Needle Turn Applique Catch Up and Process

Getting caught up on my "Quilting the Garden" BOM by Blackbird Designs.  A good friend and mentor of mine, Debbie Wick, made the quilt years ago and small group of close friends meet at Debbie's house each month to work on our own versions of this beautiful quilt with Debbie's guidance.

Here is the latest block we're working on, Summer Cottage, this is an image of Debbie's finished block.  Awesome isn't it?  She does fantastic work...

And here is the same block from the "Quilting the Garden" book: (I don't remember if this is Alma's or Barb's block - sorry).

My Summer Cottage block currently looks like this - The roof is ready to stitch down.

 What do you think of those side windows ?  Don't they look like stained glass?  The fabric was a  special gift from Debbie.  Love them.

Love that background fabric too!  Another special gift - thank you my friend.
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In case you're interested in the process -- I've outlined some details:

*** NOTE:  If you're new to Needle Turn Applique and want to learn more, you can reference "Teardrops of Love - a needle turn applique tutorial" on my blog header tabs.  There is an in-depth 4 part tutorial documented there. ***

The grass has some areas that are needle turned and some that can be left raw because another applique piece will be placed on top of it.

To transition from one area to the next first snip the fabric at the transition mark, travel with a running stitch to the next transition, snip the fabric again, and continue with your needle turn.

When you prepare the piece for needle turn, don't mark the areas that can be left raw - this will be your clue to transition from turning to raw edge.  Be sure to give yourself a comfortable amount of leeway so you don't end up with raw edge where you need needle turn.  At the end of the turned area, snip or clip the fabric so it will lay flat and then travel with a running stitch to the next area that will be turned.  Here is another view:

Below is the completed view.  The raw edge area will have a flower pot positioned on top of it.

Another important tool for applique piece placement is an overlay.   There are several tools you can use including the Dritz overlay sheets or thin clear vinyl.  I use the Dritz flimsy clear sheets (it comes on a roll), trace the edges of the critical pieces on the sheet with a dry erase marker, and then use the marked overlay to position each applique piece.   When you're not using the overlay it has enough "cling" to hang on a clean painted wall. 

Using the overlay for the grass placement.

Using the overlay for the house placement.  It's hard to tell from this picture but the needle turn lines are drawn on the pink house and should line up exactly under the overlay lines of the same.

A view of placing the roof - I'm making progress.

Here are some of the other blocks I have going - Block1 - my poor little bird still needs to be stitched.

 

Detail view:

I love the star -- it's an old Blackbird Design fabric !!  Woohoo!

Block 2 -- remember I worked on this one when we went to San Diego in October -- great place to visit quilt shops !

 Details:

Oh - and the Herb Block -- it's a bit stalled but an easy one to work on in time:  I love the background on this one too!!

That's all for tonight - If you have any questions on the Overlay or the stitching for layering of applique pieces please leave me a comment - I would be happy to try to answer them.

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Have a good week all and stay tuned -- that 100 post giveaway is in the works - and some other exciting news to share with you!

Hugs,

Karen