Tag Archives: Applique

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Red and White Applique Blocks

antique red applique blocks 007

Today I got a group of antique quilt blocks from eBay.  It is difficult to date the blocks because the fabric is  solid red and white.  Printed fabrics are much easier to date based on the design.  These I will just call old.

The blocks are not completed.  The pieces were cut out and basted to the squares, but I will need to do the applique.  You may remember that I hate to applique….but I could not resist these blocks!

One of the blocks has the applique started.

antique red applique blocks 005

The seller was selling them individually, but I bought all they had.  I got a total of 13. Each block is 18″ square

Here is how they look if I set them 3 x 4

antique red applique blocks 001

and here is how they look if I set them on point and use all 13.

applique on point 002

Either was  think I will make a border to coordinate with the design.  I can not find a name for the design but I will keep looking.

The seller also sent 2 additional blocks

antique red applique blocks 003antique red applique blocks 004

These will go into another project some day.

Here are a bunch of pictures of them all (click to enlarge)

Of course I will hand quilt this when all the applique is done….but that will be a while yet!

Happy Quilting

Tim

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Pansy Applique Quilt Top

pansy quilt top 005

I am so anxious for spring that I took out one of my favorite Spring Like quilt tops today…just to look at it and get inspired to think spring.

pansy quilt top 001

It is applique and embroidery done with perle cotton thread.  You can see that the center design is not in the center…there is an additional design at the top, which is where the pillow would be.  I don’t see any marking lines on the pieces to indicate that it was a kit, but It seems likely that it is.  At some point in it’s history it was washed and that might have removed the marks. It is a big top, about 80″ x 100″.  Here are a bunch of pictures. It needs pressing but it looks like spring to me!

I love all the room for hand quilting on this!….some day it will be a great quilt.

Happy Quilting and Think Spring!

Tim

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Fabric Shopping

Saturday I took a trip to the quilt store to find some fabric ( I actually went to buy glue baste but came out with fabric).  I found some great fabrics but I am to cheap to buy fabric for $12.99/yd so I went to the sale area.  I was looking for backing fabric for the Partridge in a Pear Tree quilt.  This will not be a traditional Christmas quilt, so I did not look for “Christmas” fabric.  Here is what I found.

The fabric is Free Spirit  Westminister Fibers #EM17 Forest and I got it for $4.99/yd!  I think it goes well with the fabrics in the applique

The yellow will be used for the pears and binding

Here is some of the applique

I started prepping more leaves

My new mini iron works great (even on my very stained pressing board)

I have tried pressing without basing first and  even with the mini iron I can’t get as accurate as I want, so I am still basing, but it goes fast.  I have tried glue stick basting and I hate it…sticky mess all over my fingers.  I on-line ordered some of the liquid glue baste to try out but until that arrives (I could not find any locally) I will continue to pin them in place for applique.

I will go back to hand quilting tomorrow (I gave my hands a 2 day quilting rest) and then go back and forth between the projects.

Happy Quilting

Tim

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Ducks In A Row

duck applique

I saw this Quilt top on eBay and I could not resist buying it.  I must say this is not something I ever thought I would buy.  I hate sun bonnet Sue…..but sun bonnet duck for some reason is different.  It is a small top  (only 45 X 53) but I think If I take it apart and add some appropriate sashing it will easily make a  great quilt.

The ducks are stitched onto old feed sack muslin and some of the writing is still visible on the blocks.  They are a bit dirty but that will wash out fine.

The applique is done with black embroidery floss and a blanket stitch.  It is raw edge applique so there are a few stray threads here and there but they are very well done.  Each one is different .  click pictures to enlarge.

Happy Quilting

Tim

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Egyptian Textile

Occasionally I come across a very interesting Egyptian Textile on eBay.  A few times they were inexpensive enough to buy.  Here are 2 (click to enlarge)

So what are they?  I have done some looking around for some history on these and I came up with what I think is the answer.  They are clearly quite old but also clearly not expertly made.  I do believe they were made in Egypt.  Here is an inscription from th back of one.

I can’t begin to say what that says. 

My guess is that these were made as tourist objects and sold in the markets in Egypt .  In 1922 Howard Carter found the tomb of king Tutankhamun.

File:Tuthankhamun Egyptian Museum.jpg

The objects and imagery found caused a revival in all things Egypt.

File:Egypt.KV62.01.jpg

The Images on the walls of the tomb sure look a lot like the applique panels.

Tourism to Egypt increased as a result and I think these panels were made for that trade.

As I said they are not expertly made.  The stitching is quickly done with large stitches.

and the fabric is very coarse.

Here is one that I found on eBay today

I didn’t pay anywhere close to this asking price for mine! 

I imagine they were intended to be wall hangings but my plan is to someday use them as a pattern to make a quilt.

Recently Ann Champion made an amazing Egyptian quilt.  I would recommend taking a look at it here.  It is beautiful!!

so that is one more item to add to the “some day” list and one more category of things I want to collect.  Yikes do I need more stuff?  Well they are pretty so yes I do.

Happy Quilting!

Tim

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50/50= 100% pain!

I decided to work on a simple vintage kit I have.  It was made in 1978.

The fabric is 50% cotton, 50% polyester and 100% pain!!

If you have never tried to applique with a  poly blend I recommend that you don’t try it!!  It is no fun.  The fabric does not hold a fold, the stitches do not seat into the fabric, pressing does not work well, all in all it is not an enjoyable experience.

All the pieces are pre-cut and it should be pretty much a no brainer to put it together……not!

I don’t know if I will finish this.  Quilting should be fun!!

I’m sure it would turn out fine, but is it worth the pain?

I think I need to save it for punishment and do something more fun for the holidays

Like decorate the tree

Happy Quilting

Tim

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Pineapple Applique Quilt Finished!!

I finished the Pineapple Applique quilt today!! (click pictures for enlargements)

It is just out of the dryer (I always wash and dry quilts when I finish them…I like the puckery soft look from the slight shrinkage of the cotton batting) so it is still a bit wrinkled.  The wrinkles will hang out but I couldn’t wait to take some pictures!

I first started it on June 19, here is the post http://timquilts.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/

I didn’t count the hours it took and I am not sure I want to know!  I know that I used 4 spools of thread with 350 yards per spool to do the hand quilting so that makes it 1400 yards.  I didn’t mark it for quilting I just eyeballed it but the echo quilting is about 1/4 to 3/8 inch apart.

I recently found a picture of an antique quilt that used a very similar design

And here is the antique quilt that my pattern was made from

 I have to make my quilts different from a set pattern so for this one I added the border applique.  The antiques added texture to the pineapples by piercing the applique (making holes)  I simply quilted the pineapples in a diamond grid.

technical info:

I used “warm and natural” cotton batting

I did the quilting with “Coats Cotton” hand quilting thread

I used #10 quilting needles

I did straight grain binding machine sewn to the front and hand stitched to the back

The green treatment on the binding is a 1 inch strip of fabric folded in half and sewn to the edge before the yellow binding.

I am so glad that it is done!  and so pleased with how it turned out….I dont often do applique but after doing this one I know I will be doing more!

I will take some more pictures after I get the wrinkles out

New pictures today (11/3/11) after letting it hang overnight

 

Happy Quilting

Tim

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Trees set to Travel to Colorado

I got some good news today in the mail!.  My Trees quilt was selected to be exhibited at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden Colorado.

This is the first quilt that I will have displayed.

The exhibit, Male Call,  is 1/30/12 – 4/28/12.  The quilts are all made by men.

see  www.RMQM.org for details.

here is a detail picture of the quilt.

see my post http://timquilts.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/trees-the-5-year-quilt/ for more about this quilt

Happy Quilting

Tim

P.S.  thanks to Karen Alexander for telling me about the exhibit

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Pineapple Applique quilt top finished

I finally finished the pineapple applique quilt top today!

It finished at 86″ square.  Now to plan the quilting.

This top started as someone elses UFO that I bought from eBay

If you want to see the progress of the top from start to finish see the following posts

http://timquilts.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/pineapple-applique-quilt/

http://timquilts.wordpress.com/2011/06/25/saturday-update-pineapple-blocks-quilting-garden/

http://timquilts.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/sunday-update-pineapple-applique-quilt-border/

So how to quilt it?  My thought is that I want to do echo quilting.  here is an antique pineapple block with echo quilting

I like the idea of echo quilting because I can do it with no marking! I’m pretty good at eyeballing this kind of quilting.

First I need to purchase the backing fabric.  I think I will head to the store today.

Green?  Yellow?  White?  Print? Solid?  I will let you know what I find.

Happy Quilting!

Tim

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Optical Denial

I came to a realization this weekend.  I was working on the pineapple applique top and I had yet another headache.  What is wrong with me? 

I couldn’t see!  That can’t be….I’m not old!!  Well I’m 45 and my parents both needed to get reading glasses by that age.  OK I need to wear glasses but I’m not old. 

My last pair of prescription glasses was supposed to take care of that.  Of course I didn’t want to get bifocals (because I’m not old) so I got the expensive progressive lenses. The kind with  no line.  Well they work for some things but they just don’t cut it for close work.  The area with magnification is so small that you have to really move your head all over to find the one little spot you can see out of. I had been working with out them on and telling myself I can see fine.

So I went to the drug store and bought a cheap pair of reading glasses

I was amazed at how different it is to sew when you can see!  Now that I can see the stitches I see that they could be smaller.  But  if I am unhappy with the quality of the stitching it is easy to fix.  Take off the glasses!!  Presto…those stitches are nearly invisible.

I’m still not old, but I can see what I am doing

I finished 2 more panels for the border of the pineapple quilt.  I have 3 to go and 2 corners and I will be done

My other development for the week is a new thimble for quilting.  It is actually A tuhumble.  since I have never been able to find a thimble to fit I have been making my own that fit my thumb.  I had been making them with leather and tape and fabric and glue and they work untill the leather wears out and I get a hole.  So I made one with a copper pipe cap.

I glued on a chunk of a cheap thimble that I pounded out for the top  I bent the cap into shape to fit and I lined it with a thick fabric to make it comfortable.  It works great.  Some time I will have to figure out how to take pictures of hand quilting using a thumble so you can see how I do it.  

With new glasses and new thimble I Am ready to get a lot of quilting done!

Happy Quilting!

Tim