Applique Club

GENERAL DISCUSSION

gini — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:11:47 GMT

now i have lost the september block. i found kris's birthday block, so i know it isn't there. patience, please while i locate it.

FANTASY FLOWERS - HEART BOUQUET - BLOCK 3

gini — Sat, 11 May 2013 03:28:02 GMT

I'm sorry folks, I got these out of order. The ipad has a mind of it's own. I wanted to show you two things with this block.

first, when I have a large appliqué, I leave it intact, just cutting the outer edges. The center I leave and cut as I go. I put the appliqué piece on the background where I want it and iron it to the background, then I pin it securely. I then thread baste it to the back ground, very securely, I don't want this large piece shifting as I sew, and remove the pins. I cut away the fabric a few inches ahead of my stitching, pin this area and snip the basting threads, just in this area. This keeps the larger pieces where I want them.

the second thing I wanted to show is placement. Look at the big white blob sorta in the center. This is the largest flower. We have a lot of stems and leaves that come together under this flower. I don't want to get the stems all stitched on and realize I was off a wee bit on one side or another. I cut this out exactly the size of my finished flower, put it on the background exactly where I want it.. This is my guide for my stems. I can see exactly where they go, their little 1/8+ seam allowances are comfortably tucked under the white guide/blob.

I use the white blob as the backing for my flower, when I am ready to stitch it down. If you have a lighter fabric that will show the seam allowance, this will hide them. It also smoothes out the edges of that flower. You have a lot of little ends hiding just under the seam, thie edge of the big flower will look a bit smoother with this under the appliqué.

Ok, so maybe I had more than two things to say. I cut the center heart out on the outer edges of the outline pattern. This will make it act liking the backing under the flower and the edges will look a bit smoother. It also insures that the center is big enough to fit under that outer border. It was basted in place along with the border fabric. Be careful making that first cut on the border fabric that you don't cut through this inner heart fabric. There I think that's all I had to say about this block.

So, these are fun blocks, going together fairly quickly once my fabrics are cut. I loved making this block.

Country Cottages - Block 2

Bigburt — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:58:56 GMT

Block my way I'm going to quilt as I go. I used candy on my roof also a fabric twist heart flower. So country cottage my way what do you thinks?

Country Cottage Discussion

Patricia Faye — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:43:14 GMT

Good morning!

This morning I will be posting each of the first 6 blocks under its own thread. As you complete a block, you can post it within the appropriate block's thread. This should make it easier for everyone to find where to post their block since everyone works at a different speed.

If you are a beginner, please don't feel pressured. My role is to work each block prior to the scheduled month and to post what I found easy and/or challenging. I'm a new appliquer too and will be very honest on my feedback for each block. We would like to hear your feedback on each block too so we can learn from each other.

I hope this works for everyone. If you have suggestions, please let me know.

Country Cottage Block 3 May

Patricia Faye — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:04:36 GMT

Here is my block:

Once you do 3 of these, adding the house parts is pretty basic. Aligning the big flower pot was a challenge. When I made the stem/stalk I didn't look at the template & after I was all finished I discovered I put it UNDER the
"soil" instead of down to the center of it.

The shamrocks were a little bit of a challenge with the V's but they turned out.

Getting better at the embroidery part! I found some cute little button beads at Walmart that were the perfect color.

Country Cottages Block 7 - September

gini — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 23:04:23 GMT

Opening thread

Country Cottage Block 6 August

Patricia Faye — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:43:01 GMT

Here is my block:

So the challenge with this block was the kite. I tried several times to get the kite panels to fit together but I couldn't get it to work. So I machine stitched the panels together for a perfect fit. The kite bows are soooo easy.

This time I'm happy with my detail embroidery. I didn't follow the instructions for this one. I found some cute little buttons to use instead of using a bead & french knots.

What challenges did you experience and how did you overcome them?

Country Cottage Block 2 - April

Patricia Faye — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:53:42 GMT

Here is my block for April:

The heart flower was a bit of a challenge since the outer border is tiny scallops. I didn't think the flower on the bottom of the flower pot was necessary because of the fabric I used so I omitted it. It was also so tiny!

The house detail are larger scallops. I'm getting better, but haven't really mastered it yet.

I'm also improving on the house embroidery.

I used a heart button for the door knob too.

I'm happy with it!

Country Cottage Block 5 July

Patricia Faye — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:28:45 GMT

Here is my block:

So several parts of the hanging basket were particularly challenging! I had to work & rework the shepherd's hook several times before I could get it to look like the template. The basket handle was another wonky piece. I tried & tried to get it rounded but finally gave in & let it go as it was. Maybe it's blowing in the wind?

Although the pansies turned out nice, the petals were small & a little difficult to handle because of my fabric selection.

I'm still not really happy with the embroidery detail on the house. I may add to this one too.

What challenges did you have?

Country Cottage Block 4 June

Patricia Faye — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:16:18 GMT

Here's my block:

I love this block. I think it is the easiest so far. What do you think?

The eggs & tulips were fairly easy. I improved on my leaves. Those little ends required a little bit of reworking until I got the points right.

For the embroidery detail I used some small beads I found at Walmart. So I didn't do the lazy daisy or french knots. I may go back & add leaves but will have to look at it for a while before making my final decision.

COINTRY COTTAGES COMPLETED

gini — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 23:11:51 GMT

Patricia Faye, I opened this thread for all the completed quilts, I can't move you photo, if you have time, you can post your quilt here.

FANTASY FLOWERS - BLOCK 1 - POSY

gini — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 23:08:10 GMT

New thread

WILDFLOWERS - BABY BLUE EYES

Emily — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 21:46:22 GMT

This is 6" size.

FANTASY FLOWER BLOCK- 2 -BLUE BIRD

gini — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:00:08 GMT

we will be working block 2 first. it's smaller and easier.

i do all my stems first.. if your stems are placed well the rest of the placements will be easy. next i will place the bird, then the flowers, last the large leaves. none of the appliques are exactly where they should go, close, but not exact. i leave the leaves until last to balance the placement. there is one bud that i will save for last too.

i forgot to get a picture with just the stems, and i was too lazy to take off all the flowers, but i did move half of them to give you an idea of how i approach placement, and the order of stitching. i didn't read the directions, so pearl may have a different idea. it's always good to read the directions first, right?

one thing i really like about pearl's patterns, she has little arrows showing which pieces go under the others.

one thing i don't like, she doesn't mark the center point oo the horizontal and vertical center lines. they make it way easier for placement on the background.

i will baste the pieces on before i start stitching. i have used pins before, but basting takes little time and keeps the appliques secure. i decided to make a western bluebird, they have a rosy little breast.

i'm jumping the gun a bit, posting this. please don't feel pressured into starting. i like to have my block done a month before you so you have something to refer to. i was aiming for the first of april, that may not happen. most likely it will be a mid-month start. this is a fun pattern, everybody.

he looks a bit off center and is. i cut my blocks 1 inch bigger and will square up the blocks when they are all done. the appliques look bigger than they will finish up, the seam allowances are showing.

I forgot add, I leave the calyxes unsewn. After I put the flowers under them, I will stitch them closed

and here is the finished product

WILDFLOWERS - WILD BLUE PHLOX (pattern #25)

gini — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 06:30:57 GMT

this block is fairly straight forward. the flower was one piece so i found a mottled fabric to help get some variation in color. i made the bud in three pieces like the pattern. i think using a varigated material and doing these buds in one piece will work just fine. if you look at the calyx around the bud, you'll notice that i didn't add the deep v's. my fabric wasn't happy about the teeny turn allowance and i listened to it for a change and made the calyx easier. i haven't added the embroidery yet. i'll probably wait until a get a few made. i took a picture of the blocks i have cut out. this is going to be a pretty quilt. i think we'll all be happy with this choice of pattern.

one more thing. buds are usually darker than their flower. because i am using a dark material, i need to go lighter with some of my choices. so the bud on the phlox is quite a bit lighter than the fower.

WILDFLOWERS - CHARMING CENTURY

Emily — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 05:30:24 GMT

Country Cottages Block 1

Patricia Faye — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:07:47 GMT

Welcome to Country Cottages Block 1. I'm a beginner & have taken 1 class at my LQS to learn the basics. I've also used many of the references/tutorials Gini has provided us along with her wonderful advise/suggestions. I hope everyone enjoys these blocks s much as I do.

The Cottages for these blocks have a lot of straight lines that make them fairly simple, but the rest of the block may offer a few challenges for a beginner, but don't despair. Consider each an opportunity to increase your skills.

So for Block 1 I experienced 3 challenges: (1) all the curves (V's) of the roof trim, (2) the tiny little carrot nose of the snowman, and (3) the detail on the house. (1) I referred to several tutorials on how to do the V's and ended up ripping it out several times before I was happy with it. We'll get lots of practice with these since they are on each of the cottages! (2) The carrot nose was difficult because it is so tiny! I think it took me 2 tries to get it right. I don't like tiny pieces. I know I need stronger lenses for my glasses when I can hardly see where to place my stitches! (3) I haven't done embroidery in years and had some difficulty transferring the pattern to the fabric, but I managed. Gini offered a suggestion to use Saral transfer paper so I've ordered some to try.

I used a white on white fabric for my snowman instead of felt or wool & I'm happy with the way it turned out. Here's my block:

We look forward to seeing everyone's block and hearing about any challenges you may have experienced too!

Have a great day!

New Member

Lynn — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 05:43:12 GMT

Hi! My name is Lynn and I have been quilting for about 15 years. I have been appliqueing for about 12 years. I do needle turn app and machine as well as iron on. but needle turn is my favorite. I enjoy sitting with my husband at night and doing my app. it does not seem like I am working hard and before you know it I have the blocks done. I have taught classe on applique and really enjoy it. I am so glad to have found a group that I can talk about applique and share patterns and comments. I look forward to being part of this group.

WELCOME TO THE APPLIQUE GROUP AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF

gini — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 01:02:36 GMT

hi bellarose, and welcome are you going to join us on the snowbound quilt? the patterns are free right now through bunny hill designs you can download them from their site gini

WILDFLOWERS BLOCKS FOR JULY - CALIFORNIA WILD ROSE

gini — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 06:34:46 GMT

this block was pretty easy, and even with that i got things turned around. oh well. it still looks pretty good.

i wasn't happy with this block, so i picked out the top of the small petal and inserted another fabric under it and made a double petal. i didn't like the stem so i made another one, i added an extra leaf, and i added some embroidery. somehow i put the buds in the wrong spot and that through off the balance of the entire flower. i really shouldn't be sewing late at night, evidently. anyway, while i was trimming these today, this was the one that stood out like a sore thumb.

not a perfect fix, wild roses don't have this many petals, but it works well enough for me.

GROWING IN OUR APPLIQUE

gini — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:18:35 GMT

I am going to try something here, i hope it goes well.

If you are having a design issue with your block, something isn't quite right and you don't know what's bugging you or how to fix it; i would like you to post that block here. i would like this to be a page where you can get help with design, ie: color, perspective, technique tricks.

i would like constructive criticism here. i think all of our blocks are beautiful, but sometimes a wee bit of tweaking can make them pop.

what i do want, is to be able to post a troublesome block and get ideas on what i did wrong and how could i fix it, or if it is worth the bother to fix it. what i don't want is anyone getting their feelings hurt. unless someone asks for an opinion, don't give one, and please only address the question being asked.

WILDFLOWERS BLOCKS FOR JULY - CALIFORNIA POPPY

gini — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 06:39:02 GMT

I added an extra petal to the center flower. i didn't like how it was looking. i really need to work on my embroidery. i don't like doing it so i get sloppy. i'll rip this lot out and start over.

FANTASY FLOWERS - GENERAL DISCUSSION

gini — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 02:12:00 GMT

this is going to be a fun project.

Big pieces, yippee. I haven't worked with pieces this huge in a long time. Just this once, I will switch the order of the blocks. I have a slight chance of getting block number 2 done by the first of the month. So we will be starting with block two, the bluebird. Then we will go back to block one and follow pearl's block order after that.

After looking the pattern over, I think we will be happy I picked this one. Hey, the price was right. There is a bit of reverse appliqué, I can always use more practice on that.

i won't be doing the same border, I know that right now. I have months to ponder what to do with it.

I love the little bees. I think this is a good pattern to try out some broderie perse. Find fabric that has butterflies on it and appliqué them instead of making them yourself.

this is a pastel quilt, but I want you to look at pearl's careful use of dark green and the splashes of dark rose. They are very well placed to give the quilt balance. See the big splash of dark rose in the center. I might have placed the vase on the right side, at the bottom, because it has a bit more dark green than the other two, but that's a minor point.

i am excited to get started.

Country Cottages Block 12 - February

gini — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 23:24:18 GMT

A new thread, this is

sorry folks, it kept telling me these were duplicate posts, so I had to put something different in each thread.

Country Cottages Block 11 - January

gini — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 23:20:38 GMT

This is a new thread