Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Holiday Stitching Progress

It was a quiet Easter holiday weekend here at the farm. We spent Sunday morning at a brunch with family then came home and walked the shore. Beautiful and sunny but cool day without wind! Always a great day when the winds don't knock you down.

I finished block no 2 of  Une Annee Dans Les Etoiles. I'm loving this embroidery. Check out Un Atelier de la Montagne to view the slide show of everyone's work.


Once the star was done, it was time to return to Yoko Saito's Quilt Mystere block no 6, the last block in the quilt but only my fourth. If you remember, I skipped 4 & 5 to work on 6 just to be different!

It took me three days to add the church with the house behind it and the lower level houses. Before leaving Los Angeles, I had the top two houses done. There's an error here... the steps leading to the middle level should be going towards the right; I didn't notice until the strip had been sewn to the top level and I left it there until I could decide what to do. I debated long and hard about reversing them but decided to leave it as it is and move on. There are 3 embroidered dogs left to add but I'll wait until all the pieces are applique'ed. I may just add them in the space created by the steps going the wrong way.


I also debated whether to embroider the leaves on the bottom tree or applique them. There are 3 trees with embroidered leaves: top left behind the church and the two at opposing corners. A fourth would have been too many and this one really needed the applique'ed leaves. These leaves are even smaller than on Block no 1.

They are small:


The process for my applique preparation is simple : liquid starch and my stencil burner tip. Since these are so small, I used three layers of freezer paper and added an extra line of permanent marker in order to see the marks for cutting.

Start by painting the liquid starch around the applique: here you can see the top leaf is wet.


The tips are the first to be folded over: this is the stencil burner tip and it's HOT! I use an applique pressing sheet which is great as it keeps my ironing board free of starch and glue. Be aware it too gets HOT which is a bonus as it helps dry the starch.


With both ends done, it's time to turn the edges. This is where the stencil burner tip comes in handy: by running its edge along the seam allowance of the piece, it automatically turns the edges along the freezer paper even on these small pieces. In the following sequence, you will see how the leaf is prepared. 







One good pressing over the whole leaf


Turn the leaf over and press from the right side.


Voila!


That's 4 leaves per dime! Didn't I say they were small?


Our beach is devoid of ice cakes... 


The crows have the right idea... time to stop...


Have a great week! I am linking to The Needle And Thread Network and Let's Bee Social. Have a look at other Works In Progress (WIPs).

Toodles,

Lorette


21 comments:

  1. I just love applique and your little chick is cute!!!!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by Valerie! I LOVE applique... I think it's the quiet time when the hand work begins that I love the best.

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  2. All I can say is WOW - 4 leaves per dime...that is tiny! Kudos to you for working with that intricat-ness! I dont' think I would...even back in my applique days! I have seen those little irons, didn't know that they'd be so helpful, but in your case...wow..make me want to go get one. I am going to be starting back into machine applique and I just do it the old fashioned way.. iron on interfacing to the fabric, cut out and zigzag to background...but that little iron might come in handy! Found you one Sew Fresh Quilt LInky

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Cheri. It's funny that you should comment on the stencil burner tip. It was from Cheri Meineke-Johnson's video at The Quilting School that I learned this technique and from her that I bought the Hot Fix Swarovski Crystals along with the "Bedazzler" that the tip fits in! I loved needle-turn applique and it was my favorite until this video that changed my life. Glueing my pieces has allowed me freedom from sticking myself with pins and since the seam allowances are all ready to sew, the process is faster. I hope you'll give it a try.

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  3. Hi Lorette...Your applique is marvelous! Such tiny pieces! All I can say is WOW. I would never have know that your steps are going in the wrong direction....it's perfect! Nice work! Beautiful applique!

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    1. That's quite a compliment coming from you Averyclaire... I consider you a pro at applique!! Thank you so much!

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  4. Very lovely mystery quilt! Congratulations. I don't see any mistakes!!

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    1. Thank you so much Julie! well that mistake is a big one but I'm OK with it now. It bothered me for a long time!

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  5. Lorette, I am appreciating the work that goes into one of these quilts. I really like the 'village' you have done and wonder if anybody would have ever noticed those stairs? great work!
    Love the red clay beach!

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    1. Those who follow Yoko Saito's work would notice that mistake. I will call it a controlled accident. ;) Our red clay beach isn't far from NS... as a matter of fact, we look over the bay to NS north shore! On a good day at low tide, we can see PEI.

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  6. Oh my goodness! I am blown away by those tiny leaves, Lorette! Your work is incredible.

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    1. They are small and they take time to prep but it's worth it. Thanks for stopping by Lorna.

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  7. Your work is just lovely. Oopses do happen, darn but none will notice as they'll be ammazed at all the other small details!

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    1. Thank you Elle! Yes I suspect people won't care if that mistake is there.

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  8. I love Yoko's designs so it's no surprise that I'd love the quilt. You're blocks are coming along beautifully. You have such an eye for adding just the right details. I might leave the steps, they add interest. At least see what happens when you add the dogs. I'm enjoying the progression of your work.

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    1. You give me too much credit! All those details are part of the pattern and not my own! I was thinking I could add another set of steps going in the right direction if I'm not satisfied when I add the dogs. Perhaps a few pots of flowers along that wall might add some interest too... I'll see. Thank you Jo.

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  9. I love, love, love your little holiday piece. And those tiny leaves - I've done some hand applique but never a piece that small. I enjoyed visiting your blog! blessings, marlene

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    1. Thank you so much for visiting Marlene! Can't wait for the next star...

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  10. Some bobbins are expensive or difficult to find. cute sewing machine

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  11. These ironing boards are easy to carry around and set up in a confined space, which makes them popular with dorm students. folding ironing board

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