Beth Ferrier’s Blog

It’s been a long time in coming, but I’m finally in the home stretch, finishing my Now & Forever quilt. The top has been done for ages. It’s been layered and basted since January. Even the pattern is done, just waiting for a picture of the quilt for the cover. (I hope to have the pattern up on the web site by the weekend.) Life does have a way of coming between us and our quilting, even when quilting is our job.

I always start the quliting by stitching in the ditch around the applique, and usually around the blocks as well. It really helps them stand out against the background. It also helps to stabilize the quilt. I had a really hard time deciding on which quilting patterns to use. Even though I’m not a big fan of stippling, this quilt seemed to demand it. There’s just not a lot of room to develop a more complex pattern.

It would seem that I’ve once again quilted the snot out of it. (Technical term.) I didn’t mean to, but the more I quilted the more I wanted to quilt it.

It was fun using a variety of threads. For the flowers and pieced blocks I used variegated threads, 50 wt cotton, from Superior, Wonderfil and Aurafil. The background fill is poly from Floriani (beautiful stuff, looks like rayon, but with none of the problems of rayon).

My next job is to bind the quilt. I’m going to use the same gold print fabric used in the sashing. I’m listening to the latest book in J.D. Robb’s In Death series. Seems fitting to finish the quilt and the series together. After that? It’s time to write.

Penny asked for me info on the dots. Since time is short I’ll have to do this minus pictures. I’m on my way, out the door to catch a plane to St. Louis, MO. From there I will drive to Hannibal, the boyhood home of Mark Twain, one of my favorite authors. I know there is still room in tomorrow night’s lecture, but Saturday’s class is full. Will I see you there?

To begin, I used scrapbooking punches to make my Tear Away Magic fusible templates. (I’ve been having a lot of success haunting scrapbooking stores for quilting supplies. I found the Globox there, and my new favorite glue pen, and now excellent shape punches.) I used two different sizes of punches, one about 3/4 of an inch, the other, a heaping 1/2 inch. I found that I could punch through about four layers of the TAMF, netting me tons of perfect circles in just a couple of minutes.

 The templates are then used just as we’ve done for the rest of the applique: pressed to the wrong side of the fabric (I used four shades of yellow), seam allowance added as they were cut out and then glue basted.

The basted circles were placed in the desired positions on the quilt and then temporarily held there by a tack from my favorite basting gun. Oh, this is sooooooooo much better than getting poked to death by the previously favored flat flower head pins.

 Finally, the dots were stitched down just as we stitch our flowers and leaves and other motifs in place, using the invisible thread and a zig zag or blind hem stitch. Because I’m using our handy dandy water soluble paper there’s no need to remove the templates. (How cool is that? Gosh, I will never stop being thrilled at having found this stuff. I’ve been begging stablizer manufacturers to create this stuff for years!)

After whining so unattractively about adding the berries, in the end it really did take only a few extra hours of stitching. And I know that the quilt is better for it. I’m just so silly sometimes.

 Coming in on the home stretch on my Now & Forever quilt, I had reached the point when I just wanted to be done. No longer in love with the quilt, no longer excited about the project, I just wanted to get it out of the way so I could move on. I get like that with almost all of my quilts. There comes a time when I’m just over it, and find myself wondering why I thought it was such a good idea in the first place. I have a feeling I’m not alone in this, why else would we all have so many UFOs?

When it comes to quilting I’m not keen on multitasking. I usually work on one project until it’s done and then move on. Too many balls in the air at one time makes me anxious and distracted. Of course, that’s not entirely true because deadlines often require that I drop everything and complete a small project, but I think of those as self-limiting.

The real problem arises when I’m stuck on a big project, in the hating phase, and I won’t allow myself to start something totally new. I have so many new ideas that I want to try that I would be flitting off like a butterfly at every turn and nothing would ever be finished.

So here I am, nearly done with the applique on the Now & Forever Quilt, and the issue of the berries must at last be addressed. To dot or not to dot, that is the question. The zillion berries had already been glue basted, they sat is a heap, just waiting to be placed.

The berries won. So, I wrestled my cranky self to the ground and got to work. Armed with my handy dandy basting gun, it only took a couple of hours to place and secure all the dots. In the end, adding the little gems will add one day to the applique process, maybe two if you count the basting. I used scrapbooking punches to make perfect circles out of the Tear Away Magic Fusible, the large are about 3/4 of an inch, the smaller just a heaping 1/2 inch. If I stop to count them now I may lose all heart and never finish.

Thank goodness for Sue Grafton and her “alphabet mysteries” on my mp3 player. I is for Innocent got me through the glue basting, J is for Judgement took me through the securing and stitching of the borders and K is for Killer will take me to the finish line.

Let’s talk about getting small. Applique, I mean. What were you thinking?

The leaves for the sweet peas are narrow and pointy. While the shapes are pretty simple, small pieces do require a little extra care. This would be a perfect time to use a glue pen instead of a glue stick. My new favorite glue pen is made by Pioneer. Called Photo Glue Stick Pen, the glue goes on smoothly and cleanly. I find mine at the local Michaels.

The first step is to cut the seam allowances a little narrower than the usual. Instead of a scant quarter inch, for these narrow shapes aim towards a heaping eighth inch seam allowance.(These photos are blurry, I’m so sorry for that. One of these days I’ll learn how to work my camera. Let’s call it a romantic soft focus. Hey, it worked for Doris Day.)

Next carefully fold the seam allowance over the points. It’s important to be really, really careful to avoid breaking back the point of the freezer paper (or Tear Away Magic Fusible, if you’re using that instead). Yes, I did trim the seam allowance at the point, to square it off. Apply glue just to the seam allowance tips for now and press in place.

I’ve found that working the side with an inside curve first turn out best. This inside curve is so gentle that I didn’t even do any clipping. Glue baste in place.

Finally, glue baste the remaining side. I don’t worry about how the seam allowances overhang the points yet. At this step I’m only worried about the appearance of the finished edges and points. After the glue dries the applique hangover can be folded back onto itself or even trimmed away.

We’ll start the curvy leaves the same way, this time let’s only baste over the pointed end, not the point at the curvey end.

Again, we’ll glue baste the inside curve side first, this time we’ll need a couple of clips in the seam allowance, just two or three, in the curve.

Oh, yikes! I must have had my glasses off when I was taking these pictures. At least you can see the clips in the seams.

Finally, let’s glue baste that remaining side. The puckers and pleats on the outside curves only matter if they affect the edge. They are on the wrong side of the leaf so they won’t show, no worries.

Nice. Most important of all, take your time. Don’t worry about how many you have to do. Think about each leaf as you’re working on it. Do your best and then move on. Some will be lovely, some will have more character. The more you do, the better they will turn out, and before you know it, the hardest part of the applique will be done. Time for a Ten a Day Leaf Challenge?

I’m off today, to Mountain Home Arkansas. After more than twelve years of teaching, this trip will bring my first experience with a rental car. I’m hoping for a Ford Focus, with Sync, so I can listen to my book on the mp3 player. I’ve downloaded The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, which should carry me from Saginaw to Mountain Home.

 I don’t know how much time or energy I’ll have at the end of my teaching days, so I wanted to post a heads up for the Sweet Peas coming this Friday. The Sweet Peas will be just a little more challenging than the Roses. The hardest part is the small, pointy leaves. I’ve put all the prepared pictures on a jump drive (so that’s what those things are for!). If time allows I’ll post a tutorial on glue basting these leaves while I’m gone. If not, it will follow early next week.

For the first time I’ve created full size applique diagrams. I found, as I laid out the center applique, that I really wanted a reference diagram, and I figured you’d want one too. Because these layout guides take several pages each, they will be posted with separate links.

You’ll need to trim and paste the pages together. The lines are extra thick so they can be seen through light colored fabric. If you’re using a dark background you may wish to trace the designs onto clear vinyl, which can be found at chain fabric stores. Some quilt shops also carry it.

There will also be an “Alternate Border” layout, which I will be using. My bed is a four poster. Any applique in the corners would be lost in tucks and folds. Who wants to work so hard on beautiful applique only to have it disappear? Not me!

Applique in the corners looks fantastic on the computer screen, or when the quilt hangs in a show. But my quilt is destined for my bed (well, actually all of my big quilts are destined for beds), so I designed this alternate layout.

But if you really love the existing layout, the full size diagram will be posted too.

If you’ve done as I have and created mirror image flowers you’ll find that they don’t necessarily fit perfectly, mine didn’t. Even though these are actual size diagrams we don’t have to be slavish about matching them. They are GUIDElines, not the RIGHTlines.

Oh, and the juries still out on whether I’ll add the berries to my design. I’m still stitching down the center applique. Once that’s done I’ll decide if berries are gilding the lily or the cherry on top.

I had more or less removed myself from the local quilting scene some years ago because of some rather nastiness on the part of a few guild members. They felt that I didn’t deserve the success I was having in the quilting industry and they set out to spoil my progress.

They passed a new guild bylaw making it against the rules to show anything that could result in profit. I know, what a truly low and base thing to do. But the worst part is, aside from making me feel unwelcome, the rule didn’t hurt my business at all. It did make things hard for local long arm quilters, who couldn’t be given credit during show and tell; the local teachers who couldn’t promote classes; the local shops who couldn’t announce sales let alone offer specials for guild members. I felt really bad about it all until I learned that this ugliness has happened to other quilting teachers.

But there is a season for everything and most of the nasty wenches have moved on to torment other groups. A very good friend has decided that it’s time for me to come out from under my rock.

 Now, you have to know some things about Connie. There is no one on this earth more giving. I wouldn’t be doing whatever it is I do if it weren’t for Connie. She took me to my first Quilt Market. She made me talk to pattern distributors, even though I threatened to throw up. She waltzed me right up to Alex Anderson and told her that she needed to see my designs! And Alex listened and ultimately booked me for that first Simply Quilts episode.

 So when Connie said I needed to go to the local shop’s “Sleep at home Retreat”, I said yes, but I have to admit I was a little nervous about going. 

Even though one of the wenches was in attendance Connie, Joannie and I had a perfectly lovely time. I was surprised at how much I missed being part of a community. I was greated with hugs from long ago friends. I always understood that it was a very small group of women doing their dirty work, but you know how one bad apple can spoil the whole lot.

We laughed until our sides ached. Connie finished about four hundred quilts. I worked on stitching down the applique in the center of the Now & Forever quilt. I spent most of the first morning poking myself with the dozens and dozens of flat flower head pins holding down all the motifs. After drawing blood for the bazillionth time I decided I needed another plan.

Oh, dopey me! I ran home (well, I drove home), snatched up my favorite basting tool and hustled back to replace super sharp pins with soft, plastic tacks. Now, why didn’t I think of that sooner? I think it was the laughter that shook loose my creative brain.

This month we are working on the pieced sashing for our Now & Forever quilts. Knowing that there were approximate fifty billion pieces to be cut and sewn (well, not really, but it felt like it), the hardest part for me was getting started. It’s so easy to be overwhelmed when a pattern calls for 192 triangles, and doesn’t count the four other fabrics to be cut.

And, don’t think just because I designed the quilt that I don’t wonder what the heck I was thinking to require so many pieces. I often have to give myself a stiff talking to, to remind myself that it will be worth it in the end.

That’s why I was so thrilled when Geri (in our Yahoo group) suggested a 10 a Day Challenge. Anything can be accomplished if we allow ourselves to take small portions. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Whether it’s sewing a million sashing triangles together or starting a new career, being able to break a project down into small bites makes it much easier to swallow. When the parts become manageable then the process becomes much more enjoyable.

 Working bite by bite helps me focus. Instead of rushing to finish an unappealing job, I can concentrate on the few seams I’ll sew today and do my best job on each one. I usually find that I’ve finished before I’m ready to be done.

My best tip for these pieced sashing strips is to stay organized. Whether I’m cutting just a few simple pieces or a bazillion triangles I place them on a ruler, in their final position in the block, as they are cut. If I’m using a tone on tone background fabric I take the time to flip theses pieces all right sides up.

Now I can just carry the pieces to the machine on the ruler. No worry about rotating shapes, or sewing the wrong pieces together, or mixing up the right sides of the fabric. In other words, I get all of my thinking done before I sit down to the machine. All that is left to do is blissful, worry free sewing.

This month we are working on our roses for our Now & Forever quilt. Yes, I did change the order in which the applique was presented. In my original plan the Sweet Peas were presented in April because that’s when they bloom in my neck of the woods. After working on them, and listening the the concerns on the yahoo list, I decided to switch to doing the simpler roses first.

Even though there are many parts to the roses, the shapes are relatively large and the curves are very gentle. The sweet peas, with all of their pointly leaves require a little more patience and confidence. Once we’ve accomplished our dozens of roses we’ll be up to the challenge.

So, here’s a quick step by step in photos. Of course we’d start by making our stabilizer (I’m using the Tear Away Magic Fusible here) or freezer paper shapes as described in my book, Hand Applique by Machine. You’ll notice that each of the template shapes have a letter and number code. This addressing system allows me to keep track of every bit without giving myself a headache.

The templates have been pressed to the wrong side of the fabric. The seam allowances have been trimmed and the “over” edges have been glue basted. You can see that only the inside curves have been clipped. Yes, there are pleats in the seam allowances, that’s perfectly fine. All that matters is that the turned edge is smooth. Glue basting allows me to continue to adjust the seam allowances until the edges are perfect.

Notice also that I didn’t cut the center out of the “C” shape yet. Leaving the center in place makes it easier to glue baste the edges.

Just snip into the fabric to start the cut, but remember to leave a scant quarter inch seam allowance.

 At home I work on a light box. I use a sheet of template plastic to protect my diagram of the applique shape. I almost always work with the paper side up, adding glue to the basted seam allowances as the motif grows.

I’m adding the “C” shape to the piece. Notice how you can see just a smidge of light around the inside edge. Both the light showing through and the diagram lines help me get the pieces placed just so.

The first round of petals get glued in place next.

And then the second round of petals go on.

This close up really shows how I use the back lighting to get the pieces into the best position. The “J” piece is “underdocked”. Too much light is showing, the slippery, fresh glue will allow me to continue to adjust the shape until it’s pretty near perfect.

Ta-da! A glue basted rose. Yep, that’s a bit of glue on the fabric. No worries, though, I know by the time all the applique stitching and quilting is done, this little bit of glue will flake off and fall away. And if some small bit remains after all that the first run through the washer will finish it off.

I’m making mirror images, some roses lean right, other lean left. It will be a subtle difference, but it will make my quilt more interesting. For some roses I’ll work with the diagram right side up.

 For the other half, the diagram will be wrong side up, but it will show up just fine on the light box.

Covering the diagram sheets with plastic makes it easy to glue the templates together without glueing them to the paper.

 The roses are pretty much done, glue basted any way. I’m making great progess on the sweet peas, which I think are so charming. They just tickle me. I’m having a bit of an disagreement with myself about how to stitch them together. I know that I want to add some details with thread, but I haven’t decided if that should come now, using thread that shows to join the parts together, or later, in the quilting, or perhaps both.

Now that all of my pressing deadlines are behind me I can give this project my full attention again. The pieced blocks are already done. You can see that the applique parts are nearly done. I really love this design, I want to do some really special embellishing on this quilt, using the techniques included in my new book. What do you think?

Mostly I have good travel karma. So far all of my travel adventures have come on the trip home. It’s a lot easier to take hiccups in airline schedules when there isn’t a group waiting for me to speak. I have missed connections, spent hours on the tarmac (in a raging thunderstorm), even slept in the airport overnight (more than once!), but all of these snafus have come on the trip home.

My trips usually begin with a connection at Detroit Metro. I like the Northwest terminal. To get from B/C to A we get to go through this really cool tunnel under the runways. The colors range from cool and frosty to hot and zippy. The music is kind of cosmic, underwaterish or outer spacey. I’m always sad when I have to run through to catch the next flight.

I’ve had Elite status with Northwest for a couple of years now, and it’s pretty amazing. The best part for guilds is that I’m not charged for my checked bags, and they can weigh up to 70 pounds before there is a charge. Now there is no way I’m going to pack a seventy pound suitcase (I’ve already messed up my neck, my shoulder, my hands and even had a double hernia, thank you very much), but if one suitcase weighs 54 pounds and the other ends up 45 I don’t have to rearrange stuff to avoid the charge.

Elite status folks get rebooked faster, which is very handy when I need to get myself somewhere in time for a lecture. And every now and then, I get bumped to first class, which is super nice.

This month I flew to Chicago for the terrific quilt show in Morris, IL and then less than a week later, I was off to Indianapolis, IN to visit with the fantastic guild there. I knew I would have plenty of time on my hands, with pretty long layovers so I packed myself a kit of applique to work on while I waited.

Everything a girl needs to applique on the go. A pile of glue sticks (which I discovered do not count as a liquid or gel and don’t have to be confined to a quart bag, whoo hoo!), a pair of blunt tip scissors, a couple of “magic wands”, a small cutting mat to work on and scads of trimmed applique shapes.

 I started by working on some darling little starry flowers for a magazine project (Fabric Trends, on the newsstands in June) and then moved on to work on the applique for Now & Forever. Applique is so portable, all I need is a quiet corner and a steady knee. By the time I returned home I had all of the magazine project flowers and about half of the N&F roses done and ready to sew. Where do you applique?

Almost all of the applique shapes for Now & Forever have been trimmed. Tidy little seam allowances quietly wait for their turn with the glue. For the next how ever long it takes you can expect to find a little zip top bag, packed with appliques and glue, tucked into my purse or tote bag. I’m off to Morris, IL in a couple of days for Pieces From The Heart Quilt Guild’s quilt show. I’ll be glue basting at the airport between flights and in the evening while resting up from a busy day of teaching. With any luck, by the time I head home on Sunday I’ll have all the flowers basted, docked and ready to stitch. See you there?