Sunday, October 27, 2013

Slow stitching Sunday....

Plans changed. Instead of taking the kids to Sea World (they have not figured it out yet) we will have a relaxing day at home. We might head over to the trail head and take a walk in the woods, maybe a bike ride around the neighborhood and hopefully they will do some playing outside in the back yard and get some energy out. Everyone is still sniffly and I think a day at home with no real plans is the perfect thing. Maybe I can even get them down for naps? A girl can dream. I fear nap time for Emily has come to an end =(. She tends to sleep too long (2-3 hours) and will not wake up to tickling, kisses or talking. Then she is not tired until after 9 at night.

For me ......I have an applique block to prep for hand applique this week. I pulled the first block for the Century quilt and it has bias vines..... so I just had to stop at Joann's after bowling on Thursday and use my 50% off coupon to purchase a clover bias seam maker. It was so easy to do... now to follow the directions and glue everything down onto the fabrics. I'll have my hand work for the car line wait this week all set to go. If this works.... then I can try the  border I really want to add to the birds in the air quilt! Baby steps. This pattern called for the 3/4 inch bias maker. I'm thinking if this works well, maybe I'll have to get a 1.5 inch one to make a nice big vine for a border. Any tips for me on using bias vines? I'm a newbie at this and any and all tips are wonderful.


Head on over to quilter Kathy and see what other slow stitch projects are being worked on today.

6 comments:

soscrappy said...

Best of luck with your bias vine. I have only done little bits, but I think the curves iron in nicely. It is amazing how stretchy fabric is when cut on the bias.

Ellen said...

I wish I could help but I have little experience with it. Maybe doing a light tracing of the placement onto the background fabric might help to keep things in the correct alignment as you are gluing the stems?

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

I use a light box and a pencil to mark the center of the stems and use a glue stick to glue them in place. The narrower the vine the easier it is to make curves. I just figured out that if I starch the end of the vine it is easier to thread it thru the bias stem maker. Then I give the tail a spray and it helps to set the seams as I pull it thru the maker. Your applique is looking great!

Cathy said...

I've always wondered if those bias makers worked. Bravos to you for trying something new.

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

No advice here (no experience with applique) ... good luck with the bias maker.

Quilter Kathy said...

I really like the bias maker for stems, and I like stitching them down. I give my stems a spritz of spray starch just to make sure they don't unfold. Thanks for linking up!