My first block of Wrapt in Love by Esther cut out waiting to be machine appliqued down! My goodness I had so much fun making this block, I call it Alice after Alice in Wonderland as I saw the flowers in the pictures of Alice when she was at the tea Party as soon as I saw the print out. Yes those are wee fish jumping out of the flower fish bowl, remember this block is called Alice? LOL.
I decided I WAS going to blog this week and link with Esther’s WOW or WIP’s but it’s 7pm and no blog written so I will share my Pansy journey instead that I wrote a couple of days ago, so many of you will have seen it? This is where I’m upto on my HOTYH. Esther Aliu’s 2019 BOM
As a moderator on Esther Aliu’s BOM group I receive the parts or pattern early, this is so we can pre make some of the designs to be able to answer question on it from members. So I have been working on the hexagons, using washaway irononfreezer papers, then machine joining all the seams, finishing off basting by hand all the outer edges ready to be hand appliqued to my Centre. I was surprised how well the hexagons went sewing those seams by machine, I have to say it was tricky doing the one inch long seams, but the rest went smoothly.
It is going to be a beautiful and different quilt that’s for sure?
Close up of those hexagons before sewing them together by sewing machine, first time I have done EPP by sewing machine and hand??? This is my 1st hexagon Block of 4.
Same centre just the light playing on the silks?
Tonight I finally managed to cut out my 52inch square for HOTYH Centre. My fabric was wide enough to cut it out in one piece, then I had to cut ironon interfacing for it and iron it on, that was the hard part it is so difficult not to get a wrinkle any where??? So there it is in all its glory ready of all the applique to be added??? What a wonderful quilt it is going to be.
Its interesting the things that make Quilters happy, on Tuesday a friend gave me something of her mums that she said she would never use?
Much to my delight they will fit my Janome and my 380 Bernina, she was surprised at how happy she made meLOL.
Then this morning a friend dropped in and said can you use these? Amongst the goodies was some irononfussing, and some iron interfacing both I was right out of and needed to do any work on The two quilts I’m working on, I did a little jig and she said they aren’t that wonderful? But they sure were to this quilter LOL
Starting to machine appliqué down my applique pieces for block 1 of Wrapt in Love by Esther Aliu it is her free BOM for 2019, a lovely happy fun beautiful design .
I was procrastinating over machine appliqueing down my sweet wee pansy faces then decided to make a sample with the same fabrics and backing fabric that mine were made off, here is how I tackled it with help and good advice from Jenny (Henry)
I started on the yellow centre doing a straight Stich to out line it, my stitch length was almost zero. I was sewing one stitch at a time to get around the curves? Yellow thread is a sulky No 40
Then I filled it in with straight stitch with the length at the same setting almost zero
Stage 3 I set my double button hole at my lowest settings and appliqued down the right side of my purple face then did straight stitches radiating from the very centre of the purple shape. This was my first mistake, I should of buttonhole stitched down the mauve central shape petals first then done the purple face??
checking with the camera to see how it looks, use your camera when you are not sure if you are on the right track? It will not lie?
ON to the left part of the purple face double blanket stitch you could use a very small zig zag instead, but I found I could place that straight part of the blanket stitch along the edge of the shape?
close up and I hold my breath till I see it’s working?
on to the bottom part of the face still using double blanket stitch but Stich length a tiny bit wider bite in and a long Stich length same colur thread which is a rayon no 40. Used this thread count through out.
On to the next stage I double button holed down top two petals using a fairly normal setting .
Both top petals done, I then did the light mauve petals that I should have done straight after doing my yellow centre. Again using double blanket stitch you can use the stitch you like using when doing your machine appliqué.
Last front petal was again done with double blanket stitch then I added the straight stitches to the petal and it was complete. I hope this helps to take the fear out of any of you worrying about machine appliqueing your pansy’s. Secret is to go SLOW?!
Thanks for all of you who made it to the end of my blog this week LOL off to link with Esther on her WOW or WIP’s hope many of you will join us to read the other links or to link your self.
Cheers Glenda
Hello Glenda,
I love your pansy!!!
Marita
Good morning Marita, it’s been a while since a blog so have missed you all each week. Life has just been so hectic some thing had to go and sadly one was my blog. Hopefully now I will be back with you all now. Hugs Glenda
Thank you Marita, those wee pansy’s are going to be fun to do now I know how LOL Cheers Glenda from a very very wet tropical FNQLD!!!! Now been drenched again by a cyclone up North.
Thank you! That is almost how I did mine, but did the face and yellow center lady using the single button hole stitch.
Hi Ingrid, thank you for dropping in and saying Hi. I’m new to machine appliqué as I have all ways preferred to sew by hand, but time creeps in to your hands and it’s no longer possible, so have turned to using the machine so I can keep on making quilts ? Cheers Glenda
You are very welcome Ingrid, love how we can share with each other so easy on FB, I’m a visual person so love to see how others work. I was worried about using the double blanket stitch as I don’t have a single but it worked well enough so I’m OK with it enough to do my pansy’s. Cheers Glenda
Hello,
i’m à new one leaving 1 hour from Montréal.
Thanks for your information. I want to Know if you put a stabiliser or molleton under your main fabric before Stitching your pensies.?
excuse my english too.
Have a good day
Hello Carole and thank you for stopping by. Yes I put a stabiliser behind most of my machine appliqué. I usually use a iron on lightweight stabiliser it makes the applique pieces stay in place and shape. Plus makes it much easier when working with silks that move constantly if you don’t use it? Plus there is very little shrinkage on your background compared to not using it. Don’t worry about your English I understood what you asked. Quilters all ways understand each otherLOL. Cheers Glenda
Your pansy looks delightful, Glenda! Even when you machine stitch “slowly,” it’s still faster than hand stitching, and the rayon threads are just lovely embellishments. I’m wanting to start a machine appliqué project soon, too. I enjoy hand stitching but there are more quilts in my head than I could hand stitch in one lifetime!
Thank you Rebbeca and yes they are not a fast project it takes me an evening to do just one LOL But much much faster than hand but not relaxing like doing by hand? I do keep changing my threads though so it takes a lot longer LOL as I love playing with colours and I use my threads like pencils and colour in with them???? Cheers Glenda
Looks great! Well done.
Thanks Pamela for dropping in, lovely to see your name. I now just need to find the time to do the real pansy’s LOL Cheers Glenda
Beautiful pansy Glenda. Glad you had time to post again. Have a great sewing week!
Dear Gretchen thank you for dropping in, I have missed my blog time so much. Funny how life catches up with you some times, this wet monsoon season has been so wet and long with several tress down on our own land which made weeks of cleaning up on top of eery thing else. Then our DGS and his partner were unable to go on their planed road trip for a weeks holiday so they moved in with us for the week much to our delight and I just enjoyed their company while I could, they spent the whole week helping Rod fix up some of the flood problems which was moving metres of fallen soil? What a lovely week it was for Rod and I if not for them LOL I did start Liams lovely partner to sew and gave her my small Janome to take with her. Lovely to see some one so young wanting to learn to sew??? Hugs from Kuranda FNQLD
Dear Glenda.
Your machine applique looks absolutely stunning. Have been wondering why you were missing on your blog, you have been creating beauty in your sewing room. Creating an indoor garden. With the hexagons, will you be adding a bee to their honeycomb? It may not be in the pattern, just something as a design feature?
Dear Maggie long time no see and my fault!!!! Life just got in the way this wet season has really tried us. with slips and trees coming down, we have never seen a wet like it in the 50 years we have been in the tropics, even the locals say they have not seen the like, the last wet like this was in 1943 and hopefully we don’t see the like’s again???? Glad you liked my wee pansy it took ages to do but it proved to me I could do it and now my hands don’t like holding a needle for to long I can still applqiue small pieces?????? Love the bee idea for my honey comb pieces I will add them in bullion knots they will just add that final little yellow, black and blue zing LOL Hugs from Kurnada a very wet Kuranda as we have been drenched yet again by a late cyclone up North of us?????
Your pansy looks wonderful. Many thanks for showing us how to do it!
Hello Rosemarie, so lovely to see your name again, it sure is a small world now with the internet!!?? I was procrastinating for weeks over machine applqiueing my pansy’s it was the best thing I did making up a sampler of the pansy on the same backing, it has now given me the confidence to work on my HOTYH pansy’s now. Cheers Glenda from a very wet Kurnada!!!!
Such a sweet pansy!
Hi Angela, thanks for dropping in and stopping to say Hi. My pansy’s had a mind of their own, I was nervous about making them and then they turned out so sweet I was nervous about spoiling them by machine applqiueing them LOL SO they sat and sat, then I heard my mum in my mind saying all ways make a sample first????? LOL SO there is my sample LOL Cheers Glenda
Your fabrics are so gorgeous! The striped stems are genius! Your Pansy machine stitching really makes all the difference on that flower as well.
Hi Denna and thanks for dropping in. I had a lot of fun making my 1st WiL block, now I need to squeeze some time in to make part 2 ????
I still have not found time to appliqué my pansy’s down LOL But at least i’m not scared to do them now. Cheers Glenda