The Great Featherweight Cover-Up

Last year in Paducah, KY at the AQS Quilt Show, I bought a pattern for this Featherweight Cover-Up and Thread Catcher from Chris Moline. What a great idea to protect our precious antique vintage sewing machines while in storage or travel, and at the same time, keep our sewing area neat with a pocket to catch snippets and threads.

Note: This is not an advertisement, and I have no affiliation with Chris, but it is fun to share such great ideas! Isn’t this a great idea!?!

The instructions provided in the pattern are minimal, but as my Grandma used to say “How hard can it be?” It looks easy enough, and a simple pattern. The only real challenge (to me) was a little clip – how to sew around that little clip had me stumped – so the pattern sat around for a quite a while, cut out, but unsewn.

You know how sometimes when you can’t sleep, your mind wanders aimlessly? That’s when I realized, "Oh! Yes! I know how to do this!" I had some pre-quilted fabric and binding strips on hand; so if it didn’t work out, it would be an inexpensive trial run. At the clip, I stretched the edge way apart, pinned it well, and kept the needle down at the corners. For binding, one strip cut from selvage to selvage was plenty.

Maybe I will make another Cover-Up someday. Next time, my Cover-Up will be appliqued with a flower and bird from my Baltimore Garden Quilt pattern!


Fans of vintage Singer Featherweight sewing machines will want to know about this pattern, so I contacted Chris. (I don’t think she has a website.) Here is information directly from Chris:

"This pattern is $2.75 plus $1.00 in postage. Orders for the pattern only can be placed by mailing a check made out to Chris Moline, 1168 Hyde Park Lane, Naperville, IL 60565. If they desire additional featherweight items, I would suggest they call 630-357-8055. For orders over $10 they can use VISA, MasterCard or Discover. I am running a bit low on the pattern after this year's quilt show season, but am planning to go out today and get more printed, as it has been very popular." - Thanks Chris!



P.S. The light on the left of my sewing machine is a magnetic, battery operated barbeque grill light. Another great idea for sewing on the go!

Keep Stitching!
Barbara M. Burnham
Author of Baltimore Garden Quilt

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

Applique Stems and Vines - So Many Methods!

A valuable resource for your applique library, or gift for your applique friends.

This 22-page handbook explains 18 DIFFERENT METHODS to make applique stems and vines, basket weavers, and more. Try different methods for curved or straight stems, by hand or by machine, with or without special tools. Learn which methods work best for each situation, and when to use bias or straight grain fabric.

Photos and graphics show examples to ensure your applique success. Helpful tips and tricks are scattered throughout.
For example:  Here is an easy way to determine how long to make stems for your project:

"Measure the length of stem with a flexible measuring tape. Stand the tape on its edge against the pattern. Add 1/2 inch for overlap at each end." For lots of stems, keep holding the tape at that measurement, and continue along the tape to measure the next stem. As you measure, checkmark each stem on your pattern or write the length needed.

We all have our favorite method of making applique stems. My personal favorite is using bias bars. But what if I’m traveling with no sewing machine, no bias bars, rulers, rotary cutters or mat. What to do? Maybe you prefer Clover(R) Bias Tape Makers, but don’t have the right size, or forgot where you put them?

Find the best way to arrange stems onto your block. Achieve graceful curves or dimensional stems. Use modern tools and sewing machines, or sew by hand with minimal tools. Discover the value of a hera marker. Be inspired by methods found on antique and vintage applique quilts. Weave an applique basket. Try backbasting applique. Learn about Neverending Stems and Stained Glass Applique. Add new skills to your applique repertoire and have some fun.
PLUS – You will also receive “Which Method for Your Project?” rating each method as Good for Curves? Easy to Turn Stem Ends? Narrowest/Widest? Easy for Beginners? (These questions are explored in my Applique Stems and Vines workshop.)

Use Paypal to purchase the book at my website. Questions or need a shipping quote for additional copies? Contact me at my website: http://www.barbaramburnham.com

Keep Stitching!
Barbara M. Burnham
Author of Baltimore Garden Quilt


(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.

APPLIQUE! Workshops at AQS Chattanooga, September 10-13, 2014

Join us in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the American Quilter's Society QuiltWeek for some applique!  Whether you are a beginner or advanced appliquer, have fun learning new techniques in Chattanooga. I will be teaching FOUR applique workshops, plus free demos of Applique Basket Weaving. Some workshops are almost FULL, so hurry and register. Hope to see you there!

Enjoy over 500 quilts, including the incredible AQS contest quilts! My quilt "M.E.C. Remembered" from the book Baltimore Garden Quilt will also be on exhibit.  

#63501 Edge-Ruched Flower and Bud

Wednesday 1:00-4:00 pm

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.

http://www.quiltweek.com/workshops/63501-edged-ruched-flower-and-bud/?portfolioID=13202

#63101 Cherry Tree Birds

Thursday 8:30am-4:00pm

SOLD OUT Four hungry birds in a cherry tree appear on an antique quilt featured in Barbara’s book Baltimore Garden Quilt. Plan traditional colors of red and green, or go wild from your fabric stash as Barbara shows you the techniques needed to finish this block including: how to choose fabrics, organize and manage lots of pieces, and accurately place the pattern without marking the background. Learn how to needle-turn smooth curves and points with the freezer paper on-top method. Make perfectly round, stuffed cherries with super skinny appliquéd cherry stems. Raise your skills to a new level, and learn to sew tiny appliqué on a bird’s eyes and legs, or use embroidery techniques for details. Experiment with layered appliqué and off-block appliqué techniques. Barbara will offer tips, tricks, and ideas to make your hand appliqué even faster. http://www.quiltweek.com/workshops/63101-cherry-tree-birds/?portfolioID=13202

#63502 Baltimore Garden Tulips

Friday 8:30-11:30am

SOLD OUT Inspired by an antique appliqué quilt, perky tulips are clipped from the larger pattern in Barbara’’s book Baltimore Garden Quilt. Learn to hand appliqué smooth curves and soft leaf points. With freezer paper on-top as your guide for needle-turn, master the V-points in the tulip and inner U-curves of unfurled tulip buds. Choose from several methods to make graceful curved stems. Barbara will offer tips and tricks to make your hand appliqué faster, and how to manage accurate placement of appliqué pieces without marking the background.
http://www.quiltweek.com/workshops/63502-baltimore-garden-tulips/?portfolioID=13202

#63503 Applique Stems and Vines

Saturday 8:30-11:30am

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 weaves 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. http://www.quiltweek.com/workshops/63502-baltimore-garden-tulips/?portfolioID=13202

See you in Chattanooga!

Barbara M. Burnham

www.barbaramburnham.com/

Keeping a Quilt Journal

GUEST BLOG from my friend Misty Cole:

Keeping a Quilt Journal

Photos and text by Misty M. Cole

A friend of mine recently joined a long-term class to make a Dear Jane quilt.  It is composed of 225 unique blocks, and in the book that reproduces the 1863 patterns, Brenda Papadakis recommends putting together a journal before beginning your blocks. I saw my friend’s journal when she was working on her blocks at a meeting one day. I was about to begin work on a Baltimore Garden quilt, and I thought the binder idea was just fantastic. I decided to put together my own journal before I began appliquéing.

The binder is a nice structure for a quilt journal, since you can add or subtract pages as needed. My binder has pockets in each cover which is convenient for holding receipts, selvages or anything else you want to keep handy. To begin, I found a roomy binder.  I put a color copy of the full quilt in the front cover.

I filled the binder with page protectors. I printed out all my patterns from the Baltimore Garden CD, and put one in every other sleeve.  I made a journal template on my word processor, which had spaces for date begun, date finished, and notes about each block.  I printed out one sheet for each block in the quilt, and labeled each sheet with the block names and letters.

As  I prep each block for applique, I put my pieces into a small plastic baggie and slide it into the sleeve opposite my journal page for that block, where I stored the block pattern.  When I am done sewing the applique, I return the bag of freezer paper templates to the sleeve in case I need them later.
On each journal page, I list dates and notes as I sew. I list things like measurements I need to refer to later, or what was happening on the day I started this block (“I have a new niece!”). I can add in-progress photos.

Why keep a quilting journal? It helps keep a record of how long it took to complete a project. It is a way to stay organized so you don’t lose patterns or pieces of fabric or information. You can keep track of how much money you have spent on a project. It can be a great motivational tool, for those days you are feeling discouraged or bored with your project. It is a wonderful souvenir for long after your project is done.

Even if you do not want a binder journal, there are plenty of other options. Jot down your notes in a spiral notebook or blank journal dedicated to quilting projects.  You might even choose to keep a spreadsheet on your computer with simple information about each quilt, like title, size, year completed, where it currently resides, where it has been shown, etc.

You can print free journal pages at this website: http://www.quilties.com/projects/printable-quilt-journal-pages/

I have found my journal to be a very useful tool.  I hope you find a method of journaling about your quilts that works for you!

Thanks Misty, for being my guest blogger today!
Keep Stitching (and journaling),
Barbara M. Burnham

More Options for Baltimore Garden Quilts - Different Colors, Different Layouts

Nobody says you have to do an antique reproduction exactly like the original!

Playing on the computer, I made a "negative" image of my reproduction Baltimore Garden. Maybe this will be my next quilt? Blue is my favorite color....

... and maybe sew the blocks together a different layout instead of the original arrangement. In the picture below, all the blocks are the same, but rearranged around the center; just a little more balanced. Try this technique for planning your quilt layout -- print a color photo, cut up the blocks, rearrange, and paste the blocks down within the border -- a paper design wall!

So many options. What's next?

Keep Stitching!
Barbara M. Burnham

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

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.

Baltimore Fruit Bowl - Valuable Lessons

Over the years, I have been fortunate to attend lots of appliqué workshops, learning from many talented teachers and friends. None of these class projects were ever finished during class. Hand appliqué, especially Baltimore-style, is not known for instant gratification. However, I do not count the hours, I just enjoy them.

I was just going to make one block … this Fruit Bowl, in a class taught by Anne Connery.

 

 

Anne provided each student a pack of wonderful fabrics for the pineapple, the bowl, watermelon, and some leaves. Anne’s kits did not include background fabric – we were to bring our own. This turned out to be the "most valuable lesson" I learned from Anne in that class – always bring your own background fabric to class. That way, no matter what fabrics are used or offered in a project kit, your blocks are more likely to eventually go together in a quilt! That is probably why my “Pride of Baltimore II” quilt eventually became a finished quilt, instead of unfinished (and unrelated) blocks languishing in a closet somewhere.

 

The pineapple was another valuable lesson, and the biggest challenge for me. It is made by sewing criss-crossed lines of running stitches and then gathering them up to tie around a template. Challenging, but what fun! Blackberries were gathered a similar way. The bitten apple (a bit of broderie perse) and peaches were harvested from my fabric stash. (You can click on this photo for an extreme closeup.)

 

This is one block that wound up in my "Pride of Baltimore II" quilt, along with 11 others and the central medallion with the schooner. I'll publish more about those in future posts.

 

Pattern for this block can be found in “Papercuts and Plenty” by Elly Sienkiewicz.

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