Faced Machine Appliqué

In this method, you'll add a facing to the appliqué piece. I used a lightweight interfacing with fusible on ONE SIDE ONLY (Pellon's Featherweight). You could use an interfacing with no fusible or lightweight washaway stabilizer. Some use USED dryer sheets--if you decide to go this route, Debbie Kravotil suggests putting them through the wash one more time to make sure the softener chemicals are out.

1. Trace the shape of your flower onto the non-fusible side of the interfacing. (the interfacing can be a rough cut square that is larger than the flower pattern--with room for seam allowance all the way around.
   
   
2. Lay the fabric right side up on the table and position the interfacing on top, fusible side down.
   
   
3. Sew along your drawn line--ALL the way around. Trim the fabric and interfacing away 3/16-1/4 outside your seam. Clip any inside curves in the seam allowance.
   
   
   
4. Carefully slit the interfacing and turn your flower. Use your finger or other blunt tool to make sure the edges are completely turned and nice and smooth. If you used interfacing with fusible, DO NOT PRESS.
   
   
   
5. Prepare the center in the same way
   
   
   
   Your appliqué pieces are ready to go.
   
   
   
   
6. Center the flower on the background square. If you are using single-sided fusible, you can press the flower onto the background --this will fuse it in place. Otherwise, pin it.
   
   
7. Stitch around the flower. If you are using an open zig-zag, the stitch will be ON the flower, zigging onto the background. If you are using a blind hem, you'll be stitching on the background right next to the flower and the stich will take a bite into the flower. If you are using a straight stitch, you want to stitch very close to the edge.
   
   
8. Flip your block over and cut away the background behind the flower, leaving a generous 1/4 inch.

9. Add the center of the flower in the same way. Fuse and sew the center to the Flower fabric. Flip it over and trim away the flower fabric behind the center.
   
   
   
10. Square up the finished block and trim to 8.5 inches and you're done ;-)
    
    
    
    This block was sewn with clear mono-filament using the blind hem stitch.
    

Intro to Machine Applique

In July, 2007 the Beginner Block Lotto choice was this Posy block--it's a great one to try or practice turned-under machine applique.



I made five blocks using three different techniques (with one variation) and three different stitches on the machine and took photos along the way. You can view my step-by-step photos with commentary on Flickr in my set Notes for Machine Appliqué Posies. I'll also go through them here--to make it easier to print them off for reference. As always, all the images are clickable for a larger image.

ABOUT THREAD AND STITCHES

Using these techniques, there will be nice, turned under edges on the appliqué. You want the nice edge to be the feature, not the thread. Use a clear (or smoke) mono-filament or mono-poly or thread in a matching color.

Three kinds of machine stitches work well with these techniques.

1. Blind Hem Stitch - when using this stitch, the straight stitches go into the background at the applique edge, then the zig stitch comes into the appliqué.
   
   
2. Zig-Zag Stitch - this is an open zig zag, not a heavy satin stitch. Use this stitch On the applique, at the edge.
   
   
3. Straight Stitch - even IF your machine only sews a straight stitch, you can still do machine appliqué. In fact, Jane Sassaman recommends using a straight stitch to highlight the nice turned under edge.
   

PREPARING THE BACKGROUND FABRIC

First, two things about backgrounds.

1. For all three of the methods I will describe, take a minute and starch the background squares. I usually spray the fabric pretty heavily, wait for it to soak in a bit, then press and repeat.
   
   
2. Applique sometimes pulls the background in a bit, so start with a background square a little larger then you need and square up after the block is complete. For Posy blocks for the lotto, I started with 9-inch squares and squared them up to 8.5 inches for a block that will finish at 8 inches.
   

A Walk Before the Storm

Yesterday, my patio was a snow drift and the pond beyond was solidly frozen and hidden under more snow.

This morning, I woke up, looked out and was shocked to see grass, the patio, the pond and very little snow. The day was dark and gray, but surprisingly warm (above freezing). I knew if I wanted a walk outside this week, today was the day.

I intended to go to the park, but decided it would be even darker among the trees and took a walk through the neighborhood instead. It felt so good to be comfortably outside. As I neared home, the wind picked up and it started to rain. I knew the storm was on the way.

The high today was 44F. The forecast high for tomorrow is 15F. And tonight:

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 12 PM EST WEDNESDAY

...Winter Weather Advisory Remains In Effect From 7 PM This Evening To 12 PM EST Wednesday...

One To Three Inches Of Snow And Plummeting Temperatures Tonight Will Make Roads Very Slippery. Blowing Snow Could Result In Near Zero Visibility At Times As Winds Gust Over 40 Mph. Expect Hazardous Travel Conditions Tonight Through Wednesday Morning. Scattered Power Outages Are Also Possible Tonight And Wednesday Due To The High Winds.

I'm glad I made the time to walk today, in the gray before the storm.

More Car-inspired Art

This Ferrari sportscar was knit by Lauren Porter for her honours degree at Bath Spa University.The classic red bodywork consists of 250 squares of garter stitch made by Lauren and 20 family members and friends.

The windows are V-shaped stocking stitch, while the details are crochet and the badge is embroidered.

It's all supported by a steel frame which Lauren welded herself.

Found on Ananova.

Squashed

Week three of Walking in This World found me feeling stuck and frustrated (and perhaps a little squashed.)

Morning Pages: 7 of 7 days.

Artist Date: I went to the produce store, planning to bring home the unusual or new-to-me and cook something new and interesting.



Along with the usual, I brought home mangos, ripe, ready to eat peaches (a luxury in January) and something called Opal Squash. When I got it home, I found that I didn't have any information or recipes for opal squash, nor could I find any online, so when it came to cooking it, I was on own. It blended nicely with some spinach and roasted tomatoes, garlic, cumin and jalapeno pepper . . . with a glass of chardonnay, it was quite nice.

Walk: I didn't. The weather was especially cold and snowy and as much as I liked the idea of the task (since my morning pages had become quite negative), I didn't think I could accomplish it inside.

The rest: I didn't make the collage either. Mostly because of my health issues, I spent the week feeling very frustrated and squashed by the experience of dealing with the medical community and insurance companies. Despite all that, I did get some valuable perspective that will help me move forward from this stuck spot. Stay tuned . . .

Dirty (Car) Pictures

Scott Wade creates art in Central Texas on the dusty rear windows of cars like this one. Check out the Dirty Car Art Gallery on his site for more interesting, temporary art.

It Made My Day

Meeri gifted me with the award . . . and it made my day.

I don't think a lot about the number of visitors or number of comments, etc., this blog receives. I write mostly for myself and to keep in touch with friends. It always makes my day when I realize someone is reading along or identifies with something I've written or done.

The rules of this game are:

Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times,

I read and enjoy so many blogs . . . and am grateful for the feedreader I use which makes it easy to keep track of them all.

Hoping I don't offend anyone by leaving them off this list, here are eleven of many which often make my day . . . I couldn't stop at 10 ;-)

Amy's Adventures in Blogland
Becky's Quiltblog
Catlineye_Maker
Kate's Quilting (and other Fiber Arts) Blog
Northern Quilter
Pieces from my Scrapbag
Quilts and Kids
The Calico Cat
Thinking Out Loud
Thoroughbreds and Threads
Winnowings

Many of these blogs belong to infrequent bloggers and it always makes my day when I see a new update on their lives.

Playing with Blocks

What a luxury for me to start working on the lotto blocks mid month, instead of scrambling to put something together for the early sneek peek and to be really ready at the beginning of the month. Thank you again, Kate, for affording me the luxury of time.

Today, I worked on my January contribution, 6.5 inch string blocks in light dark pairs.



I also started planning and pulling fabrics for the next few months of the Birthday Block Swap. Next month, it's my turn to receive blocks, so once again, I'm enjoying the luxury of a bit of time. Here's the last block I made, for Diane. She wanted 12 inch blocks in purple batiks on a creamy background.



I'm really looking forward to seeing the quilts that will be made from this swap.

The Library of Congress Flickr Pilot

Mrs. Bill Stagg with state quilt that she made, Pie Town, New Mexico. A community settled by about 200 migrant Texas and Oklahoma farmers who filed homestead claims ... Mrs. Stagg helps her husband in the field with plowing planting, weeding corn and harv
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

This photo of Mrs. Bill Stagg with the state quilt that she made was taken in 1940 by Lee Russell in Pie Town, New Mexico. (Click the photo for a larger image . . . and a better look at her quilt.) It's one of more than 3,000 photos that the Library of Congress has uploaded to Flickr as part of a pilot. They invite viewers to explore and help identify and tag the photos.

There are currently two sets of photos. Color images from the 1930's and 40's (including the image above and the great image Amy posted earlier this week) and News photos from the 1910's. You can read more about the pilot on CNET, or just explore the photos and enjoy . . . and maybe help the Library of Congress by adding tags to the photos.

Chick Flicks and Winter Walks

This is my week 2 check-in for Walking in This World. As Linda explained so well last week, Walking in this World is a 12 week (one chapter per week) workshop sort of book designed, so it says, to jump-start your creative impulse if it is stalled, or let it flow more smoothly if not.

Morning pages: 6 of 7 days

Artist date: I don't think I've been to a movie in more than a year–on some level I think I've been fearful of falling asleep, and movies are one of the many things that had been dropped from my life. I treated myself to one.

I thought the writing could have been stronger, but, as a fan of both Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah and someone who is easily amused, I enjoyed this light-hearted chick flick.

Walk: My one walk this week was a city walk to the library and around the small park across the street. It was 30 degrees and sunny. The temperatures have since dropped into the teens with some serious wind chill numbers and the forecast is that they will stick there for a while . . . I have a feeling I'll be walking in the mall or around the indoor track at the gym next week.

The rest: As someone who has taken many paths in life and is often drawn in many directions–artistically, professionally and personally–being reminded this week that an artist's path is NOT LINEAR was quite comforting to me.

When I talk about my health, I almost always say that I want my life back. The exercises this week reminded me of some of the things that used to be part of my life before I became more and more tired and those things fell away. I am ready for some bigger than (my current) life expansion.

I experienced some synchronicity this week when I went back to the gym to talk about getting back into the exercise habit and ended up talking with a personal trainer there who works with clients facing similar medical challenges to mine.

I Don't Know Why, but

. . . this makes me smile.



I'm too braindead to post my check-in tonight . . . tomorrow, I promise. And some quilt content soon, too.

A Car for Fabric Lovers

BerlinFeb2007Jose 111 (Medium)
Originally uploaded by rako

I love this Toile covered–or more likely painted–Peugeot that I surfed past on Flickr.

Do you suppose it has a toile interior, too?

WITW - Week 1

Checking in at the end of Week 1 of Walking in This World:

Morning Pages - 7 days
Walks - 1
Artist Date - yes, and this artist's model came home with me–she's walking, can you tell? I went to Barnes & Noble and just browsed for an hour. I don't go to bookstores much anymore . . . it's so much easier to order online and a lot less overwhelming. I couldn't believe the volume of diet and self-help books. It's been forever since I looked at new cookbooks, flipped through travel books or checked out new mysteries by some of my favorite authors.

Stash-busting: Stalled . . .

My 30's stash reduction project is stalled . . .



Next up is an appliqué border, more vines and fried egg flowers. I started thinking about changing those snowball blocks and need to make that design decision before moving on.

A Hint for Diane

I'm playing catchup with Kate's Birthday Block swap. I finished Diane's block today (for a very belated December birthday).

It will go into the mail tomorrow, but I couldn't resist this little in progress shot. The color isn't great (those really are two purple fabrics and a buttery colored background.

That's a quarter on top of the dark square in the lower right corner, to give you an idea of the size of these tiny bits.

I really love this kind of swap. It's fun to make one special block for each birthday girl.

Call me Clueless

You know I can't resist these things:

Take the Quiz here!

Drink Your Vegetables

Lately, this has replaced my morning latté–it's tastes like ginger lemonade, but is full of the goodness of all that green stuff. It's Green Lemonade from The Raw Food Detox Diet, by Natalie Rose. The bright green color is a little shocking, but the taste is seriously yum. Who needs coffee?

The recipe is easy. Juice a head of Romaine, a bunch of kale, a couple inches of ginger, half a lemon and an apple.

If, like me, you don't eat as many leafy greens as you know you should . . . consider drinking your vegetables.

One More Time with Feeling

Six months later, new place, twice as long, but still very familiar.



Since the CPAP machine wasn't helping (and actually was making things much worse for me), once again I was wired up and sleeping with an audience. This time with a different machine (BiPAP) and the added bonus of a 12 hour "nap test" the next day–still fully wired . . . and still in my pajamas. The daytime test looks for things like narcolepsy and other reasons that I may be so unexplicably exhausted all day long. Ever the optimist, along with a quilt and my pillow, I brought lots of things to keep me entertained between the six scheduled naps: yarn and needles for a pair of socks, a couple books, a magazine, a needle-felting kit and . . . my laptop. By the end of the day, I had read a few chapters, cleaned up some files and knit the one inch cuff on the first sock.

What was I thinking? Just like at home these days, I couldn't really manage to focus on anything for very long and accomplished very little.

2008 - Here We Come

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better [wo]man.
- Benjamin Franklin

Need a Project Runway Fix?

Check out Project Runway Canada. The entire first season is sliced up into approximately 10 minute chunks and available on YouTube. Episode 1 begins here: