~ Dust Off A Quilt Book Blog Hop ~ Day 4 ~

Yeah!  Today is my day to share in the Dust Off a Quilt Book blog hop hosted by Bea over at the BeaQuilter Blog.  In this blog hop we were asked to make a project from a book or magazine we've had in our personal quilt book libraries. What a task!  We purchase these books because we love them.  To pick one project was quite the chore.  Those of you that know me know why I chose this mini quilt....the CHERRIES!

The mini quilt was found in the book Happy Flower Quilts.  I won this book a couple of years ago during a blog hop.  It's packed full of so many great projects big and small.

As you can see in the picture from the book I change the project just a bit to suit my lazier style.  The pattern suggested tons of hand work that did not appeal to me.  Simplifying was a must.

 My tiny applique is raw edge applique using Heat N Bond Lite.  Even with the fusible webbing the small pieces were very challenging.

I considered not stitching the applique in place.  But after a little battle with Me, myself and I, WE decided the machine stitching could be done and would add a nice touch to the quilt. 

I had fun making this one due to all the challenges that pushed me out of my comfort zone.

This quilt was almost 100% made from scraps.  All except for the yellow cherry border is scraps.

You can read more about the making of this quilt 

here -machine stitches video

here - making the applique shapes

and

here - picking the fabrics

Be sure to stop by the other bloggers participating in the Dust Off a Quilt Book blog hop.

Today's bloggers is listed below.  You can find the full week list of the hop over at BeaQuilter.

Thursday Feb 21^st

Anita at Domestic Felicity

Leanne at Devoted Quilter

Jennifer at Dizzyquilter

Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks 

Lee Anne at Podunk Pretties - You are here!

Andree at quiltinglearningcombo

Lyndsey at Sew Many Yarns

If your new to my blog thank you for stopping by my little spot in Podunk!  I love visitors and making new quilting friends.  Before you leave please take the time to get a free copy of my newest quilt pattern, Dancing Pinwheels(pictured below).  To receive the free pattern all you need to do is sign up for my newsletter and you will receive an email with the link to the free PDF Pattern.  I know newsletter subscriptions can be scary, but I promise not to fill your email with ton of newsletters.  At the most one a week.  But to be honest that's a lot of work, it maybe more like every other week.  So where can you sign up?  Just scroll back up to the top of this blog and find my picture. Under the picture and profile you will see the Newsletter signup.  Add your first name and email address, click subscribe and you will receive an email with the link to the free pattern.  Only you will be able to see the information you provide in the form.  Your information will be used by me and me alone for sending out newsletters.  I do not share my list with anyone.

 #dustoffaquiltbook #podunkpretties 

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~ Imitating Hand Embroidery ~

This week I'll be participating in a blog hop called Dust Off a Quilt Book blog hop.  Tomorrow will be my day to share my book and project.  Today I'd like to share with you a few tips I used while making my project.  The project I chose called for hand stitched embroidery.  I love handwork, especially when I'm not the one doing it.  Not to mention my sewing machine does a much better job of keeping the stitches uniform.  That's why we pay those outrageous prices for machines with a gazillion different stitches.  This is a good time to put them to use.  The first thing to do is find a thread in my stash that matches my project.  Aurifil 1114 50 wt. for both top and bottom will be perfect.

The pattern calls for an outline stitch.  An outline stitch looks like a rope.

My machine doesn't have that one so I chose the triple stretch stitch on my machine.  Doing a test of the stitches before starting is a good idea.  Ascrap piece of stabilizer and fabric to was used mimic the exact sewing conditions.  Adjusting the stitch length, width and tension until I was satisfied with the look of the stitch.   Labeling each adjustment just in case the power goes out or any other of million things that could go wrong.  The check mark indicates the settings for this project.  Even with the triple stitch the stitches are too thin.  Easy solution is to stitch it twice, side by side.

Here's a sneak peak at the finished stitch.  Doubling up on the stitching gave it a somewhat hand stitched look.  It looks more like a hand embroidered back stitch, so in my book it's a winner!

Next I had to stitch the SUPER tiny applique pieces in place.  They are so small I considered not stitching them down.  I also considered using an invisible thread but my machine doesn't like it very much which means it would take longer to deal with the issues.  After bouncing around a few ideas I decided to finish the edge of the applique with Superior Threads, MicroQuilter, 100 wt., 7002.  Microquilter is my go to thread for quilting my quilts.  I love this thread!   It's light weight, strong and blends well with just about all fabric.

Again the stitches were tested on a piece of scrap.  Another good use for those tiny pieces of fabric, stabilizer and fusible webbing, that some would toss in the trash.

The video below shows the stitching around the applique with a few tips.  Notice how the Microquilter thread doesn't overwhelm the applique but still adds a finished edge.

Make sure you come back tomorrow to see the completed project.  It's a cutie!  Until then please take the time to show your quilty love by visiting the following blogs participating in the Dust Off a Quilt Book Blog Hop.  I'm only listing today's bloggers you can find the full list over at BeaQuilter.

Wednesday Feb 20^th

Sharon at Vrooman’s quilts

Suzy at Websterquilt

Nancy at patchworkbreeze

Karrin at karrinscrazyworld

Denise at craftraditions

#rawedgequiltapplique #superiorthread #aurifilthread #quilttips

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~ This Old Quilt ~

This old quilt is not one of my creations.  Not to say that I haven't made some really bad quilts in my early days of quilting.  I think we all have a quilt or had a quilt that could have made the quilters hall of shame.  Even though they aren't perfect they still have a charm and a story tell.  Yes this quilt has charm.  Okay you may need to blur your eyes to see the charm but I promise you it's there. HA!

When my brother in law said he had found an old quilt in his home that was previously owned by his grandfather I became excited at the possibilities.  Then he said "The quilt is yours if you want it."   What glorious treasure had he found? In my mind I was picturing a Grandmothers Flower Garden or a Sun Bonnet Sue.

At first sight I will admit I was just a tad disappointed.  But then the quilter in me smacked me in the back of the head and reminded me that not all quilts are perfect works of art.  Art can be a little on the ugly side.  Picasso, need I say more?  I mean seriously my 9 yr old grandson can imitate a Picasso painting.  The imaginary smack to the head tilted my way of thinking just enough to see the glory she had to offer.  The quilt is obviously is old, due to the fabrics used in the patchwork.  So it's vintage, vintage is good.  Many of the squares are polyester.  The thick, old pant suit polyester from the 60's and 70's.

There's also T-shirt fabrics, 100% cotton and wool.  The gray fabric between the columns or patchwork is probably an old sheet. This is my kind of quilter!  If you can put a stitch in it, put it in a quilt.

Then I started to wonder about the maker.  Was he or she using what they had on hand?  Was this their fist quilt project?  Or was it someone elderly that at one time had been an amazing quilter but due to illness and age this was the best they could do?   Did they do the machine top stitching to help save this as it fell apart from daily use?  The quilt story in my mind made this wonky, poorly constructed quilt a masterpiece.

As you can see there's some hand stitching also.  But was it constructed by hand or machine?  After closer examination I found that it was machine pieced.  Most of the patches are 2 layers of fabric.  It looks like the quilter stitched together to fabrics with right sides together.  Then they were turned right side out and stitched together in columns..

  

Some of the fabrics gave me a chuckle and then others like this one made me wonder if this fabric was made during an Olympic year. 

The backing and the finishing edge told me that this quilter really had no clue how to make a quilt.

The wool backing edges are not turned under.  Neither is the ruffle.  Was the ruffle an attempt to make it look a little more girly?

This is probably the worst example of a quilt that I've ever seen.....but it has charm!

The large fold over at one end tells me this quilt was used.  The fold was probably a way to keep the wool from touching the face as they slept.

We'll never know the story or the quilter.  But we can admire that who ever made it did their best and for that we owe a little respect to them both.

Mr. Podunk thinks we should trash this little ugly treasure.  I have mixed emotions.  Let her live or put her out of her misery?  Right now I say she still has life left in her.  What's your thoughts on this quilt and others like it?  Would you keep it? 

#thisoldquilt #podunkpretties

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~ Working with Tiny Fabric Scraps ~

 Scraps, we all have them.  I know many quilters would find my tiny scraps to be trash or stuffing for a dog pillow.  So why do I keep them?   That's a simple answer.....REGRET.  In the past these little bitty scraps would have been tossed out.  A couple of years would pass and I would regret letting them go when I needed smaller pieces of fabric for a project.

My Scrap Happy Baskets quilt is example of the quilts I made using various sizes of scraps.  The circles in the quilt are one inch.  The tutorial for this block can be found here.

Most of the tiny pieces are only good for very tiny applique but there are a few that could still be stitched into a block. In this quilt the squares finish at 1/2" so they started as 1" squares.

 So when I see these small scraps I see potential.  Yes it requires a little bit more patience to work with smaller pieces.  But if you start out with a small project it doesn't seem so overwhelming.  

Finishing a mini quilt with tiny pieces is very rewarding and they look so darn cute hanging in the studio!

The new fusible webbing's for applique give us the freedom to go super duper tiny without needing to turn the edges of the fabric and reducing the time spent making them.  My favorite fusible is Heat and Bond lite.  Why?  Well, it works and it's cheap.  I've used many other more expensive brands that can not hold up to the washing machine and dryer.  This one does what it says.

I bet your wondering at this point why I'm showing pictures that have absolutely nothing to do with the captions...LOL!  Well building up to something and thought you might want to see a close up of the fabrics.

So how low will I go with applique?  My rule of thumb for size is "If I can put a stitch in it".  Well that rule might change with this project.  The pieces are so tiny that the stitches might take away from the fabric or shape of the applique.

They are so small I've pulled out the tweezers.  The silver tweezers on the top were bought years ago at Harbor Freight by Mr. Podunk for making fly fishing lures.  They can be found at Joann's, craft shops and most hardware stores.  The colorful tweezers are Tula Pink's.   This would be a great time to test them out to see if I preferred one over the other.  The result is I could find no real difference in performance or ease of use.  The Tula tweezers came with a little rubber tip to cover the super pointy tips.  The silver tweezers are kinda blunt so there is no reason for a rubber tip.  Both styles can be purchased here if your looking for a pair of tweezers.  The best price would be the silver ones made by Dritz and a 60% coupon at Joann fabrics. 

The tweezers have been a real time saver.  I couldn't imagine making this project without them.  Picking up the fusible shapes and the finished applique piece would have been a real trick without them.

All of the applique is cut and ready to be put into place.  Now I have a small bit of scraps that will finally become trash.

Here's the before and after of my fabric pull.  Not much of a difference.  Can't wait to show you see the finished project....Cute as can be, lots of color!

But your just going to have to wait a few more days.  This project is for a the Dust Off a Quilt Book Blog Hop.  My day to share is this Thursday, Feburay 21.

Below is a list of the bloggers participating in the Hop today.   Hope you take the time to check out at least a few of these talented bloggers.  Some of the bloggers are having GIVEAWAYS, you don't miss out on freebies, do you?  

Monday Feb 18^th

Turid at densyendehimmel

Pamela at Pamelaquilts

Joan at Moosestashquilting

Anne at seems like a plan

Susan at Desertsky Quilting

Selina at Selinaquilts

Kathleen at Kathleenmcmusing

#scrapapplique #quilttweezers

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