Back in December, I told you about a collaboration with two other women in my guild…..
Today, I was scrolling through Facebook and found THIS post…..
I love that they showed the entire quilt, along with how it is used on the cover!!
As I said in my original post…..
When someone asks you to collaborate…..ALWAYS SAY YES!!!!
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A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Owl quilt I inherited from my friend Nancy…
My EASY decision was to quilt it and donate it to my guild’s charity group.
My initial plan was to add a border or two, but I finally decided to keep things simple and add a striped binding…
BUT FIRST, I had to quilt it!!
I had so much fun quilting the owls and leaves….
I had way too many ideas for how to quilt the background, but once again, went for simple and did some curvy lines….
When it came time to add the binding, I had to remind myself exactly HOW to cut a bias binding….
After a few false starts, I had the binding made and applied….
It is the PERFECT finish for such a fun quilt!!
There has been one change…. the quilt is being donated to a fundraiser for the Jeannette Rankin Foundation.
This wonderful organization empowers women aged 35 and older to complete their college degrees and transform the next chapter of their lives.
I can think of no better place for Nancy’s wonderful quilt!
My goal for this UFO was to have it finished by the end of January, and I ALMOST made it. The final stitches were put in on Sunday, February 1st!
I am thrilled that ONE of my many UFO’s can be marked off the list!
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This year I wanted to make a jean jacket for my friend Marnie. She had admired the one that I made for myself some years back and I decided that it was time for her to have one too!!
The first step was to make a pattern for the back. I took some lightweight tracing paper and pressed it into the seams on the back, leaving a perfect pattern…..
Now I needed to add some flowers. This is the first set that I auditioned…..
….but decided to use different designs and forgot to take a photo of the new pattern!
I now cut out a piece of Wonder Under that would fit on the back of the jacket and ironed it to the INSIDE of the jacket….
Of course, when I started removing the paper, I had issues with it coming loose….
I HATE when that happens, but I now know how to fix it!! Thirty seconds in my freezer…..
….did the trick and the rest of the paper peeled off perfectly……
Next step was to draw the designs on the jacket back and start CAREFULLY cutting them out…..
Honestly, this is the hardest part of this project!! When finished it looked like this….
Now to pick the fabric to use. But, I had cheated on this!! When Marnie was in my studio a couple of weeks ago, I had several pieces of fabric sitting out and I looked to see which one she went to first. This was it…..
So, I placed the fabric down on my ironing board and placed the cutwork jacket on top of the fabric, being sure that the fabric piece was big enough to cover all of the Wonder-Under on the jacket back.
I made a few adjustments and then ironed the jacket and the fabric together…..
Since I take so much of the denim out, I always worry about messing with the “structural integrity” of the jacket so I go one step further and put a lining over the cut out area.
This was accomplished by cutting a piece of Wonder Under that was the size of the back panel and ironed it to the backside of another piece of fabric…..
I folded the fabric edges over and fused it to the inside back…..
I sewed it in place along the pre-existing seams…..
The final step was to quilt around each of the shapes several times…..
This is finished product…..
I decided that she needed a small flower on the front but, instead of cutting the denim, I simply appliqued it in place…..
I am thrilled with how it turned out!!
It is a very simple project and can be made with an old jacket that needs an update or a brand new one!!
So….get busy and let’s have a chorus of Cut-Work Jean Jackets!!
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When I left you yesterday, I had finished Grid quilting the sky, and was ready to start placing the flowers, stems and leaves.
I made my basic plan for flower placement……
….and cut out a bunch of stem strips with the fusible attached….
…and a nice selection of leaf shapes as well…..
I started by pinning the pieces in place…..
….and then used my tiny iron to fuse them in place……
I like to use a Dritz “Petite Press” (Click HERE to see it on Amazon)…
When they were all fused down, I removed the flowers once again…..
….and quilted/outlined each stem and leaf…..
I replaced the flowers and stitched them in place…..
For most of the, I didn’t worry about the points being loose….
I think that will add another layer of dimension to the piece!!
Well, it’s almost finished…..
Com back tomorrow and we will put the finishing quilting touches on!!
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Since I seem to be working in alphabetical order, let’s look at the Applique category. I always find it interesting that both turned applique and raw-edge applique are included in the same category.
Regardless, here are a few of my favorites.
Since many applique quilts are filled with flowers, this one stood out as being different…..
Note that each of those pieces are finished with a piped edge. That is a LOT of piping!!
There are so many wonderful touches in this next quilt….and I apologize that I failed to get the name of the maker. IF you recognize the quilt, please let me know the details so that I can add them here….
Not only is the applique impeccable, but the quilting adds a new dimension….
….and there are some sweet touches too…..
I am a sucker for daisies……
Look at this fun border….
This quilt truly appealed to me….
It is such an imaginative way to use bias binding!!
AND, it got me thinking about planning a hand applique with Celtic Applique or something similar!!
Isn’t this fun!!
The Third-Place quilt was one that truly caught my attention…..
There are SO many things about this quilt that were interesting, starting with the floor…..
….and continuing to the individuals in the view…..
The Second-Place ribbon went to…..
It was exquisite in the piecing, applique, and quilting!!
The Winner of the Category was…..
Again, the details were well done and the workmanship was exquisite!!
We met Lyn as she stood with her quilt and loved her interaction with several students who were asking questions about the quilt, particularly about her inspiration for the quilt…..
She was a kind and humble woman and we enjoyed talking with her.
So….that is the Applique Category……
Tomorrow I will tackle a special Exhibition called “Athletes”! Come back for some amazing quilts and an interview with their maker!!
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