Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Creating a Summer Basket

You see, I wanted a basket of flowers. Something easy going. Not fancy. When I looked in this book...



I knew that this was it.



I worried a little before I started.

About things like 1/8" stems. And pointy points.  And handling such a large piece of fabric. 

You know, important things that matter in life.

I needed to learn techniques.  I have a few books and looked through them. I looked online (and found some great tutorials, thank you very much).  I purchased two DVDs that helped a lot, Becky Goldsmith & Linda Jenkins Teach You to Applique the Piece O' Cake Way and Hand and Machine Applique by Karen Kay Buckley.  Loved the DVDs.

Most of what I do is similar to what I learned from Karen's DVD.  I was happier with the results.  (Someday I hope to improve my needleturn applique, but I didn't have the patience.)
 


Here's a few of the tools I use. A sanding board (take 1 cute clipboard, 1 sheet sandpaper cut to size, spray the back with adhesive spray, and ta-da).  Good (enough) scissors (Clover serrated edge is the blue handle, Ginger 5" in silver, and a Fiskars to cut paper).  Spray sizing (that's the lid) and a small stencil brush.  Pins and thread (Mettler 60) and Thread Heaven.  I found that pencil holders are a perfect size for holding a collection of the small items that need to be organized.  And a lint brush... always handy.  Because I have a dog that sheds... and she's big huge.  (A Newf.)

I use a vinyl overlay.  I think I like it.  It seems to be working okay, but I do think about other ways, such as blue marking pens.  Maybe it's the size that I'm working with that has me on the fence.



Here's the pieces that I've prepped, some face up, some face down.




What I do... Trace the pattern on freezer paper, iron it to another FP sheet to make it stronger, cut each piece out, iron to back of fabric, cut out each fabric piece with a seam allowance, "paint" light sizing on the seam allowance and use a little craft iron to iron the seam allowance over the edge of the freezer paper.  (I remove the freezer paper before I stitch it down.)

It's tedious and detailed and (for me) takes time. But I learned you should try to find joy in each step in the journey if you can.  (Kind of funny that I have patience for this and not for needleturn.  Analyze that!)

There's been very little stitching this past week.  Too much going on.  This weekend should be a quiet one.  Hopefully filled with lots of time to stitch. 

11 comments:

Crispy said...

Love the pattern Beth. All that prep stuff is what convinced me to just do needleturn. I quilt for the sewing part not the prep part LOL.

Crispy

teresa said...

Beth

thanks for showing all your steps! It is very fun to see how everyone does their applique

Teresa / IL

LeKaQuilt said...

Hi, Crispy sendt me over to your blog. Thank you for showing how you do needleturn applique :o) You have a nice blog!

Kaaren said...

Super job for a 'beginner' appliquer, Beth. I certainly would never have guessed that this is your first attempt. It's going to look awesome when it's done.

One thing that both quilting and applique have taught me is patience, a word that seldom was a part of my vocabulary. I hope you continue to include us in your journey.

Karen said...

I have that book! And, another stencil book by Vicki Garnas. How about that. Funny how you say you have the patience for this method and not for needleturning. I always wondered why one would go to all that work. But, I can see that you would be sure all you pieces came out correctly, before you start stitching them down. I would worry about soft smooth curves, but I see you snip the curves as you iron and your pieces look wonderful! If you decide to give needleturn another try, I have two tips for you. Use a small seam allowance and finger press your seams under before stitching down. Keep up the good work! Can't wait to see more!

Cathi said...

Love that block!! All that prep work is why I use backbasting for applique!

Una said...

Great to see your progress - will follow it intently. It looks great! Greetings, Una in Norway

Pat said...

I admire those who CAN do needle turn. I'm not one of them, either...and have recently struggled with applique work. By the way, "Crispy" sent me over from her blog.

Quilter Going Bananas said...

I've tried the vinyl overlay method of applique and I like it a lot. I've done other methods of applique as well. It's a good idea to try different methods to see which one you like the best. You never know until you try!
Love the flower basket that you're making, very pretty. And I should tell you that Crispy sent me over here to say 'HI'

Carrie P. said...

I had the privilege of taking a class with Karen Kay Buckley and learned a lot from her. I enjoy the prepping part of applique. And I use a lot of different techniques.
Your basket is going to be so pretty.

Karen said...

You do really nice applique!