I sure vote for country cottages
MelodyP MO/KS:The Garden Party looks fun, would it be suitable for a beginner?
maybe not, melody, i would stick with the cottages.
the applique itself in garden party is pretty easy, it's the putting it together that is tricky. it is hard to applique on large pieces. let me rephrase that. it is hard to work in the center of large pieces. so for instance, look at the flag. you would need to sew the bottom of the flag pole on the birdhouse post block first and leave the upper part flapping while you appliqued the rest of the post and flowers. on the flag block you need to sew the flag down, sew it to the kitty block above, sew the attached kitty and flag block to the attached birdhouse and post blocks, then stitch the pole, which has to line up pretty straight with the flag. tricky getting all the moving parts to go together properly. if you are a confident beginner and like challenges and can punt if things don't go right, ie., add a flower or bug when the pieces don't line up. you could do this pattern easily. maybe not easily, but it's doable. there are a lot of overlapping parts on this quilt that make it so tricky.
you've only done one heart, i would hate for you to get frustrated. i recommend you do the cottages and then we'll talk about tackling this one.
gini in north idaho
melody, once you have an entire quilt done in the cottages, you will be a confident appliquer. there are a lot of techniques that i could show you in person as you go along to make it easier, but if you really like applique and enjoy doing the cottages, you might think about taking a class in applique to learn some time saving techniques. i can get a lot of info to you by finding videos on youtube, or taking pictures of myself at work. i am a pretty competant appliquer, but i learn something new everytime i take a class.
i don't remember who wanted the beginner books, but i finally found them. my two favorites are my favorites because they discuss everything fomr fabric selection to grain of fabric to putting the designs on the fabric to the applique itself.
Perfect Hand Applique, by the thimblelady, Liuxin Newman
The New Applique Sampler, Learn To Applique The Piece Of Cake Way, Goldsmith and Jenkins.
there are lots of good books out there, you might check your library to see what they have.
Gini, I will go with whatever the group decides. I prefer one a little challenging but easy is good too. I'm not a big fan of the cottages but if that is what the group wants to do I can always embellish mine.
aka Grandma Sunshine
My vote is for Country Cottages (I have printed them all out), but I also have the Garden Party pattern.
If I had a choice it would be more for Garden Party than the Cottages. I like the one with the birds (cardinals) best. I think that is the Christmas one.
I like the cottages one. It's really cute!
Chicagoland, Illinois
gini: kris, i think that would be a better project for the crazy group. it looks like all the blocks are a pieced heart with a monthly banner. maybe, not, the first heart wasn't crazy pieced. hmmm
kris, i think that would be a better project for the crazy group. it looks like all the blocks are a pieced heart with a monthly banner. maybe, not, the first heart wasn't crazy pieced. hmmm
Gini,
I thought so too but she appliqués the heart to the background so it could be easy for beginners. They would have practice doing hearts.
With all due respect i will stay out of this one, as you know im still bringing up the A*** end of the wildflowers and no doubt by the time ive finished it you will be choosing next years project, also since ive just quit my job i cant really afford to buy any new patterns plus ive also got my Applique Hawaiian 12 days of Christmas quilt which also keeps me out of trouble (well almost)
lots of love
Francesxx
frances, the country cottages are free to download, and i'm sure you have enough fabric hidden under your bed to do them. : )
Gini ,as I was a terrible failure at the wild flowers . LOL I might give the cottages a try , I need something bigger and less skilled to work on, then maybe I can go back at some point and retry the wildflowers. Barbara
EAT!! SLEEP !! QUILT!!
The Garden Party pattern is giving me fits. Where do I find it? There are dozens on the web, but none looking like applique blocks. But I am a beginner. I jumped right in on the wildflowers and found I need some skills first. I have downloaded the country cottages and will do them, but may try some in the garden party.... if I can ever find the pattern.
jan in Rochester
hi jan, it is a buggy barn pattern. i'll get the link for you