Embroidered Applique

 

Embroidered Applique

Here is my latest project, a wedding gift for a co-worker, in the unframed stage, 11x14-inches.  The background was made by placing random scraps on a craft felt base and stitching into place. I used 2 bobbin's worth of thread with a couple of top thread colors to complete the background.

The bird, branch, leaf, flower and heart shapes are raw edge cut fabric and hand sewn into place using various embroidery stitches - similar to stitches found on crazy quilts.

 

My What-Not Bag and Bog Coat

 

My What-Not Bag and Bog Coat 

About 20 years ago I saw Rachel Clark (http://www.rdkc.com/) on Simply Quilts and was inspired by her sense of design, quirkiness and humor. So inspired, I made a quilted coat, using the Bog Coat method. It won first place in a local quilt show in the wearable category. I remember finishing up the binding the morning of show set up. Later, during the show, someone offered me $300 for it – I of course said no – it was made for me, and I had not even worn it yet. I did for years – constantly, until it started showing signs of wear, now it comes out only for quilt shows and the local philharmonic concerts.

These past few weeks, Quilting Arts has featured Rachel Clark on our local PBS station – and once again she inspired me. In one of the episodes, she showed how to make a What-Not Wallet. I grabbed my pen and paper and started sketching along, writing down all the measurements. Luckily for me, Quilting Daily of Quilting Arts TV posted a pdf file of the instructions https://www.quiltingdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2512-1_CLARK.pdf .

I had picked up several bags of fabric scraps at Sew Creative down in Maryland on my trip to DC last fall (https://sewcreativeshop.com/) where they have a great selection of African print fabrics. I am making a Wonky Hex quilt with them, with a charcoal gray velvet center. It’s based on an antique quilt top I have - more on that another time.

Anyway, the pieces, that were too small for that quilt, were sewn together ‘crazy patch’ style until they met the dimensions needed for my What-Not Wallet.

It’s a really fun project, and a great way to use up those bits of fabric you can’t bear to part with. If I have fabric left over from the Wonky Hex quilt, I may just have to make another jacket to match my wallet!

Another web site on Rachel: https://suzyquilts.com/meet-a-fabulous-fiber-artist-rachel-clark/

Rachel’s Blog – Whatnot Wallet: http://www.rdkc.com/2016/11/whatnot-wallet/

Image Key: Front of Salt Walter Bog Coat, made in 2009, Back of Coat, Right Sleeve, Left Sleeve, Coat Label, Whatnot Wallet - Closed, Whatnot Lining, Whatnot Exterior, Whatnot Inside - Opened, Whatnot Wallet Outside - Opened.

My Embroidered Pictures for Patchwork

Embroidery Mary by Priscilla M Warner

Embroidery Mary by Priscilla M. Warner, published in 1948 by George G. Harrap.  This is a precursor to the instructional books Pictures and Patchwork (1950) and Embroidered Pictures and Patchwork (1960, 1964) published by Dryad Press.

Mary Grant, age 12, visits her Aunt Helen and Uncle George in Tolton for vacation with her little dog Hamish.  Candy, the friendly cat lives on the farm.  Aunt Helen teaches her niece and her friends how to embroider and sew useful objects.  Stitch diagrams and project illustrations are woven throughout the story as they enjoy their visit.  There is even a bit of math involved as they measure fabric needed and draw hexagons.  Mary turns 13 while there and receives a hexagon patchwork quilt, and then plans to make a doll-sized one for her little sister Penny.  It is a very endearing story and the projects are designed for beginners – both sewing and embroidering.

Earlier this spring, I started making the embroidered hexagons from  Pictures and Patchwork.  I traced out 48 hexagons on a piece of muslin and began stitching.  There are only 40 designs in the book, but I am going to incorporate images from Embroidery Mary and Dryad Leaflets 136. Embroidered Dresses for Children and 141. Embroidery for the Nursery – both by P.M. Warner.  Here is my work in progress.

Hexagon Quilts (Cot Cover) – Pictures and Patchwork

Embroidered Pictures & Patchwork Cot Cover

In 1950, Priscilla M. Warner wrote and illustrated a book called Pictures and Patchwork, published by the Dryad Press Leicester, and by 1964 the third edition was published, under the name Embroidered Pictures & Patchwork.  The latter version has a slightly larger format, and the crucial difference is the “eye” of the squirrel motif is added (not sure if this was corrected in the second printing, as I do not have that version). 

The 1950 version has a colored image of the project on the covers, along with a black and white photo/illustration in the book.  The 1964 version has a graphic of the pattern on the front. 

I've done some measuring, and the motifs in the book fit nicely in the 5-inch wide hexagon fabric die cutter by AccuQuilt (2.5-inch sides) - though I will probably hand-cut my embroidered blocks to size, rather than process through the machine - I would be nervous about shifting, centering, etc.  The fabric hexagons, on the other hand, I am going to die cut.  You could make a twisted hexagon block, by cutting the die-cut hexagons in half and surrounding the embroidered hex.  This is probably what I am going to do, I might even add some setting triangles, like on the quilt top I just recently received. 

You can see that vintage hexagon quilt top, done with embroidered centers at:  http://quiltpapers.blogspot.com/2020/03/102-hexagons-vintage-quilt-top.html

Meeting Some Quilters in Maryland

Meeting Some Quilters in Maryland

This past week my friend and I went to a quilt conference at the DAR Museum in Washington, DC.  While there, we were invited to attend a meeting of a local quilt guild, the Uhuru Quilters Guild in Lanham, MD.  The guild is celebrating 25 years as a guild and a wonderful display of their quilts is on exhibit at the Prince Georges African American Museum and Cultural Center in North Brentwood, MD until the end of January 2020.  More information on the guild and the show can be found at:
http://www.uhuruquiltersguild.org/
https://pgaamcc.org/

SHOW AND TELL at the quilt show opening.

Home For the Holidays 2019 at the Roberson

2019 Home for the Holidays at the Roberson - Binghamton, NY

Once again our trees are up at the Roberson, brimming with hand made ornaments from local quilters and fiber artists.  I added photos of some other whimsical trees - Dr. Seuss and Peanuts were my favorites.  The image on the left show my latest needle felted star, we had a workshop at the November Lamb to Loom meeting, hosted by Ann Merriwether.  I added a bit of blue roving for eye make-up and added some stitched eye lashes - she's my "Fallen Star."  There are several examples of back-strap weaving - Santa garland and other needle felted gnomes.  The Stepping Stones quilt guild tree is showcased in front of one of the member's quilt on the wall behind it.  There are numerous quilts on loan from the guild throughout the exhibit.  Both groups will be giving demos this year at the Roberson.

https://www.roberson.org/event/stepping-stones-quilt-guild/
Stepping Stones Quilt Guild - December 8 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Stepping Stones Quilt Guild will be putting on a demonstration of their amazing craft on the first floor of the Museum.

https://www.roberson.org/event/lamb-to-loom/
Lamb to Loom - December 15 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Lamb to Loom will be putting on a demonstration of their amazing craft within Roberson’s halls.

Are You Crazy? Don’t Splash Receives an Honorable Mention

Are You Crazy?  Don’t Splash Receives an Honorable Mention

My submission to the 2019 QCNYS Challenge: Still Crazy After All These Years has been chosen to be a part of the Traveling Exhibit (12 quilts in total), which will tour the State of New York for the next two years.  Are You Crazy? Don’t Splash received an Honorable Mention.

The Still Crazy After All These Years Exhibit will be unveiled at the Best of NY Quilt Show, September 20th & 21st, 10AM – 5PM, at Watson Homestead Conference Center, 9620 Dry Run Rd, Painted Post, NY 14870.
 

I will be at the show giving a demonstration on crazy quilts on Friday, September 20, 2019 from 1-3pm.  I will be bringing several antique crazy quilts, along with the one I am working on, The Velvet Hex.
 

The Top Left photo shows a cute little flower fairy from the front of the quilt, where as the backing fabric is a crazy quilt “cheater” fabric.
 

The Bottom Left is the center medallion of the crazy quilt I am making, called the Velvet Hex.  All the embroidery and seam stitches are done by hand, and are English Paper Pieced together.
 

The Bottom Center is a lovely crazy quilt that has several Kate Greenaway motifs, along with Japanese Fans and Peacock Feathers.  The Top Center (right of show information) is another are on this quilt showing the traditional spider and web design found on many, many crazy quilts of the Victorian era.
 

The Bottom Right is my entry into the Challenge, and will be on display at the show, along with all the other entries.  It is hand embroidered, English Paper Pieced, and hand quilted.  The border is done in red hand crochet trim.
 

The Top Right is a crazy quilt using many motifs from The Art Amateur (1880, 1881) and Harper’s Bazar (1881) magazines.
 

In the Center, are some owl ornaments, made from silk tie scraps.  They are cute and fun to make if you just want to try some foundation piecing and a bit of ornamental stitching.
 

These, along with some other smaller pieces will be on display on Friday during the demonstration.  I hope to see some of you there.