It's Almost Time!

It's almost time! On Monday, September 2, at 12:00 noon, EDT, registration will open for the 2020 Academy of Appliqué! Are you ready? 

It is always an honor to be part of the faculty of this wonderful event, but being a part of the experience is a dream. We hope you might be able to make the trip, and we would especially enjoy meeting you—whether in our class or just as we pass in the hallways! So call a friend (or several) and plan your stitching getaway. You deserve a treat like this!

Here is a recap of several of the techniques we will be teaching in our session (March 2-4.) To read more about our class, read A Woodland Walk to the Academy of Appliqué.

Wired ribbon ruched flowers

 

Silk-winged and bullion-bodied butterflies

 

Stuffed motifs

 

Padded elements

 

Couching fun fibers...

...and appliquéing some, too!

We love to appliqué and embroider, and we are always eager to work with new fibers. We will be playing with cotton, velvet, silk, wired ribbon, wool, beads—and more! What a fun way to explore our Woodland Reverie, and add a technique or two to your stitching toolbox. Won't you join us?

 

  

You can choose whether to stitch the autumn or the springtime block. 

For more information about registration for the Academy of Appliqué, click here to see the entire 2020 catalog. You will be awed by the projects being offered by the gifted instructors on the faculty. We are thrilled to be in the company of such talented teachers. We hope to see you in Williamsburg next March!

Lederhosen Love

Not exactly a post title that one sees everyday, but I (Kara) did fall in love with the tiny lederhosen that will be on the next USO ornament. We started out with our tree ornament (free pattern HERE), and then we continued with our dirndl ornament.

Our first class with their finished ornaments!

Unfortunately, we were having so much fun in the dirndl class, that I forgot to take pictures. That class filled within 3 hours of being posted, so my quest to create wool appliqué converts seems to be working. In the dirndl post, I asked what might be the next ornament and many guessed correctly—lederhosen! This little German icon will be a little trickier to cut out but we will get to try the Press and Seal™ method of embroidery transfer to help build our skills in this next class. If you have never tried to transfer your embroidery pattern this way, here is how I do it.

All cut out and ready to fuse and stitch down

I cut a square of Press and Seal™ (A name brand of sticky plastic wrap) and placed it over my embroidery pattern.

Next I traced the embroidery lines with a white gel pen. 

The embroidery at the waist and pockets was the most important to transfer. 

The backstitch, French knots and lazy daisies could easily be eyeballed.

Then I pressed the Press and Seal™ piece over my stitched lederhosen, pinning for added security.

Using a #26 chenille needle and 1 strand of white floss, I stem stitched the waist trim.

Once the embroidery was finished I carefully removed the plastic while pressing the 

embroidery with my finger to keep it secure. Tweezers helped as well.

Next I added the French knots, back stitch, and lazy daisies and my embroidery was finished.

The ornament is finished the same way as the tree and dirndl with a blanket stitch holding together the front and back. 

The finished ornament with hanger attached!

I am really looking forward to this class and so are the ladies. Unfortunately, we won't be able to schedule it until October, but that just makes it more appropriate for Oktoberfest. You don't need to wait until October because you can print off the lederhosen pattern and the dirndl pattern to make your own set!

Lederhosen Free Pattern

Dirndl Free Pattern

Teri's Travels: The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

I (Teri) have been to a lot of quilt shows. And I've read about the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show for years and always thought it would be wonderful to attend. This summer, I was able to check off that bucket list item during our trip across the US. This show is not just a quilt show. It is an experience that is impossible to describe in words—or pictures—and even begin to do it justice. But I will try to give you a sense of the magic. 

Beware—you might be planning a trip to Oregon next July, on the second Saturday!

 

At this point in our cross-country trip, we had driven nearly 3000 miles, so my husband thought he should get the oil changed in the car while I wandered the quilt show. (Poor him—I know who got the better end of that deal.) He dropped me off and went on his way, and I walked into town. My first stop was City Hall, a fine welcome. 

Tribute to Sisters, by Jean Wells Keenan

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show began 44 years ago, when Jean Wells hung some family quilts outside her quilt shop in town; the following year, she hung over 20 quilts made by her students. A tradition was born and the show has grown, with some 1200 quilts hung throughout the town of Sisters, who welcomes around 10,000 people to see them on the second Saturday of July every year. The quilt above was hanging in the hallway of City Hall—Jean Wells Keenan's depiction of the Three Sisters mountains, which she gifted to the town for their new city hall in 2007. 

I was drawn through a doorway to see this magnificent piece of collective art. Seventeen separate panels are hung together, each portraying the beauty of Whychus Creek; the river ties them together to create one masterpiece of fiber art. 

 From this angle, you can really see the river in one continuous flow.

Two Rivers, Three Sisters is on permanent display in Sisters City Hall. Commissioned by Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, the project draws attention to the campaign to revitalize the two rivers that frame the Sisters Country: Whychus Creek and the Metolius River.

All that, and I was only in City Hall. Sisters is quite a quilty town!

 The colors of the quilt are perfectly coordinated with the colors of this tea shop.

 The quilts are grouped according to color and style.

 There was plenty of room to wander and see the quilts.  

 

 Yes, there were a lot of people wandering the streets and viewing the quilts.

Admire some quilts and grab a beverage!

 

 Even this tree trunk was bedecked with a fabric garland!

 

 More than just a clock shop!

 An appropriate quilt for the nursery!

Nature's Abundance, by June Jaeger

 2019 Raffle Quilt; Sponsored by the Stitchin' Post 

The proceeds of the annual raffle quilt are split between the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and the Kiwanis of Sisters, for programs like the food bank or local scholarships. 

 The Stitchin' Post quilt shop was an inviting stop.

The 2019 Quilt Show Poster, Bountiful Living, by Kathy Deggendorfer, hung in the window of the Stitchin' Post. I bought a panel of this lovely poster to commemorate my day in Sisters.

 The shop was buzzing with busy shoppers.

The town was welcoming, the crowd was friendly, the quilts were fabulous, and the weather was perfect. They say it takes a village, but in this case, the entire village participates in this incredible event. Over 400 volunteers work to organize, hang, and return the quilts—including the volunteer fire department. What a village! Thank you, Sisters!!