Baltimore Basket - Valuable Lessons in Applique

I was just going to make one more block … this Woven Basket, in a two-day workshop (many years ago) taught by Anne Connery; this time, with MAQ - Mid-Appalachian Quilters held at Shippensburg University in PA. We stayed in the college dorms, slept on cots (with no air conditioning in mid-July), shared meals in the Grand Dining Hall, made lots of new friends, and learned more Valuable Lessons in Applique.

 

Included on Anne’s supply list was: “Several yards of 1/8 inch bias strips, sewn, seams pressed to center. Store the finished strips on an empty cardboard roll to bring to class.” Those bias tubes would form the basket. Supplies also included freezer paper, fabric basting glue, Pigma Micron fabric pens, along with fabrics and the typical appliqué supplies. (Notice that I learned my previous lesson: always bring your own background fabric to class. That way, your blocks are more likely to eventually go together in a quilt!)

 

Anne first gave a wooden skewer to each student, and got a few puzzled glances.

She also provided a cardboard stencil that she had made, with thin lines cut out to represent each weaver of the basket. The horizontal lines were omitted (not cut out from the stencil), which helped hold its form.

In turn, each student used Anne’s stencil to draw permanent lines for each vertical basket weaver onto their background fabric. The Pigma Micron pen is permanent on fabric – other pens might run, smear, or disappear while working Anne’s method – (another Valuable Applique Lesson).

After the drawn lines dried, a dollop of glue was poured onto the shiny side of a scrap of freezer paper. Then we used the point of our wooden skewer to dip into the glue, and “paint” a thin line of glue along the drawn line, as we laid the bias tube centered along that line and onto the glue – just a little at a time, because the glue dries quickly. All that is left is to do is applique the basket that is all held firmly in place. (P.S. I still use this method to glue baste applique stems along a drawn line.)

Anne taught us how to determine, on such a complex block, what comes first, and what comes next, what goes on top of what, etc. That can be a challenge when looking at a black and white printed pattern.

 

We practiced a bit of reverse applique …   

 

inked a few details … 

 



… and we made one single scrap of white fabric look like a flower by inking details and dimension with feathery strokes of black and brown Pigma pens.

 

Before this block was completed, I had to (of course) add a tiny bluebird. I would also like to commend, in case you’ve noticed, the careful machine quilting done by my friend, Marty Vint. That couldn’t have been easy, going so carefully around all those appliqué pieces!

 

This basket block is in my Pride of Baltimore II quilt, along with 11 other blocks and a central medallion with the schooner. I'll write about more of the blocks, and Valuable Applique Lessons in future posts.

Pattern for this basket block can be found in the “Baltimore Beauties and Beyond” series by Elly Sienkiewicz.


(c) 2015 Barbara M. Burnham. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any kind is expressly prohibited without prior written authorization.

Freezer Paper - None goes to waste!

I love freezer paper. It is useful for SO many things in quilting!
Here is another great use for freezer paper, even those little scraps you might toss in the trash.
Write notes to yourself (or others) and press the note to a fabric instead of tape, sticky office dots, staples, or pins, which may damage fabric, especially pins that might stick you someday!Even safety pins can rust and leave holes in the fabric.

For example: 
"Save for binding on Mary's quilt."
"Save this piece of backing for sleeve."
"Has been washed."
"108-inch Wide Backing - washed and pressed"
"9.5 yards" - Cross through that amount when you cut off a piece, and write the new amount.
Numbers or letters that are keys to your pattern, a piecing order, or a quilt layout idea.
I have one fabric with a freezer paper note that says "This red fabric bleeds!"

How about this one: "Free to Good Home."

Save information from selvages when they are cut off. You might want to have that information later. Write it on freezer paper, and press it to a corner.

Maybe your guild has a sale or flea market. Roll a fabric piece, write the price or yardage on a strip of freezer paper. Wrap the freezer paper strip around the roll, and press the strip to itself at the end.

I bet you can think of other things you might want to note on your fabrics ...