I am really looking forward to teaching these two hand applique workshops, and there are still a few seats available. But they are filling quickly! Hope to see you there in September.
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| Class Samples |
Baltimore Garden Wild Cherry Birds is a block from the Baltimore Garden Quilt, inspired by an 1848 applique quilt in my collection.
Baltimore Garden Tulip Wreath is a new original design never published before, inspired by the antique quilt.
For more information, visit: Baltimore on the Prairie
Hope to see you there!
Keep Stitching!
Barbara M. Burnham
www.barbaramburnham.com
(c) 2015 Barbara M. Burnham. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any kind is expressly prohibited without prior written authorization.
Mi Amor, Legacy Appliqué
by Margarete Heinisch
©2014 American Quilter’s Society
ISBN 978-1-60460-140-4
Proudly printed in the United States of America
Margarete’s exquisite quilt “Mi Amor” was exhibited at American Quilter's Society QuiltWeek in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 2012, and this quilt certainly deserved the Best of Show award. I was fortunate to be able to view this magnificent quilt 'up close and personal' and take photos before the show officially opened. The first thing that caught my eye was a peacock in full display – a stunning feat of skill with fabric and thread. There is so much to see and enjoy on this quilt, I hoped the maker would publish a book. Gladly, she has!
Born and raised in Vienna, Margarete moved to California in 1971. After visiting a quilt exhibit, she was inspired to make a log cabin quilt, and like many of us, found herself immersed in the quilt world. Mi Amor was made as a 25th anniversary quilt for her daughter and son-in-law.
Sixteen original Baltimore album style blocks highlight her family life, loves, America’s history, patriotism, social compassion, and spiritual expression.
Margarete includes imaginative use of many kinds of fabrics and threads on her quilt, and some unexpected materials. Hidden among potted flowers is a baby bird in a nest woven from yarn and Margarete’s own hair!
Flowers are made with gathered yoyos, hexagons, yarn, and rickrack. Some are folded, frayed or fringed. No flower garden is without critters, so she included ladybugs, potato bugs, caterpillars, bumble-bees and many birds. Huge butterfly wings with bound edges seem ready to lift off the surface of the quilt. A multitude of embroidery stitches add final touches on the appliqué.
Margarete makes creative use of iron-on ribbons and acrylic fabric paint. Pigma pens form delicate facial details, eagle feathers, lettering, and a detailed drawing of a church scene. Step-by-steps show how to handle dimensional features such as a bound book, a written scroll, a little girl’s dress, and a woven basket with ruched rim. A unique partially-pieced compass block is framed with bias, rickrack, and prairie points.
The book, Mi Amor, offers close up photos and diagrams explaining how to achieve these techniques and more. From the CD-ROM included, print patterns in sections on 8½"x11" paper, or .pdf files for commercial printing. Print full color pages of each block for reference or fabric shopping. Appliqué fans will enjoy Margarete’s beautiful book, Mi Amor. Try some of Margarete’s fun techniques in your quilts, or be inspired to create your own original appliqué designs.
Keep Stitching!
Barbara M. Burnham
www.barbaramburnham.com
(c) 2015 Barbara M. Burnham. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any kind is expressly prohibited without prior written authorization.
Several people have asked me to do a blog post about how I manage hand appliqué on a tiny bird’s eye. And they keep reminding me. (These things take time!) So here it is.
First, enjoy shopping for just the right fabric for your bird’s eye! On antique Baltimore album quilts, a daisy-like flower might be cut out and sewn as a bird’s eye. I appliqued this tiny flower which made a 1/8” circle – quite challenging!
This fish’s eye was the center of a large flower. His upper lip was appliquéd with the technique explained below.
Polka dots are great if you find just the right size. Circles and ovals provide a nice guideline to appliqué. This eagle's eye seems to have eyelashes.
Here's a wild bird eye! Wish I had more than a scrap of this fabric....
The little block design below was clipped from the full-size block in my Baltimore Garden Quilt book, for a workshop on basics of appliqué with freezer paper on top, tricks and techniques for leaves, skinny stems, stuffed cherries, and a tiny bird’s eye.
The black polka dot is the perfect size for my bird’s eye, and its white background allows me to include a white eye-ring which shows up nicely against the bird. But it’s still really small to applique! Here is the trick: Usually I cut an appliqué seam allowance about 3/16 inch. However, for tiny appliqué, cut out the appliqué fabric with a HUGE seam allowance. Knot a thread, and baste all around the eye. End the basting thread with another knot.
If a white eye-ring is desired, use a circle template to mark a bigger circle. Depending on your fabric, you might not need that, such as the eagle with eyelashes shown above.
Clip out one or two basting stitches – just enough to trim a LITTLE BIT of the HUGE seam allowance down to 3/16 inch (or less) for ONE STITCH of appliqué. The remaining basting stitches will hold the fabric in place while you begin to sew.
Thread the needle with appliqué thread and knot the end. Insert the appliqué needle under the eye fabric (so the knot will be hidden) to begin the first appliqué stitch. Turn the seam allowance under and send the needle to the back of the block. Pull the thread taught and then park the needle.
That first appliqué stitch is now holding one side of the eye in place while the remaining basting stitches are still holding the other side.
At that point, you must clip out more basting, and trim more seam allowance away before you can continue around the circle. The appliqué stitches must be very close together. Instead of the usual horizontal appliqué stitch, send the needle straight up and down vertically for each stitch. You might call it a stab stitch.
About halfway around, all basting will be gone, but the eye will be stable. From there on, trim carefully and appliqué until the last bit is turned under. This is probably the most difficult part. The seam allowances have to be very small – all the seam allowances have to be cut narrow enough to fit under their its part of the circle.
TIPS: On this tiny appliqué, concern yourself with only one single stitch at a time. Trim only enough and turn under only enough seam allowance for that one stitch. Use the needle to wipe the seam allowance under. Slide the tip of the needle under the circle to smooth the gathers. If too much is pushed under, flattening the circle, use the tip of the needle to coax it out a bit before taking the stitch. Push in any bumps with a fingernail or a toothpick. Hold the block at the eye between your finger and thumb and press to flatten the gathered turnunder (finger press).
Finished! If there are a few bumps in the applique, you can still push those bumps in with the needle, a toothpick, or a fingernail, and take an extra stitch or two.
In my book Baltimore Garden Quilt, there are more ways to make use of this method. Try this technique on a bird’s eye, or any small appliqué piece. I would love to see your photos – visit me on Facebook. And watch for a future post on embroidered bird eyes.
Keep Stitching!
Barbara M. Burnham
www.barbaramburnham.com
(c) 2015 Barbara M. Burnham. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any kind is expressly prohibited without prior written authorization.
