Wednesday, February 20, 2013

First Attempt- Applique


     I skipped out of work today- to sew!
My Block of the Month includes applique, 
and a free class on how to do it.
 Having worked there for over 12 years,
I am blessed to have 26 vacation days
on top of the 8 or 9 regular corporate days off
so I can take some fun days throughout the year.


(Susie Q's - before hours, she normally has a bench
draped with a quilt and a quilted bear outside)

I  don't know how to applique.
I don't know how to change any settings on my machine either
so off to the quilt shop I went, instruction manual in hand.
The class of 10 turned out to be only two of us,
which was great- two instructors, two students. 
It can't get any better.  Good thing too!

After fiddling around for about 15-20 minutes 
to select the proper program, change the tension
select the right foot and test the stitch,
I was ready to begin.

We were to bring some scraps.
They showed me how to use the interfacing,
how to sew around the tracing line, 
cut open the interfacing and turn the piece inside out
(right side out?) and then press to the base using
a foundation piece beneath the fabric and
a Teflon ironing cloth to keep any stickiness from
oozing onto the iron.

I  made my leaf
and stitched around it.
The leaf shape may not be perfect
but that was user error!  I don't think I cut it straight.
The first point was a little off because
I didn't understand how the blanket stitch would work
but it got much easier.  The foot I chose, 
base on what Pfaff recommended, has a guide
to keep the stitch in place.
It's not perfect but for the first time I ever did this,
I would have been happy with only slightly horrible.
They actually were complimentary!
I didn't know to bring contrasting thread
that was thicker and a needle to accommodate it
so we just worked with what I had.

I also made a circle but decided to finish the 
stitching at home since it was going well.
 I have purchased lots of fabric from this shop,
she carries the really good stuff.
I can't afford all really good stuff so I wanted to also 
hit a fabric sale a couple of towns over,
which from my house is not really all that far.
They had fabrics marked down to $3/yard
with 1/2 yard minimums.


I selected 1 yard each of these black & whites 


  
Several 1/2 yard fabrics
 I


I had to get the cats  - love cats!
Who could pass up these frogs?
I may be able to use them along with the
Real Tree deer panel I have.


  I selected some orange/yellows
and some purples- you can hardly see the 
purple plaid but it's there.


  Some blues and reds


 I added more pinks.


A few fat quarters, just because.


Plus a stencil to use as I try quilting.
All in all it was a very productive day.

Tomorrow we are having an ice storm
so I will make my first attempt to work from home
since I have a laptop and shared documents are
on our SharePoint sites.
My work phone is already forwarded to my cell.
  Our highway department is calling for people
to stay off the highways .
Hopefully this works out well 
because I can do this once a week and 
with gas the way it is,
it will pay off since I drive an hour to work
on a good day!

Now I'll have to get some applique
gear and start making some pretty things!

 Linking to Country Homemaker Hop


7 comments:

Scrapatches said...

Nice applique ... 1st time or no. I love the look of applique but I need a class with two teachers and two students in order to get it looking anywhere approching this. You snatched and stashed some nice fabrics there in the sale section. I am thinking some of the pinks would look nice with the pretty colorful cat fabric and border print you have a few posts back ... it would look very spring. Maybe a table runner and placemats. I have a set of bunny fabric ones for spring. Hope the ice storm does not cause any problems. Stay safe and warm and think spring!

MandaBurms FarmStay for Cats. said...

Oh my $3.00 a yard I would be in heaven - here in NZ a fat quarter is $7.00 odd.
Great start to the appliqué whoop whoop it is soo fun learning a new skill.
Love Leanne

Candy C. said...

You picked up some beautiful fabrics and I love the applique you did! I have only done applique by hand, not sure if my machine even does that. I hope working from home works out, it would be nice to NOT have to buy gas at least one day a week.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Oh my! This isn't Moda but nice everyday fabric. Even our Moda FQ are about $3. Yours are $7? I wonder how much international shipping is? Geez, maybe all us US quilters should send you a fat quarter! I wonder what international shipping is?

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

They are pretty. I had to force myself out, each one was only $1.50 for a half yard! It's not the BEST quilt shop quality but it's great for aprons, pincushions, placemats, etc. Nothing at all wrong with it. I found out it's only a blanket stitch but has to be able to do Mirror Image, which I didn't know I had either.

HIBISCUS HOUSE said...

Kathy! I love it..you are like me love fabric! You found some very very pretty prints. You lucked up with the class talk about one on one it doesn't get any better than that! Thanks for sharing.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

It was exciting to go and rummage through piles of fabrics, mostly laid out on shelves by color range. Half yards for $1.50 too!