Newsletter April 2007

I recently had a chance to take three days of classes with Yvonne Porcella through Darting Needles. It was a bit of a change to work quickly, spontaneously, and intuitively, and I wound up with a few little pieces I just love. Sometimes something just a little out of control is a great way to spark creativity and bring some balance back into life for me. Find some time for yourself to let a bit of creativity loose!
Katy

Recap of March Meeting (March 29, 2007)
Show and tell…Karen, the “queen of dimension,” brought back her fish quilt with a few enhancements as well as another piece she’d done years earlier. It’s amazing what you can do with an otherwise ghastly necklace! Check out the photos on the blog. Karen’s preferred batting is simply tablecloth padding, found on a bolt at Joann’s.

JoAnne brought her “Bohemian Rhapsody” which was a way to burn off some creativity that was just smoldering in her pocket! It’s packed with fun cheery fabrics, plus it has sequins! A photo is on the blog. Also, she showed us some gorgeous dyed silk, which had been done by her husband’s cousin’s late wife. She had used beeswax resists and Procion dyes. Look closely at the blog photo to see a piece of the silk in JoAnne’s hair!

Katy taught her sheer window appliqué technique. The handout is posted on the blog.

Reminders and Announcements
We’ll be in the Gegan Room (long conference table) in April. Note two schedule changes: We will move back our starting time to 6:30 each month. Folks are finding it harder and harder to arrive at 6:00. Second, in April we will view the Ricky Tims DVD “Grand Finale.” This video covers tons of machine techniques for quilting, binding, and finishing. Couching, originally scheduled for April, will be in July instead. Katy will share what she knows about machine couching and Karen will offer tips on hand couching, but mostly it will be a party for everyone to share ideas and projects.

At the March meeting, we talked about attendance. It’s very helpful for the leader each month to know how many she’s expecting, especially if there are handouts. If you know you won’t be able to make it, please make a courtesy call to either Katy or the leader for that month.

April Meeting (Thursday April 26, 2007) at the Menasha Public Library
Note the new start time—6:30. Remember the library does not mind if we bring our dinners down into the meeting room. We will view the DVD “Grand Finale” by Ricky Tims. Julie will be the hostess for the night (RSVP regrets to Julie or Katy). Michele will take notes, as Katy cannot make it this month. DVD topics include:

• innovative marking techniques
• creating your own quilting designs
• managing the quilt
• machine trapunto
• bobbin quilting
• bobbin trapunto
• bindings made completely by machine

Upcoming Events
April 26, 2007: April meeting, 6:30. Movie night.
May 31, 2007: May meeting, 6:30. Fabric Postcards; Mary will lead.
June 28, 2007: June meeting, 6:30. Paintsticks.
July 26, 2007: July meeting, 6:30. Couching. Katy and Karen will lead.
August 30, 2007: August meeting, 6:30. Chenilling. Gill will lead.

Conversations with Cloth meets the last Thursday of each month at 6:30 at the Menasha Public Library.

Sheer Inset Window Applique

This information was given as a handout at the March meeting. This is my preferred method, although it requires a bit of precision.

1. You can adapt all sorts of patterns to this technique, or draw your own. Shape rules:
   Your sheer fabric must be completely encircled by appliqué fabric
   Your appliqué fabric “window frame” should be at least ½” wide.


2. Trace all pieces onto fusible. Rough cut out. Fuse to wrong side of appliqué fabric. Cut out on lines, but remember to leave “underneath” seam allowance for any pieces that overlap.


3. Cut out window carefully on the lines. You can remove the backing paper from the fusible.


4. Trace the reversed window inset onto freezer paper. Cut out slightly inside the lines.


5. Iron the reversed freezer paper template to the right side of the sheer. Use the Bohin iron shoe or a teflon press cloth to prevent melting synthetic sheers. Turn the temperature down a bit, too. Cut out leaving about ¼” seam allowance all around the template. (A little more is easier, but leave more only if you have a wider “window frame.”)


6. Layer, starting from the bottom: Parchment paper or appliqué sheet, sheer right side up (freezer paper up), appliqué window (fusible side down). Snug the freezer paper template inside the appliqué window hole. Be careful not to fuse the edges of the freezer paper into the sandwich. Fuse gently. Let cool before you peel off the parchment. You should have at least ¼” of fusible at the edges.


7. Fuse in place on your background. Finish the raw edges with stitching of your choice (inside and outside edge of window frame).

Variations
You can capture “stuff” like beads or fiber soup under the sheer.
You can make your own sheer from Angelina and capture “stuff” between layers.

If you want to construct your window from more than one piece of fabric, note the following:

• Your sheer fabric must be completely encircled by appliqué fabric, but the surrounding fabric may come from more than one piece. In this case the sheer will extend into “underneath” the seam allowance.


• One appliqué piece is chosen to be the “main” window frame. You can cut this frame “open” (like a horseshoe) UNLESS the sheer fabric is quite unstable. In this case, leave a thin rim of appliqué fabric to stabilize all around. Remember to leave an “underneath” seam allowance in any case.

JoAnne's Bohemian Rhapsody

JoAnne made this fun fast quilt to satisfy her need to be creative and to finish a project.

I love the glitz in the borders. I think it would be a great picnic blanket!

In her hair, Jo Anne is wearing a hand-dyed silk scarf. She inherited several of these scarves.

Karen's Sea-Scape 1

This is Karen's gorgeous sea-scape.



Detail of Karen's Sea Scape.

Karen says she likes to do putsy work. So many of the seaweed leaves are 3D. She also included green netting for some of the lacier seaweed. She also likes to fussy-cut the fish from a focus fabric. It is heavily quilted.