Piece and Plenty BOM Update

The bewitching hour has arrived. It is 1 on the morning, and I am tired of applique. I did make some progress on the first month's block and filler block.

I finished the paper piecing of the filler baskets and it turned out well. I have them on my design wall, which has lots of strings on it.

Then it was on to the applique part. I don't do much applique because I have arthritis, but it keeps my hands busy when I watch the "shows" that appeal to me on the wide, wide world of televsion waste. But that's another story.

I am trying out a technique that I saw several weeks ago at a quilt bee meeting. I had a lady named Connie explain it to me and it seems to be the most simple of the many ways you can applique. I am going to post pictures as I go, so if anyone is interested, they can see how it develops. And I can critique my work, too.

The first thing you do is draw an outline of the pattern on the back of the background fabric you are going to use. A light box of some sort is necessary to do this right. You need to make some registration marks when you trace this pattern so it will be centered. I used a Micron .5 pen to draw with.

Next, determine the order in which you need to applique each piece. Remember you are working from the inside out. So, in this case, the handle is the piece closest to the background. Lay the handle fabric on the front side of the background fabric, covering the pattern you have drawn. Be sure the right side is "up" when you do this. Take your handle fabric and, following the lines of the handle, stitch around the handle portion of the pattern with a regular stitch.

Do this on the back side of the background. This will, in effect, baste your fabric down, and give you a line to fold your fabric on when you start to applique.
This is what you will have when you trim the excess fabric away on the top side of your fabric. You still have to trim as you go but this trim is to reduce the bulk of fabric you are working with.

SHere is a closeup before you start to applique. See how the stitching provides you with a line to follow? As you stitch the edges down, you will snip the thread about an inch or an inch and a half at a time, trim the fabric to about an eighth or so, turn it and stitch. An orange stick or a toothpick is a good tool to help with the turning under.


This pictures show the inside of the basket stitched down and the outside started. Notice I have used some very small applique pins to help hold down a section at a time.

That is as far as I have gotten today.