Any applique quilters out there?

[epdeans]

I have signed up for a applique quilt block of the month and have never appliqued before.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice or a good website that I may visit to teach myself?

Thanks,
Elizabeth in NC

[hellen]

I made a large appliqué train quilt that took months. I do the freezer paper method and hand stitch it. I like the feel of just the fabric against fabric. With a fusible backing it becomes kind of stiff. I also did the stitching by hand because it was easier for me. My machine isn't that great. With the hand stitching I was able to work on it any time. I've even done it while tandem nursing.

One of the things I learned is to use good fabric. Quilting fabric is good for quilting. I bought some fabric on clearance that unravels like heck. I sure wish I never bought it. I need to repair the areas where it is unraveling.

Doing it by hand I was somewhat limited to the size of the pieces. I couldn't do really tiny detail. Pieces larger than about my hand were a little harder also.

http://picasaweb.google.com/helen.br...96097747332994

My little boy wants to play trains now. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

[epdeans]

hellen:

Thanks for the reply. What an outstanding, beautiful quilt you made. I love it so much. You are a wonderful quilter!!! You have inspired me.

I am going to use the freezer paper method and I have decided I am going to hand sew as well. I am planning on starting it Tuesday am so I may post again then if I need help.

Elizabeth

[hellen]

Thanks. It took a really long time but I'm pretty pleased with it.

I preferred using smaller needles because it didn't look like it was gouging the fabric as much. Of course I made the mistake of using an old sheet as the background so the weave was tighter. A good quality thread is also important.

Prepping a piece is tedious work but is well worth it. Take the extra time to iron the edges into the desired shape (folding it over the freezer paper). This makes it easier to sew. I thought so anyway.

Don't let your background fabric be too big. It's hard to hold a huge wad of fabric in your hand. I've done pillowcases as well. That was a little tricky since one side is sewn shut making it difficult to handle the fabric.

I think there are two ways to take the freezer paper out. You can cut a small slit in the background fabric and pull it out or you can remove it prior to completely finishing the piece. I usually pulled the paper out prior to finishing it up. You don't want to wait too long to take it out or it become difficult to get the tweezers in there especially with long narrow pieces. Once you take the freezer paper out I found that my sewing wasn't as straight. The freezer paper worked a guide. This is where the ironing comes into effect especially with circles.

What are you going to make?

[epdeans]

hellen:

I am making an applique of the month block through one of my local quilt shops. The theme for this quilt is birds. So after 12 blocks we will have the making of a bird quilt. January's block is a bluebird which is one of my favorites. This summer I had 2 bluebird boxes that birds nested in and had babies in. I am so excited.

It is going to be a challenge but I look forward to it and know I will learn as I go along. Thanks for you tips they will cetainly be used.