Looking Ahead to 2009...

Let's just say that 2008 will NOT go down in the record books as a good year for us. The national economic situation has directly affected our own finances as (very) small business owners and spending has REALLY been cut short. That has been especially true for my quilt budget - which is most depressing to me. But....

I've decided to look at it positively and, taking Judy's cue, make this year a true stashbusting year! I have so many kits that I've collected in the past that are just collecting dust that, honestly, could keep me busy for a while. So, I vow to make a dent in my kit stash, doing my best to purchase only the fabrics NEEDED to complete specific projects. Since I like to match fabrics exactly to the ones shown on a pattern, I'm always on the lookout for those one or two fabrics that I'm still missing for each homemade 'kit'.

One other goal is to advance with my Thimbleberries Club projects from previous years. So, I plan to dedicate the first week of each month towards this end, working on blocks for the 2002-2007 projects, plus the original BOM, Month by Month. Some parts have already been completed for each of these quilts, but I haven't yet finished a club quilt. Sad, right?

My list of projects for this year is in my sidebar. I plan to post at least once a week to report my progress, especially amounts of yardage busted. Hoping to have some good news to share next week!

Sally Collins

Today I had the pleasure of hearing renowned small-scale quilt maker Sally Collins speak at my local quilt guild. Her quilts were exquisite and truly beyond words. I hope you enjoy this mini quilt show!

FINALLY Finished (almost)

Whoo hoo! Here is my completed top - that just needs some embroidery in the windows of the house. I've already stitched the panes on one of the windows, and the rest will get done either at the kids' soccer games this weekend or during TV time with DH at night. (Probably NOT the latter, 'cause he likes being my center of attention when he gets home from work! LOL)

And here's a prize that I totally did NOT deserve. Peggy sent me this Homer's Donut for pushing her to get her Pumpkin House done - isn't it scrumptious?! DH gets hungry every time he see's it. My special gifty for Peg should be going in the mail this week :)

Pumpkin House Progress...

Slowly but surely my Pumpkin House project is coming along. I was FINALLY able applique down the vines and fuse on the leaves and berries. Blanket stitching will wait until soccer season starts - so I'll have something to do while waiting for my darlings to finish their practices. Here's how it looks so far:

Now I need to work on the pumpkin stems for the middle border. Then it'll be time to add all of the borders. I think I can... I think I can... I think I can...

Tutorial - Applique with Fusible Interfacing

Still busy working on my Thimbleberries Pumpkin House (have the fences all assembled) so now it's time for the applique. I've been preparing the berries and leaves and I thought I'd give a little tutorial on how to applique using fusible interfacing. I saw Eleanor Burns demonstrate this method on a Simply Quilts episode and I've been using it ever since.

You'll need fusible interfacing, of course. I prefer a medium weight because it will need to withstand some poking. (A lightweight one I bought would shred at the slightest tug - so test out a small corner before you buy.) I am using a charcoal color interfacing because my background piece is black. Here's a photo of the fusible side:

And a photo of the non-fusible side (with the applique shape traced onto it). The interfacing is very thin and I was able to trace the leaf without a lightbox or holding it up to a window.

Next, put the applique fabric together with the interfacing, so that the fusible dots touch the right side of the fabric. Sew on the traced line using a tight stitch (like 1.5) and a thread that matches either the applique fabric or the interfacing. In this case, I used black.

Once it's sewn, trim the seam allowances using pinking shears. This works out really well - and saves you from clipping the curves of the piece. After it's been trimmed, make a few cuts in the center of the interfacing as shown. Be careful NOT to cut the applique fabric!

Finally it's time to turn the right side of the fabric through that cut in the interfacing. You may need to pull at it a bit. I use my Purple Thang to round out my curves and to make my points sharp, but Eleanor uses a bodkin. Either way, fuss with it a bit until you get it nice and smooth - like my leaf below:

Then, position the shape on the background fabric and, following the manufacturer's instructions for the interfacing, press in place. Here's a photo of another piece where I used this same method. The stitches are all done by hand using perle cotton. See how the applique puffs up a bit? That seems to help the stitches lay nicely around the outer edge.

Try it out sometime - you may like it!

*** A special thank you goes out to Peggy for sending me her leftover green fabric for my vines. You're a lifesaver! I'm wondering if my bias strips ever made it out of that garbage bag in Minnesota! LOL