Superfantastic Quilts

My favorite and go to stitch when I am appliqueing is the blanket stitch.  I have always admired this stitch and think that it provides a lot more character to the piece of work than a straight stitch, satin stitch or zip zag stitch. When setting up your blanket stitch, I understand that you want to try and have the length of your stitch be the same as the depth of the stitch that goes into the fabric.  It is nice if you have a machine that allows you to adjust these two items on your stitch.  My machine will allow me to adjust both which will come in very handy.  In the picture below you can see the structure of the blanket stitch. Also on my machine, there are about 9 different options for the style of blanket stitch that you want to use.  The one that I use the most is what I call the double stitch, which puts a double line of thread at each point in the stitch with just the very slightest offset.  This version accentuates the stitch even more and...

This wall hanging came from a quilt store in St. George, Utah.  They sell it as a kit in their store and it was a fun applique project but the piecing was also fun to create the borders and backgrounds.  I liked the different shades of yellow and gold, blended with the rust to really make this quilt look bright. Pattern:  Sunshine on a Stem Pattern Number:  Pattern Publisher:  Quilted Works Pattern Cost: $ 9.99 Kit Available: Yes (Laser Cut) Kit Cost: $49.00 Finished Size: 22" X 26.5" Location Purchased:   Quilted Works Current Status:  Completed and Gifted This kit is a laser cut kit so you do not have to cut any of the applique pieces.  In the kit that I got the words "Sunshine on a stem" were done in what I would call reverse applique.  The words were cut out of the blue and green fabric, and you place each of those on a piece of brown fabric to get them to show.  I then used a small sized straight stitch right alon...

If you are going to do applique you have to find a fusible backing that works well for your projects.  I have chosen to use Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 for my projects.  There are a number of reasons why I like the product for my applique.  The first reason I like it is it has a one-inch grid printed on it so that it is easy to cut pieces the right size for each piece of applique you are going to cut.  It comes in two different size rolls, one that is 12 inches wide and one that is 18 inches wide.  I like the 18" roll the best.  The box has 25 yards which will allow you to make quite a few quilts. The lite version of the product provides a less stiff finished product than some of the other fusible backings. The other great benefit of steam a seam 2 is that it has a sticky backing on both sides.  This is very helpful when you are trying to place the cut piece onto your project.  Some of the other fusible are slick and are always sliding a ...

This week's featured project is a great and useful decoration for any kitchen.  I made this tea towel for Jasmine for when she moved into her first apartment up at the University of Arkansas - Woo Pig.  While it is not a true Razorback, it certainly falls in line with the pig theme that follows any Razorback student. Pattern: Pig Patternlet Pattern Number: TWBP33 Pattern Publisher:   The Wooden Bear Pattern Cost: $ 4.75 Kit Available:  No Location Purchased:   Lickety Stitch Quilts Current Status: Completed and Gifted This project can be completed in just a couple of hours and makes a great gift to share with someone.  Finding the right tea towel is important to the feel of the project.  Both of the sites listed above sell a great tea towel for these projects.  Dunroven House makes some great tea towels and the run about $4.75 each.  They are a great weight and take the stitching of the applique well without bunching ...

I made this project in just one day.  It is a very easy pattern to follow and very forgiving as there are no points you have to match.  The biggest challenge is figuring out how to cut the panel so that it will work for the pattern but with a little math the project was fun and easy to complete.  I saw this wallhanging while in Albuquerque, NewMexico on a trip. Pattern: Shenandoah Pattern Number: CS#417 Pattern Publisher: Creative Sewlutions Pattern Cost: $9.00 Kit Available: Yes   Click for Kit. Location Purchased:   Southwest Decoratives and Kokopelli Quilting Company . Current Status: Top completed, still needs quilting. If you have ever visited Albequrque in October for the balloon festival you know how amazing the mass accession is to see.  This quilt will make you feel like you are in the living room or a local home looking out the picture window down on the balloon launch.  The colors are the panel are bright and chee...