Appliqué love!

I love appliqué!!!

What a surprise! I really wasn't sure I could like it as much as patchwork but I do. Its completely different yet wonderfully creative. Even if you use someone else's design the colours, placement and fabrics are all your own making it just about impossible that there could be two exactly alike.

Its so versatile too, you can buy a pattern or draw your own- it doesn't matter how your picture starts. I even bought a children's colouring book at the weekend because it had a great line drawing of the African savavnnah complete with volcano in the background, another was if hot air balloons and yet another was of a mouse in a sailing boat in front of a lighthouse. The lady serving me at Waterstones laughed when I told her what I had bought it for and thought it was a clever idea do as is my style I'm already overflowing with ideas and long time plans.

Fun fun fun

Until next time
Gillian

Applique Calendar Quilt

This week I started the Calendar Quilt by Nancy Halverson/Art to Heart that I have chosen as my monthly project for 2012. My aim is to make one block each month, and as January is well under way I finally got started on it.

Firstly I traced the design onto the paper side of fusible applique paper- I've no idea of the make as I simply went to my usual fabric shop, explained what I needed, and bought the type they recommended.

I then cut the pieces out leaving a small border and then had to choose the fabric for each piece of the picture. I've bought a Nancy Halverson charm pack for the applique pieces. Mostly I need really small pieces of fabric and this was my solution to having a wide range of patterns and colours to choose from which I knew would definitely go well together. I just added a few other bits of darker colours from my stash for the log cabin.

I ironed the fusible paper onto the fabric and then cut out the pieces and then put them together to see how they looked...

I then peeled off the backing paper of the lowest layer of applique pieces and ironed them onto the backing fabric.

I did find an easy way to store the pieces when I stopped for the day--- good old A4 polypockets usually used for keeping paper in folders.

Today I actually used my sewing machine to sew around each applique piece using satin stitch.  I'm really pleased with the result. It's not finished so there is some tidying up and plenty of hand stitching to do yet- but for a first go it's pretty good (the photo doesn't really do it justice and I will take a better one when it's finished). 

Until next time

Gillian