I finally finished the Clementine Mini Quilt.
I'm pretty happy with the way it looks now that it's finished.
I ended up free-motion quilting over the entire quilt.
The back is a print from a P&B collection called Nellie's Garden that I got at Fabric Depot (in Portland).
I finished the quilt with an electric blue binding. Yay for another finished project!
To say that I am not a master of hand applique is truly an understatement. My skills, while improving, are nowhere near where they should be. I'm sure this will look better after pressing and quilting, but I feel like it's kind of a mess right now!
I now have almost 75% finished though! (The pieces at the top aren't tacked down yet.)
ETA: I hope I haven't given anyone the idea that hand applique like this is difficult. It absolutely isn't, and I really encourage you to try it, if it interests you! My problem is mainly my attitude! I just find the process a bit tedious and tend to fuss a lot over the way the stitches look and the points match up. (I feel the same way about English paper piecing and most other handwork.) I figure that I'll only get better with practice though, so I'm making myself work on some handwork projects. Thank you for all your words of encouragement!
After a couple of false starts, I'm finally making progress on the Clementine Mini Quilt.
l sewed and removed some of the hand appliques several times before I got what I thought was an acceptable stitch. I also switched to a slightly-heavier cotton/linen background, which I've found is easier to work with than the Kona cotton I was using.
I was especially happy with the way these four pieces lined up.
I want to thank everyone who recommended the straw needles and silk thread! I'm using both and they are definitely making things easier.
I have one third (four complete circles) of the pieces done now!
I'm making progress on the Clementine mini quilt.
I layered my posterboard guide and a piece of Kona Snow and laid all of the almond-shaped pieces out on top of it.
Once I had them all where I wanted them, I put a little label on each piece, so I could see where they went on the quilt top.
l separated them into 12 stacks (4 pieces per stack).
Starting in the middle, I pinned and sewed one set of four pieces. My hand applique needs work, but the overall shape is nice. I think I'm going to find some applique needles before I move on.
So, I changed my mind. When I started working on this mini quilt, I was not in favor of using applique. Now I've decided it's the best possible method. That's the problem with blogging about my process, I suppose. You're going to end up seeing a lot of do-overs!
My change of heart was based, largely, on my discovery of the amazing Joseph's Coat Quilt-Along over at Don't Look Now. I love the way that quilt is appliqued and pieced in a way that means there are no seams showing and decided I wanted to duplicate that "no seams" look on the Clementine quilt.
(I also signed up for the quilt-along, so you'll start seeing my, probably slow, progress on that in June.)
The quilt-along requires a stabilizer product called Stitch and Wash, which I'm now using for the Clementine quilt. I found mine at Montavilla Sewing Center (the one on 84th and Stark -- it's apparently not available at the other locations).
While at Montavilla, I also found a fusible water soluble stabilizer (on the right in the above photo) that may be suitable for Stamp Collection quilts. A lot of people have asked me about using a wash-away stabilizer instead of interfacing but, as I've mentioned, I had never seen one with all the necessary properties for the quick-piecing. I'm going to test this one in the coming weeks, and I'll let you know what happens.
For the Clementine quilt, I drew the full-size pattern on a piece of poster board.
I made a template for the almond shapes to match my sketch, but I put them together exactly as the appliques for Don't Look Now!'s quilt-along are made.
Because this is mini quilt, I'll be able to applique the almond shapes onto a single piece of fabric. I'm just going to lay a piece of fabric over my sketch and use it as a placement guide for the appliques. This is probably going to take a little longer, but I'm happy about the change, as I think the resulting quilt will be much, much more attractive.
I also want to send a big, big thank you to Don't Look Now! for introducing me to an awesome product and teaching me a new and wonderful applique technique!
Several of you have asked about Furry Felt. What is it? Where can you find it, etc?
I bought mine at Joann. Here is a link to some for sale on their website. At my local store is was $5.99/yard and came in a wider variety of colors (all neutrals). It's called Plush Felt on the website and Furry Felt on the bolt. Basically, its just a thick, furry felt. It's synthetic, so you can't iron right on it, but you can press it with a protective cloth without doing much to destroy the furryness (and even if it flattens during pressing, it pops back up again in the dryer). It's not stretchy either, so it's very easy to work with. As an added bonus, it becomes even softer after washing, which gives it a clear advantage over regular synthetic felt, which tends to pill.
This pattern (Simple Modern Baby Quilts) was permanently retired in Summer 2010, but has been replaced with an updated pattern called More Simple Modern Baby Quilts. The new pattern doesn't involve Minky or animal appliques, but does include additional piecing styles, including matching pieced backs. If you're looking for applique instructions, you can find them here.
Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments this week! The pattern is now available in my Etsy Shop.
The three giveaway winners, via random number generator, are: Randi, Alice S. and Kat. Congratulations!
This sample features a Timeless Treasures print called Warhol Dogs. (Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure it's out of print.) The coordinating prints are all gold, brown, black and white. The sashing is delft cotton/linen.
The dog applique is made from Furry Felt and Wool Felt.
The binding is a great dalmation print from Michael Miller and the back is white Minky Velvet.
The third sample quilt is built around Michael Miller's Retro Rocket Rascals print. The contrasting prints are in muted primary colors. (I was sad to part with the last of my Building Blocks rainbow ruler fabric!)
The bird applique is made from Furry Felt, which is soft and washable.
The sashing is butter colored cotton/linen and the binding is Baby Star in red from Alexander Henry. This quilt is backed in cotton chenille, which is somewhat easier to sew than Minky, since it doesn't stretch.
The second sample is built around another Alexander Henry print, this time Nicoise in pink, red and lime green. I chose coordinating prints in red and pink -- many of which are fussy cut.
The cat applique is made with Furry Felt.
The white sashing is regular Kona cotton.
The binding is another Michael Miller dot in lime green and the back is white Minky Curly.
