This is a photo of the applique block I've told you is driving me crazy. It still needs more applique on the remaining two corners. It's probably the easiest of all the applique blocks that are in the Sylvia's Bridal Sampler book.....but I've been driven bonkers by it. There were to be tiny circles in the center of each flower but I didn't like how they looked, so I did some little embroidery in each center with a French knot in the middle and like that better. The block is called "Posies 'Round the Square" and the floral motif is in all 4 corners when it's done. To me, it looks like something should also be in the middle of the block BUT with the name saying the posies are 'round the square, I guess that's why the center doesn't have a flower. (I should be glad, huh? If there was one in the middle, I'd have to applique 5 of these buggers on there and several more leaves.....YIKES!!! No, thanks!!!) I tried to do regular needle turn and threw THAT leaf away. I did freezer paper and glued the edges under (as shown in an applique book) for a couple of the leaves and it was messy working with the glue like that. For the other 2 leaves, I used the freezer paper as a guide but then needle-turned the edges under and that seemed a bit easier. I'm not crazy about any of them, though, and may try to use plastic template material for the rest and iron the edges under (since the template material is heat-proof)...and see if those are easier to do. I WILL finish the block (for those of you who told me not to give up), but I am not 100% decided yet if I'll do the rest of the applique blocks in the book....may just do doubles of some of the other blocks (in different fabrics) or might just make the quilt smaller. I cannot imagine me doing several applique blocks!!! Oh...and for those of you who are applique experts....I know the points on my leaves are NOT good and not even pointing in the right direction in some cases.....but I checked the points on some of my real leaves on my plants outside here and they aren't so great, either!!!!! I figure if the real thing can have wonky, crazy points, then MY leaves can have those kind of points, too! LOL
17 comments:
it looks great to me.
Looks good to me!
Ya know the more you do the better you get!!
It looks good to me! I agree with you though that it looks like there should be something in the middle!
You know I am avoiding even trying applique, so you are just adding more reasons to avoid it. Ha ha!
Pat, this is a great hand applique effort! One suggestion, I vote for you to "make it your own" and embroider something in the middle since that empty space bothers you. You already embroidered something on the corner flowers, so doing that will bring everything together very nicely. The square for the "posies to be 'round" will still be there. I know your frustrations well from doing Dear Jane blocks, and I found the way you mentioned of using heat-resistant plastic template material, draw-stringing the fabric around it, then pressing the fabric in place was the best result I could get.
You go, girl!
The block looks good, and believe me, you are the only one who is going to notice any problems with the leaves. Good luck with the applique.
I've always wanted to try applique, because I love the way it looks. However, having read about your troubles, I'm thinking I should leave it along. I don't enjoy hand sewing anyway. I have done something that perhaps could be called 'fake' applique: cut out shapes, glued them onto the fabric and then stitched (by machine) around the edges. It was pretty easy, although the gluing was messy.
I think your block will be fine and that you should to ahead and put something in the center, if you want to. It's your block, right?
Applique....I love it but I too struggle a bit. I think it is another one of those things that requires practice...lots of it! Those who do all that applique...talent!! :-) Yours looks fine in the photo!!
Looks good to me! of course you can copy the pictures
I think your applique looks just fine Pat!! I'm not doing that applique one with the 2 people in it, we are just making the quilt "ours".
Crispy
Hey Pat! Hang in there with the applique. . . practice, practice, practice and be forgiving as you do. Just wondering. . . I've had some success with backbasting. Have you tried it yet? If you want to, I've got some pointers on the thread and needles to use when you are basting the applique in place.
This block looks good! It reminds me of the Dear Jane blocks Pinelands Barb has done . Glad you are going to finish the block :)
Here's a tip from a friend who does lots of applique.....I'll use circles as an example. She saves the postcards out of magazines and uses that to trace the shapes she wants to applique. To make perfect circles, she cuts the paper circle first and then cuts the fabric she plans to use slightly larger than that circle. Next, she does a running stitch all the way around the circle, just like you were making a yo-yo - but not turning under the edge as you would when making yo-yo's. She pulls up the thread so that the fabric comes up and around the paper circle and then secures that with a knot. Next, she presses this and then removes the paper circle (using that long tweezer thingy helps). You will have a perfect circle and this also works on leaves and more. Another friend always cuts away the muslin from the back of a project once the applique is done so that there is not so much bulk. That's a lot of work, though. One more tip, I have also used a product that I got at the Minnesota Quilters Show years ago. It's called So-Sheer Fusible Interfacing and info can be found at www.thepicketfences.com.
Hope there's a tip here that helps!
Your applique looks okay to me! Have you tried basting the fabric around a freezer paper shape before trying to applique it to the block? And what about machine applique. You could just stick the pieces on with steam-a-seam and then stitch them with your machine.
I agree, it looks good to me
looks good...you're doing fine
Pat, it looks fine! you do nice applique...
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