My Tweets, hand applique

After last weeks UFO unveiling it seemed only right to work towards reducing the pile.   So I chose the UFO most appealing to the eye.

My Tweets By Erin Russek.  As far as UFO's go, this one is just a toddler at 3yrs old.  

 For the most part I stayed with the color palette in the pattern.  Making a few changes to some of the color placement.  And tweaking the design in a couple blocks.   

This BOM was free for one year on Erin's blog One Piece at A Time and then to finish the quilt we needed to purchase the center block, Miss Kelley.  The wonderful thing about Erin's BOM's is she also shares tips and tutorials along the way. 

Here's what the finished quilt would look like if I could stick to a pattern.   My quilt will have different sashing and borders, I'm thinking of omitting the border applique..maybe.  My redesign is still in the idea stage.

I've made a couple different small projects from the pattern.   The one below was made for momma for Valentines Day.  I call it Valentine Tweet.  It was block 2 in the series.  The border was designed from one of Erin's Tutorials. 

 And this one is made from the center medallion.  Both of the smaller projects were machine appliqued.  

One of the reasons this quickly became a UFO is HAND APPLIQUE.   I'm using FUFU's  machine embroidery thread for the hand stitching.  Several years ago I purchased an embroidery machine and a large variety of threads.  The machine gets little use, except for the occasional quilt label.  But the finer threads have come in handy.  It melts into the fabric much nicer than regular threads and is easier to get through the eye of needle.  At first I was leery of using a shiny thread, fearing that my stitches would show.  You never know until you try, and it came out beautifully.  Many quilters use applique sharp needles but I find they distort the fabric, causing puckers.    I'm using hand quilting needles #10  and #12.   I know most of you are curling up your nose at the thought of such a tiny needle, but really once you get the hang of using them you don't even notice the size.  

This combination of needle and thread make the stitching invisible.  Another thing that helps me reduce puckers is hoop-less stitching.  When I first started hand applique a few years ago I found that hoops offered false tension security.  My applique always puckered.  Going hoop-less let's me know immediately if I'm pulling the thread to taunt.  Of course learning the proper way to stitch also greatly improved the overall look.

Below is the incorrect way to take a stitch.  See how the needle comes out on the front of the applique?   I've seen so many quilters do this and then try to pull the stitch tight in order to hide it thus causing puckers and distortions to the block.

The stitch below is correct.  The needle should be somewhere between where the fabric folds over and the back of the applique piece.  Pinching the fabric layers between my thumb and forefinger as the stitch is pulled through, keep pinching until the stitch is complete.  It doesn't take much tension to make the stitch disappear.

 TADA!  No puckers and no stitches showing.  One more tip is glue basting.  No pins for distorting fabric and poking my fingers.  In my humble opinion it's the best thing since sliced bread.  I've heard quilters complain saying its to hard to pull the needle through.  So  my second tip would be, you're using to much glue too close to the edge.  It only takes a very small amount and then set the glue with an iron.  Here's a video link to Erin's method of glue basting.   

Well I'm a few stitches closer to the finish....10 blocks stitched down and one in the process.  

 Only one more block before tackling the center Medallion.  Now how many of you noticed the dreaded purple?  For those of you that are new to my blog, I really DISLIKE PURPLE so using it this quilt was a huge decision.  Too late to turn back now!

~ Lea Anne ~