February | 2015 | sewing room secrets

I’m making very slow progress with my Love Entwined quilt …

The truth is, I found stitching the zig-zag border very tedious (there, I said it!) and that led me to abandon the quilt for a long time. Eventually, I did pick it up again and have been getting on with things a lot better now that the border is finished!

So, the first vase is now brimming over with berries and blooms and I just need to embroider a few stamens to a couple of the flower centres.

Now I’m working on the second vase of flowers …

I apply tiny drops of Roxanne’s glue-baste-it to hold the pieces in place before stitching them down.

This amazing applique glue dries in minutes, holds great and is 100% water soluble, with no harmful chemicals, dyes or waxes. It also comes with a super fine syringe-like applicator which allows for controlled droplets of tiny beads of glue just where you need it! I find glueing so much better than pinning, since I don’t prick my fingers so much 🙂 That’s gotta be a good thing, right? Cos who wants blood on their quilt?

And, best of all, I get to combine embroidery and applique on this quilt too … *happy sigh*

.. and it was so worth it to persevere with that pesky border, cos the end result is pretty cool! I love the whole 3D effect with the zig-zags 🙂 This is how the whole thing looks from a distance …

Whether or not I ever go ‘all the way’ with this quilt remains to be seen (the finished size is 90″ x 90″ – yikes!), but right now I’m not looking too far ahead. One piece at a time is enough for me …

Happy stitching!

Natalie x

The patchwork group that I attend are hosting a BOM this year, with different members of the group demonstrating a technique or a block that they have enjoyed doing and are happy to share with everyone. The idea is that you can either make a quilt with all the blocks or you can just do particular blocks that appeal to you and make them into cushions, mini quilts or other small items of loveliness ♥

I have been asked to host a demonstration on my preferred method of applique for the March block. Oh the pressure! Yikes! This wee butterfly block is what I intend to go with. What d’ya think?

The finished blocks will be 12″. I wanted to use my block to make a table topper, so I stitched six 2½” squares either side of the butterfly and added a 3” inch strip of the grey linen that I love so much. Then I finished the whole thing up nice and neat with some gorgeous aqua binding.

I quilted some simple blooms here and there, adding a cluster of beads to some of the flower centres for a wee bit of sparkle …

The method of applique that I use is often referred to as the ‘freezer paper and starch’ method. I like this method best, because I like how the pieces hold their shape as I work with them and I can get pretty smooth edges too 🙂

I used fabric from my stash, because I wanted the finished quilt to co-ordinate with the little Zakka style nesting boxes that I made for the bathroom.

And what do you do when you finish a quilt and get that lovely fuzzy feeling of accomplishment? Yep, you make a nice cuppa tea, settle on the sofa with a quilting book and dream about your next sewing project! 🙂