Wednesday Sewing Sisters

This morning I met with my girlfriends at the library to chat, sew and have a bit of fun!

I think it was back in March the group agreed to work on a Spring Wall Hanging together.  I really didn't need to start another new project, but this one appealed to me and since several others wanted to try it too, well, why not!?!

I purchased the pattern book, raided the stash, and organized fabrics (my only purchase was that blue butterfly background fabric... but it was just a rementant ... on sale!)  

Here is the book we are using... the pattern is on page 96

Applique The basics & beyond by Janet Pittman  
ISBN 13: 978-1-890621-06-3

At our April meeting I cut and pieced the background and cut and pinned some of the fencing.  I was disappointed that none of the others were starting yet... they had other projects they were finishing up first, but planned on starting soon.  I have other projects too, but decide I would work on this one only at our meetings and find time at home for the other projects.

In May, I needleturned the fence rails.

In June I began with tracing and fusing the flowers together.

When fusing multiple-part or layered applique (like the grouping of daffodils) I learned that once the fusible  is ironed onto the back of the fabric and the shapes are cut, you can peel off the paper and place them on a piece of parchment paper fussing with them until the are set just right.  Then you lightly press with the iron to fuse them all together.  (I use Heat&Bond Light.) When cooled, the entire grouping easily peels away from the parchment.  If it isn't quite right, you can still carefully peel it apart and easily correct the placement before finally fusing the entire grouping on the background.  In this case, the hyacinths are added after the daffodil grouping to cover and hide the mess of stems at the bottom.
  
Now it's July, and today my daffodils and some hyacinths are complete and fused to the background ... and I am started on the tulips.  (I forgot to take step by step pictures, but here is a picture of how far along I am today).   

The tulips are fused together, but just laying on the background for now.  I still need to cut out the stems and leaves before layering and fusing everything in place.  There are narcissus and a bunch more hyacinths to be added before I start the process of blanket-stitching all the pieces.  There will be some embellishment stitching, also, to hopefully bring out the finer details of the flowers.  I plan to add a pieced border, and a final border that should, hopefully, make it big enough to fit my wall.  If I keep plugging away at this each month, I may have it quilted in time to hang next Spring!

Wednesday Sewing Sisters

There are several members of our local quilt guild that, for a variety of reasons, do not go to the night-time meetings.  We didn't want to miss out on the social and sharing aspect so we organized a daytime guild meeting at our LQS in 2011.  With the closing of our LQS last summer, our day meetings came to a sudden halt.  By the time October rolled around, we were missing our gatherings and I arranged to use a room in our local library to gather and sew.  

Since many of us a guild members (some do attend the night meetings) we do share guild information, but we decided not to be a "guild" meeting with a specific agenda or project to work on.  Everyone brings whatever project they are working on and we sit and chat and sew.

Judy was frogging the ditch stiching she did last month

Peggy was pinning her cancer ribbon getting ready to quilt

Merry was handpiecing her apple cores

I stitched the inner border onto my Easy Street top.  It was nice having lots of space and bigger tables to work .

I also finished stitching this little wall hanging I began in a class at Becky's Quilt Barn last September.... you can read about it here:

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4545104586551376905#editor/target=post;postID=8659972040860552852

I returned home from class and got busy and it has been patiently waiting for me to decide how to complete it.  The problem is that it is too small for my wall and I don't have enough of that blue to make it bigger.  After consulting with the girls today, I have decided to add a wide muslin border and applique some flowers and or baskets and make a final scrappy border to finish this out.

It was a fun morning and I look forward to our next meeting.