Finishes

Hope you all had a great 4th of July holiday. I'm going to a new gym that offers a variety of classes and I've been taking the spinning class a couple of times a week. No, not spinning like making yarn or thread, although that would probably be a lot more fun, but riding a stationary bike while a leader loudly encourages you to pedal faster and harder. I can tell I've had a good workout when I'm done with the class!

I also did a fair amount of sewing. Never as much as I'd like, but I finished two of my POTM projects. I didn't think it would take long to finish the crazy wool pincushion, but the decorative stitching proved much more challenging than I anticipated.

The kitty looked incomplete so I added a bow. Our wool kit for one project came tied in a wonderful strip of plaid cotton and I used a piece of that for the bow. Granny Trace has designed and is working on a wool crazy pincushion and you can see that on her blog.

I also finished Lisa Bonegan's runner.  There was a lot of stitching in this baby and completing it took longer than I anticipated, but I love the colors, especially the nubby brown wool backing Lisa provided.

And here's a little look at nature in my own back yard. As if the visiting rabbits don't do enough damage, I think this one has actually taken up residence in my garden. Smart little thing, though, he really scooted after he heard my camera click.

Caught in the Act

POTM-Stacy West

Saturday was the last day for Primitives of the Midwest. Stacy West of Buttermilk Basin, another designer whose work I've long admired. This workshop really emphasized to me the range of design styles that you can find in primitive crafting. I love Maggie Bononomi's work and the very vintage feel of her designs. But I'm also drawn to designs with more detail like Lisa Bongean's and Stacy's and this penny Christmas tree has lots of that!

Stacy also recommends using Stem a Seam to ensure your applique has crisp edges and because it gives a strong enough bond that you can pack it up and take it with you to sew on the road or as you're waiting for kids, etc. 

More Fusing and Cutting!

Stacy also demonstrated another method of blanket stitching.

Practicing New Method

Stacy begins her stitch at the edge of the design which allows her to see exactly where that stitch will come up in the design, looping through the thread on the topside and pulling it taut but not too tight. Stacy used regular DMC floss for this design and the large selection of colors would make it easy to pick one that would blend nicely with whatever you're sewing, if you don't want your stitches to show prominently as part of the design.

Final Touch-Beads for Sparkle

Some of you have asked for more information on Lynda Hall's crazy wool method and this tutorial from Kaaren on The Painted Quilt demonstrates it much better than I could. Her stitches are just beautiful! For me personally, however, I'm beginning to rethink whether it would be easier to do the stitching before adding the applique. While it would mean more stitching, at least for a beginner like me it might help to make the stitching look a little better and more uniform.


As you can imagine, the end of the workshop gave me the same feeling of loss I get when I finish a book that I loved reading. But I'm also coming away with a new enthusiasm and appreciation for wool applique and am so fortunate to have shared a little time with such kind, talented and fun teachers and professionals.

POTM-Lynda Hall's Class

Yesterday my friend Barbie Jo of Cleo and Me and I had the privilege of participating in Lynda Hall's crazy wool pincushion class. I haven't made any crazy wool projects before, so this was another new technique for me.

Lynda with Pincushion Samples

Lynda explained the techniques and demonstrated some of the decorative stitches and away we went. Some of her samples were made by her granddaughters. Wouldn't that be a fun project with your grandkids!

We were encouraged to be creative and draw our own designs and Lynda also had several pattern sheets with additional ideas.

We received a kit with a variety of wool which we used to piece our background and baste in place. After the background is in place, you can either do the decorative stitching or stitch your applique.

Barbie Jo's Decorative Stitching

Applique First for Me!

We received a kit with a variety of wool which we used to piece our background and baste in place. After the background is in place, you can either do the decorative stitching or stitch your applique. What a great way to use up those little random scraps of wool!