods in North Carolina, thank you so much for your concern.  It is very wet here, but not nearly as bad as my coastal friends have it.  Our main concern is wind.  The ground is saturated and as the wind picks up, trees have toppled over.  It is my fervent prayer that we see blue sky and bright, yellow sun next week.

Love and Stitches…

Sherri

PS – Remember, all products, books, and patterns mentioned in my blog have been purchased by me.  I’m not on any of these folks’ payroll and I mention them because I do use them and have found them wonderful.