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

Christmas in July and a Free Pattern!

Christmas in July is an advertising gimmick that we can be subjected to around this time of year, but for quilters, it's a good reminder to get going on all those Christmas projects! This July, I (Kara) am jumping on that early Christmas bandwagon and teaching a wool ornament at the USO. For 77 years, the United Service Organization has been helping the U.S. military and their families, so it is an honor to be able to help in a small way. We will be making a variation of the tree ornament that we posted this past December—Christmas Markets and a Free Pattern.

The USO version

The tree from last Christmas

We have a full class of ladies who are ready to get a jump on the holidays and learn some wool appliqué in the process. The tree will be the first in a series of ornaments that will be taught, and I thought it would be fun to share the next ornament with you!

The dirndl is quintessentially German and is worn mostly in Bavaria, although you will see ladies in dirndls at most Oktoberfest celebrations around the country. Given that we are here in Germany, it seemed like a good idea to design an ornament that people could create that would remind them of their time here.

Fusing helps keep these small pieces manageable, but staples would work as well. 
The pieces are fused onto a 3.25" background.

Stitching the sleeves down with one strand of matching floss. Matching sewing thread works as well.

All the pieces are stitched down with an appliqué stitch, with the exception of the blanket-stitched apron. 
The apron tie is chain stitched with Valdani pearl cotton.

All the accent stitching is finished! French knots and straight stitches for the bodice. straight stitches for the sleeves, lazy daisies and straight stitches for the bow, and a stem stitch for the apron trim.

The pinned ribbon hanger inserted between the front. 
The back square  is cut the same size as the front (3.25").

Blanket stitching secures the back and front.

The finished ornament hanging on a tree!

The first two ornaments in our USO series.

Now, a dirndl ornament may not appeal to everyone, but maybe you know someone who might appreciate a German-inspired gift. If you would like to make the ornament, just clink on the link below. I bet you can guess what the next ornament in the series will be!

Dirndl Ornament Pattern

A "Quilty" Visit to Rothenburg

Moving to a new place and making new friends can be daunting. I (Kara) was pretty nervous about how I would connect with people—in not just a new place, but a new country. Had it not been for the kindness of the Black Forest Quilt Guild and some of their members, I might have become a stitching hermit! In a previous post, Welcome to Germany: Quilter's Style, I shared how I was welcomed to BFQG with open arms. The welcome extended outside of guild meetings: from stitching visits in homes to a field trip to the Zwiegart store and factory to purchase threads for my Academy block. Most recently, some of the guild ladies invited me to Rothenberg ob der Tauber for a visit to a quilt shop there. Of course, I said yes!

Our view as we entered through one of the city gates.

I had heard that Rothenburg was a must see while we were living here, and the fact that it had a quilt shop made this field trip even better. The day started out a little cloudy, but by the time we got there the clouds were moving out and we were ready to shop.

Our fabric shopping shoes are on!

As we entered through one of the gates in the wall, the quilt shop was one of the first shops we saw. It is unmistakably a quilt shop, and the outside displays were so charming that even if you didn't quilt, you would want to go through the door just to see what was inside.

Der Patchwork Engel

While the shop is small, the owners have made the most of the space, with enough different fabrics to satisfy many tastes. Der Patchwork Engel, or The Patchwork Angel in English, was filled with fabric, patterns, and samples. It even included a display of Traditional German fabric.

This shelf was full of not only German fabrics,
but all sorts of small purses, pouches, and
 tissue holders as well.

Lots of different fabrics and patterns to choose from!

The cutting counter and some lovely
reproduction fabrics

When asked to go on this trip, I thought the quilt shop would be all there was to see, but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized how much more there was to Rothenburg. It is a quintessential, medieval, German town and is one of the few towns left with the encircling wall still intact. If you never stepped foot in any of the shops or restaurants, just walking the streets would be a treat for the eyes.

The well-preserved buildings will transport you back in time.

A quaint timbered house

The town center

A cottage straight out of a fairy tale!

There was more shopping to be done, so we made our way in and out of many of the shops. Never one to miss an antique store, I led the charge into a little shop we found. I only bought a few doilies to add to my collection, but was tempted by a few other things.

Lederhosen anyone?

A sweet sewing box.

Still filled with treasure!

In and out of the shops we wandered, stopping whenever something caught our eye. Lace, chocolate, dirndls; there was so much to see!

Beautiful lace trim found in a linens shop.

I didn't adequately capture the scale of
this giant bag of Lindt truffles!

A dirndl to go with the lederhosen

Another dirndl option!

Rothenburg wouldn't be complete without the German, Käthe Wohlfahrt, Christmas store. This store has all things Christmas for every person's taste and wallet. Upon entering, you follow a path similar to Ikea, that leads you through beautiful Christmas displays.

The Christmas village.

All too soon, it was time to head back and leave this stunningly beautiful town. I fell in love with its charm and beauty, and I thought it would be wonderful to show it to our soon-to-be-visiting friends. I wish I had read Rick Steves' review of Rothenburg; especially the part that tells you to put the full name, "Rothenburg ob der Tauber," in your GPS. There are quite a few Rothenburgs in Germany, and if you don't enter the right one, you will find yourself in a completely different Rothenburg than the one you were intending to visit. Had I read that before the road trip we took with our friends recently, I wouldn't have had to tell my husband that we had just driven two hours in the wrong direction! 

I will come back Rothenburg