New Block Finish and Book Sale

Between preparing samples and handouts for applique workshops, and working full time, it seems I hardly ever have time to stitch for myself. But I have finally finished stitching this block from Baltimore Garden Quilt in a new colorway, just for fun!


To celebrate, I’m offering SALE PRICES for my Baltimore Garden Quilt book. Check out the Store on my website for this book and others, plus some new patterns available.

 A favorite fabric is a great way to be inspired to applique -- this little warbler fabric has been in my stash for years, waiting for just the right project. The butterflies are cut from a more recent fabric I found in a local quilt shop, SpringWater Designs in Columbia, MD. (I will be teaching the Bluebird Wreath workshop there in July.)

In an earlier post about choosing fabrics for applique, I showed this little bird fabric that I wanted to feature, and some of the ‘first draft’ companion fabrics for this block. You can see, of course, most of them did not make the final cut.

Students always ask to see the back of my applique - here's a closeup back and front.

Aren’t we fortunate to have a multitude of beautiful fabrics available today? Here is the same block on the original 1848 quilt, on which the Baltimore Garden Quilt book and patterns are based. I can only hope to hand quilt my applique as beautifully as the original.

Keep Stitching!
Barbara M. Burnham
www.barbaramburnham.com
P.S. The bird fabric is "Bittersweet" by Moda. The butterfly is "Sue Schlaback of Wild Apple for Timeless Treasures.

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

 

Teaching Hand Applique at Paducah 2015

Join us in Paducah, Kentucky at the American Quilter's Society QuiltWeek for some applique!  Whether you are a beginner or advanced appliquer, have fun learning new techniques in Paducah. I will be teaching SIX different applique workshops! Many workshops are almost FULL, so hurry and register. 

Mark your calendar for April 22-25, 2015. Bring your friends! Enjoy the incredible AQS contest quilts! Visit the vendors! Enjoy learning new techniques!

Edge-Ruched Flower and Bud - Wednesday Afternoon 1:00-4:00 pm Lincoln Room

SOLD OUT Dress up your appliqué quilts or clothing with easy edge-ruched flowers and buds. Learn easy techniques to finish this little block. Start with a simple leaf and stem and learn to appliqué smooth curves. Sew a fancy ruched flower and a bud bursting from its calyx. Add a stuffed circle or button to finish your ruched flower. I will also show you how to turn your ruched flowers into fabric jewelry to wear.

Applique Stems and Vines - Wednesday Morning 8:30-11:30am Lincoln Room

SOLD OUT Start as a beginner or expand your appliqué toolbox! Barbara will demonstrate as many methods as time allows to make stems, vines, and basket weavers for various styles of hand or machine appliqué. Determine which methods are best for each appliqué situation. Learn about bias and straight grain, when each cut is most effective, and easily figure out how long and how wide to cut fabric for stems and vines to fit your project. Learn several methods of stem placement, how to neatly turn under cut stem ends, and how to reduce bulk or add dimension. Handout booklet is loaded with graphics, tips, and tricks for eighteen different methods. Choose a few methods to sew stems on your class project, or make samples to store in your booklet for future reference. Top off your stems with colorful yo-yos or add flowers of your choice.

Baltimore Garden Dogwood - Thursday Morning  8:30am-4:00pm  Lincoln Room

SOLD OUT This graceful applique block is drawn from the antique quilt featured in Barbara’s book “Baltimore Garden Quilt,” and may have been inspired by our native dogwood trees. Honor tradition with red and green, sew pink dogwood flowers, or learn ways to harness the power of modern fabrics for any color flowers. Start as a beginner, or expand your appliqué skills! Learn techniques to finish this block using needleturn with freezer paper on top method. Begin with gentle, smooth curves and pointy points on leaves. Choose from several methods to make stems and two ways to place them in graceful curves. Learn how to appliqué inner curves and round outer curves on the flowers. Experiment with layered appliqué. Finish with perfectly round stuffed flower centers, or embellish with French knots or beads. Learn Barbara’s method for accurate placement without marking the background, tips for handling small pieces, and ideas to make your hand appliqué faster.

Baltimore Garden Bluebird and Tulip - Friday Morning  8:30-11:30am  Lincoln Room

SOLD OUT A single tulip clipped from one of the original blocks in Barbara’s “Baltimore Garden Quilt” is joined by a swooping bird. Start as a beginner, or expand your applique skills. Learn to applique smooth inner and outer curves, and two methods for a graceful curved stem. Master inner and outer points and learn tricks to make your fabric do as YOU wish using freezer paper on top as a guide for needleturn. Barbara will offer a method of accurate applique placement without marking the background, and tips to make your hand applique faster. For a final touch, the bird will seem to come to life with an embroidered eye.

Antique Cornerstone Applique - Friday Evening  5:30pm - 8:30pm  Lincoln Room

SOLD OUT Inspired by an antique Pennsylvania applique quilt, learn to hand applique with an easy back-basting technique and needleturn using very simple tools – fabrics, pencil, scissors, needle and thread. Start as a beginner, or expand your applique toolbox! Choose fabrics and marking tools for best results with this easy and portable technique. Honor tradition with red and green, or go wild from your fabric stash. Determine the order of appliqué placement and how to align symmetrical pieces. Learn to appliqué gentle inner and outer curves, turn angles on flower buds, and perfect points on leaves. Barbara will offer tips and tricks to handle small and large applique pieces, and ideas to make your hand applique faster.

Baltimore Garden Rose Sprig - Saturday Morning  8:30am-11:30am Lincoln Room

SOLD OUT This graceful little rose sprig is clipped from a pattern in Barbara’s book Baltimore Garden Quilt. With freezer paper on top as your guide for needleturn, learn to hand appliqué with gentle curves, Vs, easy points, and a two-part flower bud with inner and outer curves. Choose from several methods to make graceful curved stems. Honor the traditional with red and green, harness the power of modern fabrics to fussy cut roses and buds, or try an optional broderie perse technique. Barbara will offer tips and tricks to make your hand appliqué faster, and teach you how to manage placement of small appliqué pieces with no marks on the background.

Hope to see you in Paducah!

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.

Cherry Birds and Running Reds

One of my favorite blocks from “Baltimore Garden Quilt”* is this Cherry Bird block. I started this one for teaching a hand applique workshop in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the American Quilter’s Society’s QuiltWEEK event. Now I can finally finish stitching the rest of this block. Just one little problem...

I do not make any marks on my background fabric, so there are no marks remove; however, by the time a hand appliqué block is finished, it is a little wrinkled. So I rinse the block in cool water, then let it dry overnight laid flat on a terrycloth towel. Once the block is dry, I give it a little spray mist, and press it with an iron from the BACK on a fluffy terrycloth towel. (Never press the front of applique – it flattens the applique, and could cause shiny edges at the turned under seam allowance.)

But, wait! OH NO! Some of the red cherry fabrics ran! See the pink halos around the cherries? (Insert your own words of distress here.)
 

No worries, I think I can fix this. Back to the basin, fill with cool water and add a spoonful of Dawn dishwashing liquid (original blue Dawn shown in the photo). Swish it around, and let the block soak in that a while, maybe an hour. Then rinse, rinse, and rinse again to get all the soap out. (No wringing or squeezing which could distort the block.)

Let the block dry once again. Hoooray! The pink halos are gone. Back to the ironing board, face down on the fluffy terrycloth towel. Spray a light mist to dampen the block, and the block is ready to press.
  

Looks good!

 
Students often ask “How did you do the tiny bird’s eyes?” Here is a photo of the fabric (with a penny for scale) that I used for these bird’s eyes. I seem to collect bird’s eye fabrics. This fabric was also available in white, but it was not handy, so I needleturned the pink under, leaving only the circles.
  

One of these days, I will blog step-by-step how I stitch really tiny circles. But, if you were in my Chattanooga workshop, you already know!

Keep stitching,
Barbara M. Burnham

P.S. This pattern and more are available on CD in the book "Baltimore Garden Quilt" or in full size printed patterns here: http://www.barbaramburnham.com/

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

Cynthia in Texas - Broderie Perse Applique

Cynthia in Texas has been busy stitching her Baltimore Garden Quilt blocks with a beautiful twist. She is adding a broderie perse technique, cutting motifs such as flowers and birds from various fabrics. Cynthia is a master at finding just the right fabrics, and using them to their best advantage.

We have seen Cynthia's Block B1 in a previous post, and I've been anxious to share more of her blocks. Now she has finished several more blocks, and here they are (with Cynthia's permission, of course). This one, a floral block with trios of roses in pinks, reds, and burnt orange. Check out these bursting rosebuds, with just a bit of the rose motif in the calyx, and added sets of newly formed rosebuds.

Then, Cynthia completed a wreath with four open blooms - not sure what the flower is called, but it sure is appropriate for this lovely wreath.

Next, a sprouting garden of pinks and iris, and a wreath of old fashioned roses. Several leaves are also carefully cut from her focus fabric.

Here is Cynthia's version of a Woven Basket. Are you noticing all the little tendrils? There are even some tiny morning glory buds to promise more blooms for tomorrow.

And a coordinated vase of full-blown roses, of course, complete with their buds and leaflets.

Perfect for a four-block set!

Cynthia continues on, (there is no stopping her!) to make the same Vase block again, this time, featuring a cutout of a maiden pouring water from a jug. Quite an inspiration for creative use of printed fabrics, don't you think? (And look closely - there are TWO birds in there!)

Note From Cynthia:  The floral fabric is Love Letters by Laundry Basket for Moda. The toile border (and a bit on the baskets) is Garden of Enchantment by Maywood Studio. The background toile is Reflections by Ro Gregg for Paintbrush Studio. 

Baltimore Garden Quilt Fabric Suggestions

The search for just the right fabric continues!

Quilters have sent me questions and suggestions about fabric choices for their Baltimore Garden Quilts, and other 1850s reproduction red and green quilts. As fabrics go out of print and new ones become available, I will try to post more suggestions. Several stitchers are doing blocks with broderie perse fabrics. Those I will list in another post very soon, with lots of photos!

Here are some fabric lines suggested by friends, and shop owners, and some that I have used. The first ones listed may be available now, or have been out for a year or two. Later in my list are newer lines coming soon.

Turkey Red – There are a lot of nice Turkey red solids and subtle prints available all the time. However, I would NOT recommend Kona – it is too thick and heavy for fine appliqué and especially too thick for multilayer flowers.

Here is a red fabric that I have really enjoyed using for multilayer flowers, Robert Kaufman "Fusions" Screen Print D# 5573 (pictured below). This multilayer flower is from the Block B3 pattern; the most complex layered flower in the book, Baltimore Garden Quilt. See how the subtle shading makes it look like each petal was stitched on separately?

For greens and yellows, the following choices are wonderful, if you can still find them:

Windham Fabrics - Baltimore Album ca 1847 – Mary Koval
http://www.windhamfabrics.net/cgi-bin/fabricshop/gallery.cgi?Category=436&View=All&v=1

Windham Fabrics - Mary’s Blenders – Mary Koval
http://www.windhamfabrics.net/cgi-bin/fabricshop/gallery.cgi?Category=479&View=All&v=1

Andover Fabrics - Crimson and Clover – Jo Morton
http://www.andoverfabrics.com/Grid.php?GroupName=Crimson and Clover by Jo Morton

Andover Fabrics - Crimson Bouquet – Jo Morton
http://www.andoverfabrics.com/Grid.php?GroupName=Crimson Bouquet
(A-5085-Y is a fabulous golden yellow!)

COMING SOON, OR LATER THIS YEAR

A friend who recently attended Quilt Market posted an update of future fabric ranges on her blog. Here are some you might want to consider for your Baltimore Garden Quilt.
Here is a fabric line I am really looking forward to! PERFECT yellows, PERFECT greens, and one potential Turkey red print (available 11-20-2012):

Windham Fabrics, New Colonies by Nancy Gere:
http://www.windhamfabrics.net/cgi-bin/fabricshop/gallery.cgi?Category=595&View=All&v=1

Blue Hill Fabrics has some good candidates for yellows and greens in Pomegranate – Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum:
http://bluehillfabrics.net/collections/item/41-pomegranate

There might be a green candidate here:

Marcus Fabrics - Tavern Collection Greens – Paula Barnes
http://www.marcusfabrics.com/cgi-bin/fabricgallery/gallery.cgi?Category=659

The next two collections will be popular for Baltimore Album quilts – definitely also on my list:

Newcastle Fabrics - Prussian Blue – Pamela Weeks
http://newcastlefabric.com/gallery/item/35-prussian-blue

Little Pink Stars – Margo Krager
http://newcastlefabric.com/gallery/item/22-little-pink-stars

If you find other great fabric candidates, please post a comment!

Here is another find (thank you Charmaine!) from Andover Fabrics - IQSC Square in a Square (available September 2012)
http://www.andoverfabrics.com/Grid.php?GroupName=IQSC Square in Square

Fabrics on the Antique Baltimore Garden Quilt

My friend Ady is planning her own Baltimore Garden Quilt. She plans to use her backbasting method, and she is not sure she has enough of the same green fabric that is "perfect for it." Not to worry! My fabric measurements in the book were generous. "Better to have too much than too little," I always say.

However, regarding "perfect for it" -- remember that in the 1840s, quilters "made do."  The quilter (or quilters) who made this antique quilt used several fabrics! You might not notice because they are the same color, but there are different prints. The variety of dyes and dying techniques were much more limited than today. In the book, Baltimore Garden Quilt, compare the green fabrics on pages 6 and 77 and the yellows on page 3 and 77. 

Today I had some time to play, and photographed some closeups for you all. Keep in mind this quilt is 164 years old. The greens have held their color well; the yellows, not so much, and the Turkey reds are disintegrating, some gone to almost pink.   I think it makes any quilt, old or new, much more interesting to vary the fabrics! Don't you?

Thanks Ady, for a great question!

 

 

The last photo shows what happens every time I bring the old girl out to play. :-(

We have to remember, she is 164 years old, and very fragile.