I have been playing with raw-edge applique!
Do you recognize the Shasta?
That center dot is my "miniaturized" version, copied from the "Hello Mr. Ranger, Sir!" Insulated Picnic Bag, (and
pictured on the cover of!) Lara Buccella's new book,
"Crafted Applique... New Possibilities".
Welcome to Day #6 of the Blog Hop and Book Tour!
All month long, we are
celebrating the recent release of this exciting new book!
Lara is giving away a LOT of books during the hop,
(the Vintage Picnic giveaway is open until June 4th!) including a signed copy to one lucky reader of this post!
I am so grateful to share with you today, just how this book is inspiring me. One thing that intrigues me is the realization that very
small piecework is possible with Lara's techniques. Those three dots I made are part of my
Quilty365 Journal-Quilt: They're 3.5" Diameter each!
The Shasta trailer has pieces
so tiny, I used tweezers to set them in place!
Then I
top-stitched those little guys!
With Crafted Applique new things really
are possible, and I find myself looking around my stash for potential candidates for applique. A rabbit caught my eye and I cut a piece of the vintage, sateen-type fabric to experiment with him a bit.
Cutting an image from fabric, for applique, is much like
Broderie Perse. Usually flowers are involved, but bunnies work for me.
This rabbit is appliqued on some Heather Ross stash, then top-stitched by machine, with black thread.
I practiced some of Lara's tips for top-stitching the applique's.
I used my old Bernina 1020, with the 1/4" foot because it has an open toe.
It was working pretty well, so I left it on when I stitched all of these down:
MOD Winter Wallhanging, approx. 24" x 28", combines tiny pieces with large.
Currently loitering in the ever-accumulating FQDP pile (Final Quilting
Decisions Pending).
I thought those large pieces may need the walking foot, but no distortion resulted and I was able to use the same foot to finish all the pieces.
My wheels were still turning..
I suppose I am on a bit of a holiday roll, the next project I chose to be sidetracked by is Just Batty:
Pattern by Carolyn Lynch, "The Bat in the Moonlight". I found the block printed in QNM, OCT 98 issue. It was designed for her quilt, "Something Wicked This Way Comes". Does anyone remember it? It's an
amazing quilt, as are all of the quilts I found displayed on Carolyn's website,
Articles of Merit Not Listed.
The block is a single applique, nearly 16" across. I used my FMQ foot for this because I am top-stitching and quilting at the same time. I left the feed dogs up since the piece is small enough that I don't need to go backward much. The stitching went really well despite my increased speed, (this was stitched last night - I really wanted to have the background quilted too!).
Perhaps there's a Hawaiian quilt in my future afterall?
Loving how it looks with my witchy hat...
A pleasant surprise, and huge value-bonus are seven amazing projects designed by Lara. Practical projects with stunning beauty and style. Now that I have built some confidence, Folk Art Christmas is on my definitely-must-do-soon list!
Keep following the blog hop to see more of the projects revealed!
Blog Hop Schedule:
May 1 .....
Kick-Off and continued giveaways with Lara at Buzzin Bumble
May 6 ..... Thank you for visiting Red Letter Quilts!
Thank you so much for reading today!
Leave a comment on this post to be entered in the drawing for your own copy of Crafted Applique... New Possiblities! Giveaway is open through Sunday, May 17th, Winner selected by random drawing and announced on Monday the 18th.
Edited on MONDAY, May 16th: Apparently I was looking at the April calendar when I wrote this! Giveaway will remain open for entries through Tuesday, May 17th!
I hope you find this book as inspirational as I have found it to be!
Have you set a quilty-goal for May yet? (linkup open through May 7th!)
