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!