Wool applique process - step by step - part 2

 

For all the talk about an early spring, it's not feeling so at the moment. I took this picture early last week after our first new snow of about 2-3". Saturday we had another storm that dropped 18" of new snow. I take solace in knowing the first of April is Monday and if years past are any measure, once the snow starts to melt, it'll be gone over the span of a few weeks. Pretty though, isn't it?

I potted my Hippeastrum (you may know it as Amaryllis) late this year. I bought the bulb in November intending to grow it for the festive season, but it didn't get potted up until February. At any rate, it is in full bloom now and I've never seen one with so many blossoms: 7! It's a spectacle.

I want to share this piece of music, appropriate to the season. Haydn's Seven Last Words of Christ. I don't think it's as well known as Handel's Messiah, which was written as an Easter Oratorio, even though it's very popular at Christmas, but it should be. It is sublime.

Here is the continuation of my step-by-step process of wool applique. The quilt I am working on is called "Everything's Blooming" designed by Erica Kaprow.

After the stem lines were transferred to my cotton square, I embroidered them using a bright green pearl cotton in stem stitch. Then I added the top pair of leaves and the first flower. This flower could have been sewn with individual petals, or as I have done, grouped petals. I wanted to see how the grouped petals would look and I like it so the other two flowers will be done the same way.

I like to work on my knee! It sound odd, but the curvature is perfect. I'm sure my previous Alexander Technique teacher would gawk to see me hunched over working this way, but I sit up frequently and stretch. At my desk--if I want to watch a video while sewing--I use an ironing ham. It works pretty well also.

You can see I've pinned two more leaves in place. You'll also notice the pointy points at the base of the leaves have been snipped off because they don't always look great in blanket stitch. In my opinion. The next step is choosing a thread for blanket stitching these leaves. Do I want something contrasting?bright? subdued? matching? Decisions to make. I first turn to my "tangle": A tangle of threads left over from other projects. This tangle is always in use and always being fed new left overs. I thought I was the only person to have a 'tangle' so imagine my surprise when I saw Marion of Marion's World (on YouTube) take out her tangle in her videos. If I don't find some thread in the tangle, I'll use new thread.

I found a color that is close to the wool leaves so it won't stand out too much.

And now we sew. I use blanket stitch for these appliques using two strands of embroidery thread. It's possible to use slip stitches as well. I am right handed and work my stitches around the wool in a clockwise direction. To begin, bring the thread up from below the cotton, right next to the wool piece.

Apologies for the less than clear photos. Here you can see the thread coming up from the left side of the leaf, right at it's edge.

Take the needle down through the wool and cotton just a small stitch in from the edge of the wool (depending how big you want your stitches) and bring the needle back up through the cotton at the edge of the wool and over the hanging thread on the left.

Here is the completed stitch.

Sewing the next stitch:

Continue around the wool piece until the starting point is reached, then take the needle to the back near where the thread was originally brought up and secure it on the back. To secure, I like to take 3 small stitches behind the wool piece.

A word about stitch consistency: Don't sweat it. I've heard of people who draw marks on their fingers to gauge stitch size. I don't do that. Trust your eyes and try to ease into a zen state. You'll be surprised that your hands will almost automatically go to the next stitch without you having to think much about it. Your stitches won't all be perfect and they shouldn't be, this is hand work. Hand stitching reveals a beautiful humanity, something the perfection of a machine can never achieve.

It can be difficult to gauge where the edge of the wool is when you are coming back up through the cotton. This is especially so when taking very small stiches because that requires folding the fabric back a little bit. What I do is place my left thumb (my left hand is holding the fabric) right next to the edge of the wool and make a note of it's placement in relation to the wool piece. Then when the edge of the wool lifts up (as it does when you fold the fabric) and obscures the line where it rests on the cotton, you can use your thumb as a visual reference for where to come up.

Points. If I'm working with a piece of wool that is not prone to raveling, I leave the points alone, generally. But blanket stitch around points can end up getting a little bit wonky, no matter how carefully the stitches are laid down. To solve the problem of the point stitch from slipping around, after I've made the stitch I immediately take the needle down through the cotton over the last stitch and that tacks it down.

Here's the finished square:

Happy Easter!

Wool applique process - step by step

 

The first row of blocks for the new quilt is appliqued. So far so good.

Moving on to the next block, I thought I would go through the steps of how wool applique is done--at least how I do it.

Step 1. Get out the box of wool and pick colors for the new block. This is one of the most fun parts of the project.

Step 2. Trace the pattern pieces onto the dull side of freezer paper (not the waxed side). I use a light table that I found at the thrift store.

Step 3. Cut out the individual pieces, leaving a margin.

Step 4. Place the pieces waxed side down on their respective wool pieces and press them with an iron, without steam, for about 5 seconds. The wax will melt and adhere the patterns to the wool.

Step 5. Cut out each piece following the drawn pattern lines.

Step 6. I like to do a color check at this point just to make sure I haven't created something awful. The placement is rough, this is just to check the overall look. On this block, I've only cut out the pieces for one of the flowers because I'm not sure if I want each petal to be an individual piece, or, as I've done here, group some of the petals together. I think it's going to look better with grouped pieces, but I want to sew one before deciding on the others.

Step 7. Trace the bones of the design onto tracing paper. Only the lines for embroidery and perhaps some other placement points--which I may or may not use. I will definitely use the embroidery lines.

Step 8. Fold the blank square and finger press both vertical and horizontal centers to get the center point. Since I work with oversized blocks, it doesn't have to be exact.

Step 9. Rub the back of the tracing paper with chalk--only the parts I want marked on the fabric at this stage. Blow across the chalked back to remove excess chalk. Then I place the tracing paper, chalked side down on the fabric and trace the lines needed for embroidered stems or other parts that will be worked on at this stage.

Step 10. The chalk lines will not be rigorous enough to withstand much embroidering and/or applique so I go over the lines with a fine point Bohn chalk pen. The square is now ready for embroidery.

In my next post, I'll go over the steps involved in appliqueing the wool pieces on the square.

Needle and thread

 

I think we're having an early spring. The temperatures last week were mild, reaching the mid-50s one day. The stove sat un-stoked 2 or 3 days until evening time.  A lot of snow melted, so much so that great swathes of bare ground were uncovered. Then, last night, we got over 6" of new snow. But we had highs in the 40s today and a great deal has already melted. This week's weather looks similar to last week's, so yeah, I think we're having an early spring. Fine by me.

When so much of the yard lay bare this week, the scope of my spring cleanup became apparent. I will have my work cut out for me, for a good month.

Most of my fiber activity this week centered around needle and thread. I have 3 more blocks completed for my new quilt. They are all roughly sized at the moment and need to be trimmed down to 10.75" square before the final construction happens.

I went upstairs to look for my special block ruler last week and couldn't find it. I know I came across it in the not too distant past; seems like it was in one of the boxes of fabric scraps because I remember my reaction when I saw it there. One possibility is that I left it where it was thinking I'll know where it is when I want it. The other possibility is I moved it to the bin that contains sewing related objects. But I'm not even sure that the box of fabric scraps is where I actually saw it. I checked all my fabric boxes and the sewing bin to no avail.

This happens all too often. I put something "away" for safe keeping but subsequently forget where that place is! It might be that my 'filing' system is faulty. Or it might be that I have so many supplies. Or it might be that I don't have enough space. Or it might be all of the above. At any rate, it's still missing. I've looked everywhere it "should" be and it ain't there.

The three newly finished blocks:

I also had a bit of time with the knitting needles. The scarf is longer. I will need to spin some more in order to finish it. I'm thinking 70" would be a good length. Getting close. I really do love this yarn, it's one of my favorite yarns I've ever spun. With the weather being what it is, this scarf will be for next winter.

I have another YouTube channel recommendation. Marion's channel is absolutely fantastic. She's so delightful and utterly creative. She continually astounds me.