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Thoughts while I was working on this block…..

When Holly asked me to participate in this event, I was thrilled. I love Lakehouse fabrics and had already seen a preview of this line. Then Ike hit. I live in Ohio – so who would have thought that over a third of the state would be out of electricity and other essential services due to 60 -75 mile an hour winds! Personally, I lost a tree, a roof, internet service – and my printer went down.

It made me appreciate a simpler time – when I played with paper dolls and would have thought that this was all a great adventure! In that vein, I kept my block simple as well. I appliquéd it by hand. The basket weave effect was created by making bias tape out of the little pink check and appliquéing it over the design in the apron fabric pattern. It added a three-dimensional effect that I just loved

As my life gets busier, I was forced to relax! Meetings were canceled, schools were closed, roads were impassable, stores were without power, and friends came to use our shower and store food in our freezer.

People without power went to stay with friends and families that did. We were lucky. But, what must it be like where Ike hit? Where NO ONE has power, homes, or any idea when life may return to normal? It is time to count my blessings!

I AM incredibly busy these days. I am at the AQS show in Des Moines as you read this and am teaching three classes and demonstrating and signing books every day.

Then, I am going to Quilt Market in Houston. I will be demonstrating the techniques in my book and teaching sessions for Creative Grids. I will also be signing books and demonstrating every day.

And, my REAL job is working for Checker and interviewing our favorite authors and designers because I write the Checker newsletter. I am so blessed to be able to make a living doing what I love! Sometimes it takes an act of God to remind us how sweet life truly is – and not to sweat the small stuff!

How I made my block:

I used a freezer paper method to appliqué the dress using the pattern by Liberty Star. Holly sent us an enlarged version so the dress was already blown up to a 7” size.

We were asked to appliqué on a 12” square so that they could all be trimmed down to the same size – 9 ½” by the person making the quilt. This is a great idea! Whenever you are working on a group project, have them cut the background fabric squares larger than necessary so the design can be centered and trimmed to size.

Coincidentally, I designed an 9 ½” Square It Up and Fussy Cut Ruler for Creative Grids that makes this step easy. Since the dress actually fit into a 7” square, the ruler just needs to be placed 1 ¼” away on all sides.

My favorite doll growing up had an apron – so my block dress had to too. I drew a line one inch up from the bottom of the dress pattern and extended it 1/8” on each side. I curved the sides from the bottom of the apron to the neckline.

For those of you who have not tried freezer paper appliqué before, here are the instructions:

Freezer Paper Appliqué

Making Templates

To make templates for appliqué, run a copy of the block. Iron the waxy side of freezer paper to the wrong side of the copy. Freezer paper is available at quilt shops in 8 ½” x 11” sheets. It is also available at the grocery store – next to the aluminum foil. Make sure that the paper side of the freezer paper is on top of the WRONG side if the pattern. Otherwise, the iron may smear the ink on the copy. Make sure that the ink from your copier will not bleed and discolor your fabric when wet. We have not had any problems with this yet – and over 100 people have done it. There is always that exception…so better safe than sorry!

Cut the templates out of this paper. Be sure to cut right inside the printed lines to allow for the thickness of the fabric when turning. Some copiers distort images more than others. Check your copies for accuracy. My copier tends to distort the pattern in one direction about 1/16”. I can live with that so that I get sharp, crisp templates! Most copiers have a “best” copy setting. This setting seems to reduce the amount of distortion. If your copier distorts the pattern too much, you will have to trace the templates onto the freezer paper by hand – or find another copier! I vote for the latter!

Freezer Paper Appliqué

Glue the paper side of the freezer paper template to the wrong side of the appropriate fabric. (The printing should be face up.) Trim the fabric ¼” away from the template unless there is an exception stated in the instructions. Clip inside points and curves to within a few threads of the template. Do not clip outside curves. Every cut is a potential weakness in your project.

I use glue sticks to turn my appliqués. Buy the white paste glue sticks that you can get at Staples for 99 cents. Don’t waste your money on fabric glue sticks – they are just more expensive. Only buy white – I don’t want to risk dyes coming back to haunt me at a later date – so save the purple, pink, and blue ones for the pre-schoolers! I buy the large packages of glue sticks and keep them in the refrigerator. The moist environment stops them from drying out and they will last up to a year. When you are not using your glue stick, put the lid back on! They dry out very quickly if you leave the top off while turning each piece!

Run a glue stick on the template and the edge of the fabric. Turn the edge of the wrong side of the fabric over the template with your thumbnail moving forward 1/8” at a time. Gather the excess fabric around the template – do not pleat it.

If there are rough edges on the appliqué, turn it over. You will notice that there are pleats on the folded edge of the piece. You can pull these pleats down with your thumbnail while the glue is still wet and correct the imperfections. Run glue on the paper side of the template and position the appliqué on the foundation block. Keep glue away from the turned edges – you don’t want to stitch through excess glue later. Do not turn edges that are placed under other pieces – this is the seam allowance. The edges that do not need turned are marked with an “X” on the block diagram.

Hand-Stitching

Stitch with a high quality, cotton thread using an invisible appliqué stitch. The thread color should match the appliqué fabric. Knots should be hidden beneath the appliqué piece. Do not place your knot on the wrong side of the foundation block. The thread tail could shadow through your finished block later. Only stitch to the fabric directly below the appliqué piece – do not go clear down to the foundation block. You don’t want to sew the template into your work. Reinforce any areas that were clipped because of inside curves by taking a few extra stitches.

Straw Needles

When I am doing hand-appliqué, I prefer to use a John James Size 9 straw needle. These needles are very long, thin and sharp. Because they are so long, the eye of the needle extends beyond my finger so I don’t have to wear a thimble. It is also easy to manipulate and pull through the fabric.

Machine-Stitching

To stitch your appliqués down by machine, use a monofilament polyester thread on top and a cotton thread in the bobbin. Adjust the width of your zigzag stitch so it is almost a straight stitch. Do not adjust the length. A narrow stitch will ensure that the stitching does not show and you won’t sew the templates into your quilt.

If you are machine-stitching the appliqués, you can only stitch one layer at a time. In some cases an appliqué will be placed on top of another appliqué. You must stitch the first layer and remove the templates before placing and stitching the second layer.

Embroidery

I prefer to do the buttonhole stitch BEFORE I remove the templates. I find that the freezer paper adds enough stability to the piece that I don’t have to use an embroidery hoop. I simply run the embroidery needle over the edge of the template. I removed the templates before embroidering the French knots.

Removing the Templates

When the appliqué is complete, place the block in a sink of warm water. Let it soak for at least twenty minutes - I usually leave it overnight. This will dissolve the glue. Take the block out of the water and roll it in a towel to remove the excess water. Smooth out the block and let it dry. Slit or cut the backing to remove the template. If there is still glue, run the seams under water to flush out any remaining excess glue.

Ironing

Press all of your blocks on a folded bath towel. The towel absorbs the seams so that there is no “shadow” created by the seams on the front of the block. I spray each block with spray starch and press the wrong side of the block first and then I press the right side. The starch gives the block a crisp look and helps reduce fraying until the block is sewn into the quilt.

Sometimes I remove the access fabric beneath the appliqués. For instance, I would trim the dress fabric that is behind the apron. Usually I do this if it adds extra bulk to the piece or the color is shadowing through. In this case, I did not – for two reasons. A dress would shadow through an apron – and the extra layer of fabric hid the threads that ran from French knot to French knot on the back of the work!

Trimming

Trim all blocks to 8 ½”. The Creative Grids Square it Up and Fussy Cut Ruler has vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines that aid in squaring up the blocks. There is also a ¼” marked on each side of the outer edge of the ruler. Center the appliqué designs within these lines.

Hope this helps and you enjoy the pattern. If you have any questions, just send me an e-mail and I’ll try to help!