It's the new term at quilt group, and I've got the perfect project to take along to complete - Siris Duk, a tablerunner pattern by AnnAKa. I had bought this as a kit from Lappedilla when I first met Hanne in November 2009..... .....I had already made a runner for my dining table table with this kit in 2009. I had saved all the left-over scraps, and luckily had enough to make a smaller runner for my coffee table..... .....I had already pieced the runner together earlier this week and made a start on the quilting - stitch-in-the ditch to start with, followed by a random cross-hatch pattern which was then embellished with some cording (this is made MUCH easier with a special cording foot)..... .....so last night at the quilt group I was able to do this - some machine applique - again, I used a button-hole stitch for this. The heart shapes were fused into place with steam-a-seam-lite (see previous blog post about how to do this). I didn't get to bind it last night as I was a bit busy chatting away too..... .....anyway, this morning I've finished sewing on the binding - I have used the same fabric as the backing (Peace On Earth by 3 Sisters for Moda). Oh and finished with a flourish of course!..... .....now I can have the same style runner on the dining table AND on the coffee table. Wonder how long it will be before it's covered with mugs, newspapers, magazines, the laptop etc etc!
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Once I'd completed a couple of Kaffepause tablerunners, (one for the dining table and a smaller one for the coffee table - pattern by Bente Malm) it was time to get started on some matching placemats. I used fusible pellon for the wadding, which I ironed onto the backing fabric, then used 505 spray to fuse the pieced placemat top to the wadding. Finally I quilted them like the tablerunner, in a very simple way, "stitch-in-the-ditch"..... .....to make the applique leaves, two strips of fabric were sewn together, with the seam pressed open, then the applique design was traced onto the steam-a-seam lite. I cut the shapes out roughly about a quarter of an inch away from the traced outline, and placed it in position on the wrong side of the pieced fabric..... .....then with a hot iron fused the cut shapes into place. I normally use a teflon pressing sheet for this part, so the iron doesn't get covered in sticky stuff, but this photo was taken before the iron was switched on!!..... .....a steady hand is needed next! The applique shapes are carefully cut out along the traced outline - this gives you a nice clean crisp edge, which will not fray while you are working with it..... .....see? I like using these really sharp scissors by Clover - I've had this pair for about 6 years and they are still razor sharp..... .....then carefully peel off the backing from the steam-a-seam lite, taking care not to rip the applique leaves where the "veins" have been cut away..... .....the leaves can then be put onto the placemats, and when you're happy with the position, they can then be fused into place, again with a hot iron (making sure you use the teflon sheet!) and it's ready for the machine applique..... .....I tend to always use the same shade when using a brown thread (Mettler quilting thread shade 712) as my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven stocks this colour in larger 457m reels. The machine applique was a bit tricky around these smaller cut-outs..... .....and here is the finished set of placemats. I've really enjoyed making this pattern. Think I might have a rummage in my stash and see what other colours I could make this pattern in - Eva - do you think a green runner would look good?? As my regular blog followers and friends know, I really enjoy making table runners and I just loved this pattern by Bente Malm so you can imagine how excited I was a few weeks ago when this arrived in the post from Lappe-Elisa in Sweden - "Kaffepause" (coffee break) - a pattern and material pack to make a runner, placemats and mug rugs...... .....lots of strip-piecing was involved - I decided to get all the piecing done first. I've made a runner for the dining table, six placemats AND there was enough fabric leftover for a smaller runner for the coffee table in the lounge..... .....this extra-wide fabric (Peace on Earth, by 3 Sisters for Moda) was leftover from a previous quilting project. I had bought this fabric from my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven, ages ago, and had enough for the backing of both runners and the placemats. It is a gorgeous brown tonal floral print..... .....I used my favourite wadding, a fusible pellon, which I fused to the backing fabric, then spray basted the runner top to the pellon with a few squirts of 505 adhesive spray..... .....the runner was quilted using a very simple technique known as "stitch-in-the-ditch" and I used a brown Mettler quilting thread, shade 712..... .....finally the appliqued leaves - no, I couldn't be bothered to do this by hand, life is too short!! My Bernina is very good at machine applique thank goodness! I used steam-a-seam lite to apply the leaves before appliqueing them in place with a buton-hole stitch..... ....I really like this contemporary design and neutral colourway..... .....and even finished with a flourish ;) A few weeks ago I was encouraged by a colleague (Hi Sarah!!) to make some labels for the bags that I make - and so set about surfing the web for something appropriate. I didn't want to spend too much time making them myself, so decided to order some from a firm - easy2name - that would print exactly what I wanted - however, things did not go according to plan!! Firstly, this firm sent the labels but the name was spelt wrong - the "e" was missing from "foreman" - oh dear - anyway, they offered to re-do them and apparently were going to send them to me "right away"..... .....well that was 3 weeks ago and I'm still waiting for them!! And in the meantime, I ordered the same type of labels from another company - Woven Labels UK - who sent the labels out swiftly, with no printing errors!! and were MUCH cheaper. I chose similar wording, but this time opted for a dark grey print on the labels.... .....these are great, and I can use them as tabs on the bags that I make, and can sew them across the corner on the back of quilts and runners if I don't want to make a handmade label of my own......... .....and I've sewn this one onto the pocket flap of a bag - a special gift for a friend's 65th birthday. Now what else can I sew these on ;) |
About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! Archives
July 2023
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