Applique is a great way to add more images, motifs or even dimension to a piece of fiber art or a quilt.
Do you find all the different options confusing though?  Needle turn?  Raw edge?  Satin stitch?  What’s a fiber-aholic to do?
Each techique has it’s benefits (and disadvantages) and some of them work better for certain uses than others.  Is your project strictly art or for decorative use only?  Or is this something that’s going to get used well and washed frequently?

For instance, I’ve cut these cute little motifs out of another piece of fabric and want to applique them onto …read more

Bird Quilts
Just as I’m focusing on birds and bird quilt patterns this week, brought about by National Bird Day this past Monday, I came across these books.  Perhaps you’ve made quilts or fabric art related to our feathered friends or maybe you’d like to.
Feathered Friends: 18 Paper-Pieced Blocks for Bird Lovers by Jette Norregaard Neilsen
Backyard Bird Quilts: 18 Paper-Pieced Projects by Jodie Davis
Applique Takes Wings: Exquisite Designs for Birds, Butterflies and More by Jane Townswick
Exotic Birds Critter Works Applique Quilting Pattern
Memories of a Lifetime: Birds and Butterflies: Artwork for Scrapbooks and Fabric-Transfer Crafts by Nancy Rosin
Do you have any favorite …read more

Applique

We’ve discussed applique as one way to create a quilt, the art of stitching pieces of fabric onto a fabric background in various designs.  Some quilters prefer this over piecing quilts.  Others combine the two.
You also don’t have to limit applique to bed quilts and wall art.  You can use applique on clothing and items for decorating your home.  If you particularly enjoy this type of stitching, you might want to  applique:

Table cloths
Pillow tops
Baby blanket and pillow sets
Cafe curtains
Luncheon sets
Shawls
Scarves
Napkins
Baby’s sleeper

Can you think of other uses of applique?
(Amazon image)

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com

Our word this week is Applique.  This is a technique or type of quilting whereby you stitch one piece of fabric onto another.  One definition says it’s a piece of fabric cut out and stitched ornamentally to another.
Traditionally, the appliqued pieces made a specific design.  They might be flowers, leaves, birds, animals, houses, geometrics and more.  Usually you turned the edges, of the piece to be stitched, under about 1/4 inch and stitched by hand or machine with decorative stitches.
Nowadays, some appliqued pieces are stitched onto another without turning under so the raw edges ravel to give an interestiing effect.
(Amazon image)
(c)2008 …read more

Quilted and appliqued Christmas ornaments add color and interest to your tree and your home during the holiday season.  You may want to make these yourself or find them at craft and Christmas shops.
Cathy, at the Tangled Thread  blog (www.tangledthread.com) features a number of Christmas ornaments you may want to make.  These include: a Yo-Yo Christmas Tree Stocking, Crazy Quilt Stocking, Christmas Countdown Calendar, and a Counted Cross Stitch Tree Skirt.  Simply browse down her blog for more information and where to find patterns and directions.
Creating Christmas and holiday ornaments and decorations with your youngsters can be a fun time.  …read more

It was interesting to note, as I read about the history of quiltmaking in Twentieth Century Quilts, 1900-1950, by Thomas K. Woodard and Blanche Greenstein, that some quilters once considered appliqued, or “laid out,” quilts more elegant than the pieced or patched ones.  As the authors said, in some areas of the country, there were “socially superior overtones” to this method of quilt construction.
I’d never considered this idea before.  I realized, when I looked at appliqued quilts, that many were very intricate and required a great deal of work.  This is true, as well, about patchwork quilts made with many …read more

Do you have something special you make in the world of fabric/fiber art?  Do you have a technique that’s unique?
With so many quilters, what makes those stand out who are getting name recognition and orders for their work?  This is not to say there isn’t a market for any quilting, but finding something that is your specialty may help you develop your place in the quilting world.
As I evolved along the quiltmaking trail, I discovered quilted and appliqued vests for children.  (I made them for adults only on special order because I didn’t find themarkets for them in stores.) 
Actually I …read more

Quilters, who enjoy creating quilts and other fiber art, become excited about the prospects of turning a hobby into a business.  This seems a very easy step…doing something you enjoy and getting paid for it.
While this is an attractive goal, consider whether you’re up to facing the demands of customers and commission clients.  Not all of your orders will involve making what you want and enjoy.  You’ll have to meet the requirements of the person(s) who are paying you for the work.  Or you can make what you want “on spec” and hope it sells.
 At this point, quilting sometimes loses some …read more

Memory Quilts can take a variety of forms and may involve quilts made specifically to evoke memories or include those that bring back memories of special times in our lives. 
*My daughter made a quilt, when her husband was ill with cancer, that could be considered a Family Quilt or Memory Quilt to her.  She made patterns of her husband’s hand, the children’s hands, and hers.  Then she cut these from fabric and incorporated them into a quilt that she could hang on the wall.
This quilt has sepecial significance for her family of a time when they were pulling together for her husband’s recovery.  …read more

Applique, the technique of stitching pieces of fabric to a background with intricate and decorative stitches, frequently is used in quilting and fabric art projects. 
The current newsletter from Quilted Paradise gives “A Few Tips for Applique” where you can find how to perfect this technique.  (http://www.quiltedparadise.com/b/047/owg/9436 )
You also can register to receive e-mail notices whenever new newsletters are published.  These contain quilting tips, book reviews, and questions and answers.