Appliqué Academy: Pineapple Medallion

The pineapple has been a symbol of welcome for many generations, and our Pineapple Medallion will do just that as it hangs in your home. This dimensional block was inspired by a fabric we purchased last year. When we saw the design, we knew that we needed to translate it into a medallion and hopefully a future quilt. We also knew that it would be perfect block to teach at the Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg, Virginia. This will be our second session class, March 2-4, 2023.

This block is chock full of dimensional flowers and leaves that look difficult, but are certainly not! In class, we will teach you how to make wired ribbon roses, ruched silk flowers, velvet and bias silk leaves, and let's not forget a fantastic, dimensional silk pineapple adorned with beads and stitching. 

Two layers of wired ombre ribbon will be used to create the roses.

A special technique using seam binding creates a two-color bloom. Little
embroidered details with big impact will be taught as well.

Come learn how we created this padded and embellished silk pineapple. 
Once you learn how, you will be able to use the technique with other
appliqué projects.

These silk ruched flowers are adorned with a rich, beaded, velvet center.

Lest we forget that this is the Academy of Appliqué, we will be 
teaching a couple of different appliqué techniques in class.

The class catalog for the Academy is a rather large file full of amazing classes and teachers, so it does take a little bit of time to load, but it is worth the wait. Our classes will be at the very end (p. 58), and we hope you will consider taking one or both of them. We strive to make our classes a fun and encouraging environment, where we learn a lot but laugh while doing it.

If you have any questions about any of our sessions or the Academy, we would be happy to answer them. The Academy of Appliqué is an awesome place to spend a few days or a week learning new things, but also making new friends who share the joy in the wonderful creative process that is appliqué. The link below will take you to the Academy website, where you can learn more about the Academy. Registration will take place online at noon EDT on Labor Day, September 5th. 

We hope to see you there!

ACADEMY OF APPLIQUÉ

Appliqué Academy: Woodland Reverie—Owls and Wood Roses

It is that time of year again! The catalog of classes has now been published, and we can finally reveal what we will be teaching at the Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg, Virginia in 2023. Check out that catalog of wonderful offerings, and you will have a difficult time deciding what classes to enjoy: there are so many amazing instructors with a wide variety of techniques and skills presented. We do hope you will keep scrolling all the way to the end (p. 58) to see our classes, but we will show you a bit of detail here, too. 

In our first session (February 27–March 1), we are continuing our woodland journey with two new blocks from our growing Woodland Reverie quilt. Both of these dimensional blocks are filled with many different fibers and stitching techniques. 

The Great Horned Owls sit amongst winter greenery, with wool pinecones and stuffed holly berries.

Wired ribbon roses surround our Wood Rose Garden filled with lovely little posies.

All skills for both blocks will be covered in this class—and some will overlap—so you will be able to increase your appliqué and embellishment skills. Multiple methods of appliqué will be taught, along with ribbon work and embroidery. We will play with exciting new fibers and techniques to help you bring life to these dimensional woodland blocks. 

We are creating our Woodland Reverie blocks on both a dark and light background. Which will you choose?

Which woodland block will you select for this session? Or perhaps you will venture into our woodland reverie and choose both! We have presented four of the blocks thus far, and those patterns are available in our web store. If you want to learn more about our Woodland Reverie quilt, CLICK HERE.

Details of Great Horned Owls

This sleepy owl is embellished with wool threads and turkey work.

Wool roving and Ultrasuede add the final touches on the owls’ faces.

Dimensional wool pinecones with stuffed holly berries and simmering ribbon mistletoe and fun texture to this block.

Details of Wood Rose Garden

Dimensional cast-on stitched posies are centered with a bias silk ribbon flower.

Hand-dyed bias silk ribbon bloom

Posies made with cast-on stitch and silk ribbon leaves

Wired ribbon adds eye appeal to these layered wood roses, centered with padded silk. Broderie perse leaves add realism and fun to our featured corner blooms.

Every year at the Academy when people see our work, they comment that they wished they could have seen them in person, as a photograph never quite captures the dimension and texture of the blocks. We have striven to capture images that illustrate those qualities and hope that these larger pictures help you to see that. It is always a challenge!

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out and email us. We are happy to answer any queries for you as you choose your classes. There are so many awesome classes being offered this year that we do not envy your selection process. But we sure would love to see you in our room! 

If you love appliqué, this is the place for you. It is perfection: a gathering of sisters (and perhaps some brothers) who share your passion for stitching, who will become fast friends. Its location on the James River in Williamsburg adds to the charm of this event. Many thanks to Barbara Blanton and her staff, who work so hard to create this opportunity for us. The link below will take you to the site, where you can learn all about the Academy, as well as access the catalog. We hope to see you there!

WWW.ACADEMYOFAPPLIQUE.COM

Woodland Reverie at the Academy 2022

As always, we came home from the Academy of Appliqué exhausted and excited, ready to start new projects and jazzed by the inspiration of the many people we met and stitched with during the week. Our first session was these two blocks from our Woodland Reverie series: Butterfly and Trillium and Cascading Creek. The class was roughly divided in half, so we got to watch both blocks coming to life.

Kara is working the quilt on a black background, and Teri is using the neutral background. It is amazing to see the difference that even that change can make in the way a design looks. 

Ribbons, galore—a favorite shop spot

Bins of patterns and kits, and drawers of threads.

Our room, ready and waiting for students!

We finished setting up just in time to see the sunset from our room.

Busy, busy stitchers!

It was fun to watch wired ribbon transform to trillium leaves and petals with a simple pull of a wire. And look at those beautiful trillium blooms!!

The creek is cascading down the hill, ready to be framed.

What a fun butterfly!

We have now listed patterns and kits for each of these blocks. You can purchase the patterns alone, either in printed or digital format, or you can get a kit with the special materials used to embellish the block. You can take a look below, and then head to our web store for more detail. We also have the Spring Robin's Nest back in stock, as well as the Autumn Mushroom Wreath. 

Spring and Autumn on the left, and hints of what's to come on the right.

To order, click here: https://www.needleseyestories.com/shop

We bought these plants to showcase our potstickers, and they bloomed in just a couple of days! We figured that was a sign to come home and stitch up some Spring Potstickers. It won't be long!

Our week brought us new friends and reunited us with many we'd not seen in a while. It was widely agreed by everyone we spoke with that the experience of spending a week with stitchers who share our passion is an indescribable pleasure. If you share a passion for appliqué and hand work, you might be able to imagine—but the feeling is a unique one. There are few places where so many kindred spirits can gather and share such joy. We have been blessed to be a part of this each year.

 

What is on Your Wishlist?

Wishlist:

1. A place to just stitch for a time.

2. Learn a new stitching skill.

3. Relax with no chores to do.

4. Spend time with old friends.

5. Make new friends.

6. Have someone else cook my meals.

7. Be surrounded by like-minded stitchers.

Are any of these things on your wishlist for this year? If you need something to tell friends and family what they can get you that will make your wishlist come true, we have just the thing! Going to the Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg, Virginia, or Baltimore on the Prairie in Nebraska City, Nebraska, will be a great suggestion to those who want to give you just what you want this holiday. We will be teaching in both places, and we would love to have you join us!

Academy of Appliqué

We have two classes this coming year—2022—at the Academy. The first session will be two blocks from our Woodland Reverie project—Cascading Creek and Butterfly and Trillium. Both blocks will cover exciting, new techniques with texture and appliqué, and you will have fun while you are learning.

For Session 2, we will be doing the final two projects from our Village Wanderings quilt—the center medallion and the corner trees. These two projects will be in wool (but could be done in cotton,) and your wool appliqué will be enhanced with threads, ribbons, and even a bit of wool roving.

Both of these classes still have a few openings left, so that you can get in before it fills up. Williamsburg, Virginia is a beautiful place to stay, and there are plenty of things to do in the area for spouses who might want to come along but not stitch.

Baltimore on the Prairie

Last year was our first year teaching at Baltimore on the Prairie, and we had a fabulous time. This event is a little smaller, and it is a wonderful place to immerse yourself in a great, learning environment! Our offerings for 2022 include two sessions, the first being Session A: Woodland Reverie in Wool.

Our Session B class will be our Baltimore Fraktur. The class will focus on the center medallion, but each student will be given the entire pattern for the wallhanging or the quilt as part of the class fee. This quilt can be done in wool or cotton, and we have used a mix of both in the quilt. Both of these classes still have spaces for you.

So we hope you have some new items to put on your wishlist now. You can't go wrong with either event, and you might even want to attend both! If you have any questions, check our website, and please feel free to email us or comment below.