TGIFF = An Appli-quilted Finish!

Hi, and welcome!  It's time for Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday!  So glad you stopped by!

This little gem of a quilt has been sitting in my "Box of the Unfinished" for about 8 years now!  I'm so happy to show you this finish and link up with  TGIFF.  We'll also have a little giveaway! (details below).

I ♥ LOVE ♥ Appliqué - Video Tutorial Series

I'm excited to announce that I am doing a virtual class for the Utah Quilt Guild's Spring "Remote-Fest"!

Nestled Stars ~ Storytime 30's

A new quilt for my newest grandbaby!

"Nestled Stars" featuring Storytime 30's fabrics by the Penny Rose Studio
for Penny Rose Fabrics, a division of  Riley Blake Designs.   

Sweetest fabrics, reminiscent of the 1930's sugar and flour sack covers.  Cute little prints of animals, children, dots, elephants, flowers, kitties in cups...

Autumn Love Block Party ~ Crows & Vines

It's a quilted couch pillow.

Quilted Couch Pillow by Deonn Stott
Featuring RBD Wool and Autumn Love fabric by Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet for Riley Blake Designs

Lori Holt is just wrapping up her latest sew along, Autumn Love.  Oh, my goodness!  Adorable.

"Put a Little Love in Your Quilt" - Blog Hop

Can't believe it's February already, and ♥ Love ♥ is in the air!

Applique' Sampler by Deonn Stott 2018 featuring Love Birds
by My Mind's Eye for Riley Blake Designs,
and Riley Red and White Confetti Cottons, 42" x 42" Wall Hanging

I {Heart} Applique Lesson II: Chenille Applique'

Today's tutorial features the unusual technique of DIY chenille strips for applique';  a bonus tutorial in my I ♥ Applique' series for Riley Blake Designs' "Cutting Corners College".

I remember sleeping under a chenille bedspread at my Grandma's house.  Soft, fuzzy caterpillar-like channels were stitched into a design on the blanket.  And interestingly enough, "chenille" is actually the French word for "caterpillar." 

Bear in Mind, Owl Always Love You

Aunt M Quilt Chronicles, Chapter II:  It's never too late to start quilting!

My sweet Aunt Marjory, now 84 years young, has decided to make a quilt for all nine of her
granddaughters.

Among the BEST of the BEST! (& a giveaway!)

Quiltmaker magazine just released a brand new collection of Reader Favorites, a special collector's edition of 22 patterns selected from the past 33 years of publications.  Including this sweet little baby!  

Originally published in Quiltmaker May/June 2014 (& featured on the cover), my little Sheep Shape quilt pattern makes a new appearance as one of Quiltmaker's top 5 reader favorite kids' quilts, amazing!

Easy Applique' - Machine Blanket-Stitch

Cut it out, stitch it on, done!  For applique' the easy way, a blanket stitch is my go-to.  Many recent projects have had some sort of applique', and all of them used a blanket stitch.

Applique' turned this Simple Sadie quilt into something super sweet for my niece's new baby!  I love to take clues from a cute print and enlarge the motif.  

Simple Sadie quilt with Giraffe applique'

  (I also took clues from the print for the quilting motifs.  Fabric: Gigi Giraffes?)

A blanket stitch is formed with a straight stitch along the outer edge of the applique' followed by a perpendicular stitch in and out of the applique' shape.  

I think it gives a neat, clean finish to raw-edge applique'.  Don't have a blanket-stitch option on your machine?  Try another decorative stitch, blind-hem stitch, even a shortened zig-zag stitch.

Here are a few TIPS:
* You know that little hole on the hook of the bobbin case?  Now is the time to thread the bobbin through it!  This creates a little bit of extra tension so the bobbin thread won't peek through to the top.

Or you can reduce the top tension by a little.  Or do both.

* Test your stitches on a scrap of fabric.  If you find that it puckers too much, try using a stabilizer such as freezer paper.  Press the waxy side of freezer paper to the wrong side of your fabric.  The stitches will perforate the paper and you can tear it off afterwards.  Play with the stitch length and width to see what looks good to you.  I generally use a width of about 2.0 to 2.5 with the stitch length also at 2.5.

* I like to match the thread color to the applique', but some people use black thread overall for a rustic, folk-artsy charm.

* Position applique' using lightweight fusible web, glue stick, 505 fabric adhesive spray, or pin in place (see more ways to prep and stitch in my raw-edge machine applique' basics tutorial:  I ♥ Applique').

* If possible, use an open-toe foot so you can see where you're stitching.  If you position your needle to the right, it will be easier to gauge where the fabric should line up.

*Stitch in the ditch for the forward-moving stitches - the needle should hug the applique' edge for the outline stitch in the background fabric.  Aim for a perpendicular line from the edge for the horizontal stitches.  That can be a bit tricky on curves, but if the needle is down, it's easier to accomplish. Pivot with the needle in the "ditch", either before or after the horizontal stitch.  Sometimes, you just have to slow down and operate one stitch at a time.

* Some machines have a needle down option - very useful so you don't lose your position, especially when pivoting to change directions.  Otherwise, use the hand wheel to position the needle down.

*Lock stitches at the beginning and ending by holding the fabric so you get a couple of stitches in the same position.  If sewing around a shape, overlap the end stitches over the beginning stitches.

Little wall-hangings for choir seamstresses using scraps from our choir dresses.

Blanket-stitch applique' worked great on these ↑ polyester scraps.  It also worked beautifully on Minky plush fur too!  (See some faux fur tips HERE.)

A comfy, cuddlesoft comfortor for someone special.

The other day, my Aunt & Uncle came over to make some quilts for gifts, also blanket-stitch applique' projects.  Uncle Jack cut everything out and Aunt Margie got a good start stitching them down.  We used 505 basting spray to adhere the pieces.

They both rocked it!!  (See their final results HERE.)  Ü  Not bad for a couple of 83-year-olds!  Loved it!

Armed & Dangerous.

Happy Quilting!

 

Blogger's Quilt Festival!

It's time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival again!  Perfect timing, since I recently finished this sweet little wall hanging.  And, she's a winner!  At HMQS last week in Salt Lake City, Isabella's Bonnets placed 2nd in the RBD Design Challenge.  Then, she and the other 26 quilts in the competition were sold at auction, raising an amazing $6,900 for this year's charity, Family Promise.

 "Isabella's Bonnets" 46" x 50" Wall Hanging by Deonn Stott

(Patterns are now available!  Order HERE or HERE for digital copy.)

Love this fabric for this turn-of-the-century-style quilt.  The fabric itself gave great clues as to how I should design, embellish then free-motion quilt it.  Tried for a wallpaper look in the background.

Little Birdie ↓ #littlebirdiepincushion

Learn more about the parts and pieces in the original post HERE.  Get your free copy of the "Little Birdie" pattern HERE.  #littlebirdiepincushion

Meanwhile, I've entered this quilt in the Applique' division of the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

UPDATE:   Isabella's Bonnets made it into Viewer's Choice!  Click HERE to vote for your favorite in that category.   Then you can also vote for your top three favorites in each division HERE.  Such amazing, inspiring and colorful creations, submitted from quilters around the world!

Happy Viewing!

Quiltmaker's 100 Quilt Blocks & Giveaway!

Celebrating the 10th Edition of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks!

And with the Volume 10, Quiltmaker now has a collection of 1000 great blocks!  Including this little gem on page 45, Block #953.  I call it "Spring".   *Ü*

Can you tell I just love fluffy little sheepies?  This design idea started with my "Sheep Shape" hexagon quilt (featured on the cover of Quiltmaker earlier this year), and as I'm always looking for ways to simplify... construction for this sweet little block could not be any easier!

First, it's all cut out with my fabulous AccuQuilt die-cutter using Rose of Sharon dies.  (Don't worry if you don't have one, the patterns are also located on p.75 of the magazine!)  It's all machine-applique'd with a blanket stitch and includes my favorite dimensional die-cut fabric flowers, leaves, ears and topknot; even the embroidery is all machine-stitched.

To make these soft, pliable, double-sided, non-raveling fabric 3-D applique' shapes, click to see the full >> TUTORIAL <<.

Now, what to do with your cute little block?  Here are a couple of ideas:
Single table topper/wall hanging:

Or rearrange the elements to make a sweet little runner/wall hanging scene:

And of course it will be cute as a full quilt, too!

GIVEAWAY INFO:   Win your own copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks vol 10, plus a little stack of 5" Basics from Riley Blake Designs and package of Heat n Bond Ultrahold for you to create your own dimensional applique'!  Leave a comment here, and of course you are welcome to follow along via email, facebook, bloglovin, etc, but that's not a requirement to enter the contest.  What's your favorite method of applique'?  I'll select a winner on Saturday morning.  A second winner will receive Volume 10 directly from Quiltmaker.

Be sure to visit the other designers on this blog tour for more prize-winning opportunities and creative inspiration!  Here's a sneak peek of what's in store:

 Check in at Quiltmaker's Quilty Pleasures blog, every day this week for the daily blog tour schedule and even more giveaways, including the actual signed blocks from this collection!

Good luck, and thanks for playing along!  (Be sure to inlcude an email address if you are a no-reply blogger).  Thanks for visiting, and I hope to see you again soon!

      

UPDATE:  Giveaway over and winner notified.  Whew, what a fun week!

Quick and Pretty 3D Applique'...

Here's a little tutorial for adding quick dimensional elements to your quilt.
Like this...

"Spring!" block featured in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks vol 10

                                                    Or this ↓↓

Or these:

Blossoms & Beyond

I seem to have a thing for butterflies:

Hexagarden Wall Hanging (PATTERN)

Here's how to make your own dimensional applique' pieces ~
Supplies:
               Heat n Bond ULTRAHOLD fusible web
                            (best results are with this heavy-duty "no-sew" fusible product)
               Regular Cotton fabric (batiks, solids, prints)
                            Remember, it's going to be double-sided, so double the fabric needed.

1)  Line the ironing board with a sheet of parchment paper or mylar to protect the surface.

2)  Follow manufacturers' instructions and PRESS to apply Ultrahold fusible web to the wrong side of fabric.  Use a hot, dry iron.  Hold in place for up to 8 seconds per section, overlapping iron until the fusible is adhered to the fabric piece.

Allow to cool, then peel off paper backing.

3)  PRESS two fused sides together.   Here I just folded my fused strips together.  It basically "plasticizes" the fabric, but leaves it soft and pliable to use in a quilt.  Another bonus - no raveling!

4)  CUT out shapes with sharp scissors... or die cutting machine.   Love my AccuQuilt Go! Cutter!

This creates a soft, pliable, double-sided, non-raveling piece of fabric.

For added dimension, PRESS to heat shapes through with an iron, and roll or form as desired, HOLD in place for a few seconds until cool, and the pieces will keep their shape!  I rolled the butterfly wings around my finger.  

In the example below, the larger flower pieces were formed around a dime to give them shape and stand out from the quilt block.  Then I formed the small flower centers around my fingertip, and just bent back the leaves a little on each side.  If you want to change the shape, simply re-heat and re-shape. A-dorable!!

Stitch the dimensional elements into place by hand or by machine.  All of the examples above were machine-stitched.  To embroider through the dimensional applique' pieces, a larger needle is helpful, and if you are doing a lot of machine-stitching, you may need to occasionally clean off the needle with rubbing alcohol. I think it's worth the effort!

Happy Quilting!

  Be sure to subscribe or follow along so you don't miss out on more great quilting tips like this!