My fabric line, The Garden Club, is FULL of images perfect for applique.
My trouble is, however, that
1) I don't have tons of experience with applique and
2) I don't have a sewing machine that can do a blanket stitch or even a good satin stitch, believe it or not. It's a high-horsepower, light industrial workhorse with very little, um, finesse.
So when I set out to make this quilt for Benartex's display at Bernina University, I had issues. I didn't have enough time to hand-applique all the shapes within the white squares plus all of the little flower blossoms scattered about.
My machine couldn't/wouldn't do any standard applique stitches. So I ended up using the raw-edge technique that is growing increasingly popular, but to be perfectly honest I'm not a raw-edge kind of girl. Life goes on, though, and at least it was much faster than doing everything by hand!
I used embroidery floss to do a simple running stitch around all of the applique shapes plus some of the details within the birdhouses, which is an effect that I really like.
My friend Sharon came to the rescue once again on the quilting and binding = I did her son's senior portraits, she did a beautiful job on the quilt. Bartering is great, isn't it? I sure think so.
And, despite puncturing my leg on a rock (hit an artery = an amazing amount of blood!) which necessitated an ER visit, stitches, and a tetanus shot, I was able to get the quilt sent off in time. Fortunately my neighbor was able to wrap my leg well so that the bleeding stopped and I was able to do more work on the quilt and get it sent off to Texas before going in to the ER. Just 4 or 5 hours after the accident....no biggie, right? My husband, who came home from work after hearing about my injury, thinks I'm crazy. I hate to admit it, but he's probably right. :-)
You aren't crazy, you're a crafter! I would've done the same thing. :) The quilt turned out adorable! I love it!
I actually punctured my leg a few months ago. It wasn't nearly as bad, but your story brought back all those bloody memories.
Posted by: Kristina | July 20, 2011 at 06:28 AM
Amazing appliques!! I like it very much. It's really tough job though you can create such appliques with awesome designs. Great job done by you.
Posted by: http://www.karney.co.il | September 22, 2011 at 10:03 AM
I love your fabric line pictured. I just discovered your blog on stumble upon.
Posted by: Nancy | May 22, 2012 at 02:55 PM