T4T5 – Gone potty with appliqué – April was a success

Today was fun. Having got myself a new glue stick during the week, I’ve been playing with freezer paper appliqué to further test my Modern Twist appliqué teapot template (try to say that five times quickly!). Here’s what I ended up with...
While I’ve decided I like the result I’ve got, I’m still deciding if this is worth the extra work to use the freezer paper method. I like the rounded edge, the extra layers, the ability to use less stark stitching and the general texture of the freezer paper method. The down side is, it is more fiddly, and I’m not sure it’s worth it yet…So the results we have for the different colours and styles of the Modern Twist teapot are shown in the photo below.

I’ve been thinking some more while I’ve done these three, and I think the design of the quilt is going to change a bit – to now more obviously include a clock face as part of the centre panel, so I think what I might do is use a combination of the different appliqué methods, with the ‘stick and stitch’ method for the appliqué in the background (as its not worth the bother if it will be covered by other layers anyway) and the freezer-paper or similar for the foreground teapots. So what all this means is also that I need some more teapot templates to experiment with to test this view – and probably to explain the general layout of the quilt so you can all picture what it might be like as well.
Happy stitching,
Bert

PS: I drafted this post on 26 April and then neglected to load it - that's why we've got April in the May section - Doh! Bert.

A Mother's Day Diversion - Cards

There’s so much to write about today, I’ve been up to all sorts of things. But first a quick diversion. In preparation for Mother’s Day I decided to experiment with patchwork cards for my collection of mothers. I found some instructions that were a useful starting point at http://craftapple.wordpress.com/2006/08/23/quilted-cards-tutorial/. I made three and they took from about 15minutes to an hour to make depending on how complex I made the design. I varied my approach to craftapples' in that I did use fusible interfacing as the backing for the fabric instead of paper – I like the soft look this has, and it’s easier to work with on my sewing machine. This was a great project and easy to do – I felt very satisfied having played around in the sewing room for a couple of hours, finished more than one thing, and made something that someone else will enjoy. Here’s what the result looked like.


The card size is about 4”x6”, which is within the standard card size limit and so it only cost me 55 cents to post each one as well. I was curious to find out from my mothers how these survived the interstate trip with the postman, and I’ve advised that they are in excellent condition. So, I think we can call this a success, and I’ve found another use for the little scrappy bits of fabric that are too small for most things, but too precious to be thrown away.

Happy crafting for another week.
Bert

T4T4 – Testing the Template and my patience ;-)

I’ve been busy making wine today, so with the couple of hours of the day left I decided to do some more experimenting with the Modern Twist teapot template…
Last weekend I took this template and appliqued it using the ‘stick and stitch’ method and two different colour schemes. I was trying to figure out whether the design would be effective as one solid piece, or look better with a bit more contrast. Have a look at the two blocks below and make up your own mind…



I’ve done a survey of the people who’ve visited this week, and the consensus is that the teapot with the contrast is much more effective than the plain one - the plain one loses the great shape of the teapot into one amorphous mass. I also quite like the effect of the contrast block despite the brown which generally isn’t a favourite colour of mine.

Having now decided that the contrast block worked better, I want to also experiment with different appliqué techniques. The stick and stitch examples from last week look fine, but they are still a bit flat, and I’m never entirely satisfied with the durability of this approach given that there are still raw edges ther. Set on experimenting further today, I’ve decided to try the ‘freezer paper’ method as well, to see what results I get.

So, I experimented with different scraps of fabric that I have and my crude-but-effective design wall to figure out what to combine. Next I ironed on and cut out the pieces but…when I went to stick the seam allowance I discovered that…my glue stick had turned into a dried out, rubbery useless thing. Doh! So, the rest of the experiment will have to wait until next weekend when I’ve been shopping and upgraded my glue stick. In the meantime I’ll write some notes for the bertcollections website on using a design wall and wait to see if any of you have comments on the two different versions of the modern twist block as well.

Happy creating for another week.
Bert