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Tuesday 23 February 2016

The Splendid Sampler



Welcome if you've arrived here as part of The Splendid Sampler. www.thesplendidsampler.com 
I'm so chuffed to be part of this amazing group of quilters. Thank you Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson for including me.
For those who don't know, I'm one of those crazy hand stitchers. I can feel my blood pressure going down every time I pick up my needle and thread. It's like a giant exhale.
Needle turn appliqué is one of my all time favourite things to do
So here are some of my favourite tools


I'm a template plastic kind of girl but you can make templates from freezer paper, cardboard or laminate paper


I trace around my template onto the right side of my fabric using either a grey lead, ceramic lead or silver gel pen. This is totally dependant on the colour of the fabric as you need to be able to see this line


A really good pair of scissors with a sharp point will be your best friend. I love Karen Kay Buckley scissors


I use pins or glue to hold my appliqué pieces in place


A size 11 straw or milliners needle is my favourite. They are long and fine. 50 wt cotton thread matching the colour to the fabric you are appliquing. Aurifil have the most wonderful colour selection

 
I adore circles, spots, dots ...getting the picture. As you can see by the tatty packaging I love and use my "perfect circles" a lot. So quick and easy and they truly give you a perfect circle every time, even the tiny ones


The last product I can't live without is "flatter" by the Soak Co. Use this with your perfect circles and when making bias tape. It is a fabric smoothing spray not a starch. You get great crisp edges that hold their shape but the fabric will stay soft and easy to needle.
Choosing fabrics is also important for any appliqué  project. You need good quality cotton and if you have a piece that frays, pop it back in your stash to use in a pieced project and choose another for your applique 


And now a little eye candy for you as a reward for getting to the end of this "dry" post"! This is a little sneak peek of my new range with Moda. It's called MOVING ON and I'm super excited about it. It's printed on lawn and I'm enjoying every minute making samples for its release. It is perfect for appliqué 




12 comments:

  1. Thank you for taking the time to write about tips for making your block. I made a practice one this morning. It was loads of fun! I'm currently trying my hand at the needle turn appliqué. It is a bit of a challenge, but I'm channeling my grandmother in order to press my way through it. I was very excited this morning to find the cutest scissors in one of her sewing boxes (I inherited all of her stash and notions when she passed on 2007.) She always had some kind of applique in the works. I inherited enough WIPS and UFOs to hone my skill for many years to come. Probably 7 entire quilts worth. I'm thankful for artists like you who've taken the time to post tutorials on the web. I've learned so much! Definitely enjoying the process.

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  2. Thank you for taking the time to write about tips for making your block. I made a practice one this morning. It was loads of fun! I'm currently trying my hand at the needle turn appliqué. It is a bit of a challenge, but I'm channeling my grandmother in order to press my way through it. I was very excited this morning to find the cutest scissors in one of her sewing boxes (I inherited all of her stash and notions when she passed on 2007.) She always had some kind of applique in the works. I inherited enough WIPS and UFOs to hone my skill for many years to come. Probably 7 entire quilts worth. I'm thankful for artists like you who've taken the time to post tutorials on the web. I've learned so much! Definitely enjoying the process.

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  3. I adore your block (and your patterns in general) thanks so much. I have those perfect circles so I can start straight away.
    Hugz

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  4. I love your block for the Splendid Sampler!!! Thank you for sharing the block and these tips. I'm looking forward to starting "Happy Happy" this weekend.

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  5. I want to do appliqués so I am real happy to read your post on tips and tools. Thank you very much. I am sure it will be very useful to me. Now all I need is practice! ;^)

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  6. Having just made your block I'm going to look into that soak flatter for my next appetite project! Thank you so much for this design. I had so much fun choosing the fabrics for my flowers.

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  7. Perfect circles? I'll have to look for those! Do any of the sponsors for the splendid sampler carry those? I am fairly new to applique, but I am on a mission to learn. So your beautiful block and all your great tips are so very much appreciated!!

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  8. Thank you so much for this design. I really enjoyed making this block and putting my own spin on it. I am thinking about making a wall hanging following your block design.

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  9. I can't figure out how to download the pattern. could you please direct me to how to get pattern..

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