by Sandra | November 29th, 2009
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend! I spent the week working on Jason’s quilt when I could find bits of time from all of the hectic things to do. I really like the way it is shaping up. I admit it took me a couple of days of fussing to get the right combination of fabrics for the pumpkin. The pumpkin is the star so I had to get that right!
Yesterday I did the pumpkin flower and again, I was pleasantly surprised how well it came together. I can picture it with the finishing embroidery details and it will really pop. I did the “curl” of the petal using the unit applique method I posted about and I am glad I did. It was fairly difficult as it was to try and get right.
You probably noticed white chalk markings all over the applique leaves etc. This is how I “see” what everything will look like with the detail work added. It lets me know if I am going in the right direction early. Blobs of big applique can throw me off, so this helps to visualize the end result with the details.
The Crow is up next and that should be a lot of fun to put together so I am looking forward to that part.
Have a good week!
all contents ©2009 Sandra Leichner all rights reserved
Wow!
The fabric and details are amazing.
Thanks for letting us look over your shoulder as you stitch this!
I can’t believe my eyes !!!!!!
you are really going at it ! It is simply marvelous !
I love the pumkin and the flower and all the leaves and….. The whole thing ! The shading is fantastic . did you use colored pencils or is that just your use of fabric on the flower?
Absolutely enchanting.
How do you get so much done in so little time ?
The pumpkin is so beautiful, Jason must be so thrilled! Your choice of fabric, design and attention to detail is amazing. I am learning so much. Thank you for sharing so much and teaching as you go along. I cannot wait to see the crow!
Absolutely yummy! And I’m impressed with how quickly the whole thing is coming about! Methinks you just might be an overachiever! ;~)
Because the fabrics I have chosen have depth and value, this looks far more complicated and involved than what it is. So far there has not been that many pieces to applique. The fabric is doing the work for me.
Imagine if I had used flat solids or prints. can you imagine how different looking this would be? It would appear far more simplistic.
Sara, I am lucky enough to have a devoted sewing room and I never put my project away, but have it ready to stitch on where I previously left off. That way, I can sit down and stitch immediately when I catch a few moments of time.
I am always surprised by how much I get done in stolen bits of time over the week.
Michele, it is my curiosity that drives me. Well that and my lack of patience. I MUST see the finished piece! LOL
The thing I like about applique is that it is a lot like putting pieces of a puzzle together. All lof those pieces that go together and make up a picture. In other words, to me it is like sitting down over time and figuring piecing a jigsaw puzzle. Only at the end, I get a wonderful finished quilt!
Boop, No colored pencils have been used……yet. That may change of course if I EVER find them. I hid them in a “safe” place from my daughter and now I can’t find the safe place.
I got really lucky with a piece of fabric I ordered and that arrived on Saturday. It was from a new batik line that goes from light to dark (selvedge to selvedge). This yellow one was PERFECT for the pumpkin flower because the dark was more of an apricot color. Just what I needed!
Denise you and me both on that crow.
Melanie, I hope I am taking the mystery out of what I do as you look over my shoulder!
Sandra – I am in awe – what wonderful progress you have made!
Now I must know what is the new batik line that goes from light to dark that you used for the pumpkin flower!!!! That shading is amazing.
Denise,
Here is where I found it (really new so shops may not have it yet). Obviously I used the yellow. These are really fabulous and I hope the line expands to more colors! http://www.equilter.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html?catid=116&sid=31U9Hz2EW2gP7AX-34109058771.40
Thanks Ivory Spring! It is really amazing the different effects that can be achieved by the fabrics we use for applique huh?
It looks like a picture!! Very beautiful. You are right about how a few minutes here and there will add up to a completed project in no time. Do you use a template at all to audition your fabrics? What I mean is – do you take a square of template material, cut out the shape of the piece to be appliqued and then use the opening as a window to see how the fabric will look? (Hope this makes sense.)
Those fabrics are yummy ! and I’m so jealous ; )
Patti, that makes total sense what you are asking.
No I don’t use a template to “view”/audition the fabric area before cutting (it takes more time don’tcha know ). One of the things I do is to mark on my individual templates the shadow and highlight areas so when I position the template, I am aware of where the values in the fabric need to be placed.
Then I note on these template value areas a
“L” for light
“M” for medium
“D” for dark
When I am getting super detailed I also add,
“ML” for medium light
“MD” for medium dark
I don’t always get it the first time exactly ideal, so if the cut piece doesn’t quite work, I just try again. If I have to try a second time, that usually works perfectly. The nice thing about applique is we don’t have to be so precise. Thank goodness!
Boop, do you ever feel like you could roll around in a pile of fabrics sometimes just for the sheer pleasure of it because they are so yummy? LOL
I’m not sure about the rolling part , LOL ! But I would like to float in the air with all the beautful fabrics ! : )
About how wide is each section of the different shade of color on this fabric ? I am asking so that I can decide how much to order.
Sara,
I originally ordered a half yard and to get the shading like this used most of the good parts and I have more flowers to go so I went back and ordered more.
The shading in this very light color is a very subtle transition and the parts where you get a high contrast are few.
I went back and measured for you as best I could the area of each particular value and it was approximately 10″ before transitioning to the next value.
I purchased almost all of the colors and the colors that start out darker will give you the most bang for your buck and less fussy cutting to get the shading needed. The yellow or very light colors will probably require more fussy cutting and have fewer areas of high contrast.
It all depends on how small the applique piece is and the amount of shading you require to create that “painted” look. As well as how much applique will be created using the fabric.
I hope this helps or maybe I created more indecision? When in doubt, I order a yard. For applique, this is comparable to buying a bolt of fabric to a piecer, but sometimes with a pure color batik that has good value changes and will not date itself, I err on the side of caution.