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.

 

Minnesota, Here We Come!

We are beyond excited to announce that we have been invited to teach and lecture at the 2022 Minnesota Quilters Annual Quilt Show and Conference in St. Cloud, MN. Registration opens for the general public on February 1, so you have time to plan. We would love to see you at the show! Take a look at what we will be teaching. And then click the link above to see what this great show has in store for you!

Floral Elegance

Class: Wednesday, June 15, 2022; 8:30 AM–4:30 PM

This elegant vase of flowers is a wonderful introduction to basic wool appliqué and ribbonwork. Your friends will be in awe of your skill when you show them your block, but you can decide whether to tell them how easy creating these exquisite blooms really is. The class will begin with the basics of wool appliqué, as we prepare the vase and leaves. And then we will become florists: using only three new techniques, we can create all these beautiful blooms. You will be amazed how a simple running stitch can be used in different ways to create petals for our pansies and chrysanthemums, and wire-gathering does the trick for our roses. A couple of basic embroidery stitches for stems will add the finishing touches. And all the while, fun will be the focus!! 

Full kits will include all material needed to complete the block: background fabric, wool for vase and leaves, all ribbon in colors pictured, embroidery floss, and pattern.

Floral Elegance

Potstickers

Class: Thursday, June 16, 2022; 8:30 AM–11:30 AM

Potstickers are not just for dinner anymore! We designed these plant ornaments to add some fun to our potted plants, but you could just as easily create any kind of ornament with these sweet patterns. Who doesn't love having a quick and easy project to do? In this class, we will learn the basics of wool appliqué, as well as the simple embroidery stitches needed to complete your potstickers. You will have a choice of three different sets for your class project. Are you ready to add some patriotic pizzazz, fall flair, or Christmas cheer to your potted plants? They will thank you—and we will have a lot of fun in the process! Which set will you choose?

Full kits will include all material needed to complete your chosen set of potstickers: wool for background and designs, embellishments, embroidery floss, flannel backing, and pattern. You need only provide the bamboo skewers or dowels for display.

Patriotic Potstickers

Fall Fun Potstickers

Christmas Potstickers

In the Garden

Class: Thursday, June 16, 2022; 1:30 PM–4:30 PM

Join us for a walk In the Garden as we learn the basics of wool appliqué and embroidery. Again, you have a choice of which project you want to do. Whether you choose to create Cornflowers or Violets, we will begin by appliquéing the leaves with wool. Simple gathering techniques magically turn ribbon into stunning blooms, and a few basic embroidery stitches become stems, leaf veins, and flower centers. We will have a fun time discovering that there is more than one way to grow a garden! 

Full kits will include all material needed to complete your chosen block (Cornflower or Violet): flannel for background, wool for leaves, ribbon for flowers, embroidery floss, and pattern.

Violets

Cornflowers

The Stories In Our Quilts

Lecture: Friday, June 17, 2022; 10:30 AM–11:30 AM

What do quilts and stories have to do with each other? Everything, actually! Have you ever had a piece of needlework passed down through your family and wondered who made it, how they made it, and/or why? These are the stories of our families—part of our history. So often these gems are tucked away in a chest or put on a closet shelf. But there is a wealth of information within those stitches, if only we knew their stories. Our quilts give us opportunities to tell our stories. Enjoy an hour of storytelling as we share some of our favorite quilts (old and new) and the tales they tell.

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

Do you have that week in June planned yet? What a great opportunity to have some fun stitching. Vendors, a variety of talented teachers, lectures, seminars, and of course QUILTS! What more could you ask for? Hope we might meet you there!!

Minnesota Quilters, Inc. 43rd Annual Quilt Show and Conference

River’s Edge Convention Center

10 4th Street South

St. Cloud, Minnesota

www.mnquilt.org/mq2022

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Academy 2022 Offerings—Part 2

We are so excited about The Academy of Appliqué next year that we can hardly wait! The joy of anticipating a week with stitching friends, old—perhaps we should say experienced—and new always fills us will delight, but this year promises to be something especially wonderful!

Last week, Kara shared two of the blocks we will be teaching in Williamsburg next year. In both sessions, we are offering choices for you, so that you can choose either option, or both. In our first session, we add the Butterfly and Trillium to the Cascading Creek—both blocks from our Woodland Reverie series. Two years ago, we introduced this series with our spring and fall blocks (click HERE to see), but there is much fun to come as we explore the woodlands.

We are stitching each of our Woodland Reverie blocks on both a black background and a neutral one. It is fun to see how the colors behave so differently on the contrasting backgrounds. You have the advantage of seeing how the two colorways compare. This block begins with a basic papercut design for the fern; we use back-basting and will teach that method, but if you have a tried-and-true favorite method, that's always fine with us. Embroidery creates veins on the fern, and we created an appliquéd frame in the center using Dupioni silk to showcase our butterfly.

The trilliums are made with French wired ombré ribbon, and the center sparkles with metallic threads. 

The star of this block is a beautiful butterfly, ready to fly away. His wings are free to flap in the wind, as he is attached only in the center. The fun of discovering the perfect symmetrical fabric to fussy-cut for wings is an adventure in itself!

Many of the techniques used in the Cascading Creek and Butterfly and Trillium overlap, so while you might choose to work on one of them during class, you will be able to accomplish both if you desire.

Our second session will cover the center medallion of our Village Wanderings quilt, as well as the corner blocks, the seasonal trees. Because every village needs trees! We will cover the ribbon skills needed to complete the trees, as well as discuss the embroidery used for the little wool birds.

The bluebird sits in the budding spring tree.

A goldfinch in the leafy summer branches.

The woodpecker helps the turning leaves to fall.

The cardinal perches atop a barren snow-speckled wintry tree.

That is a lot of fun to have in one week!! Remember that registration opens at noon EDT on Labor Day. We don't envy you having to make choices among all the wonderful class offerings this year—there are so many wonderful classes from which to select! Of course, we would LOVE to have you joining the fun in one of our sessions, but whatever class you choose, please do plan to stop by to say hello. We'd love to say hi, or to meet you if we haven't yet had that pleasure. See you in February!!

To see the Academy of Appliqué class catalog, go to www.academyofapplique.com. 

And the Winner is...

We were thrilled to see so many wonderful flowers listed in our giveaway! It is great to know that so many stitchers out there love flowers as much as we do. Lilies and tulips led the way as the most popular flowers, but there were quite a few that piqued our interest since we hadn't stitched them before. Flowers have been our mainstay to stitch since we began our little business, and we thought it would be fun to show some of the ones that we have stitched—along with a few that are now on our stitching radar. And of course, we will reveal who the lucky winner of our Botanical Beauties quilt kit!

Bias silk ribbon tulips

A wired ribbon lily

And an appliquéd lily

Wired ribbon violets

Wool Hydrangeas

Sunflowers three different ways

Wired ribbon

Silk ribbon

Wool

A rose is a rose...

Seam binding rose and leaf

Poppies!

From our Hopeful Bluebird Stitching Smalls

A wool lapel pin

Cotton Appliqué

Pansies

Seam binding

Bias silk ribbon

Sweet Peas

Wool

Wired ribbon

A few of the flowers mentioned that we have in the works

And while we haven't stitched these yet, here are a few of your suggestions—we even had pictures of them already!

Hollyhock

Nasturtium

Bee Balm

Coneflower

So that is a different kind of walk in the garden than we did before and we hope that you enjoyed seeing our passion for flowers in stitching form. 

Now onto our lucky winner...

Lorianne Alvesteffer

Congratulations Lorianne! Please send us a message with your address and we will put your Botanical Beauties kit in the mail to you. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in our giveaway, and if you would like to purchase your own Botanical Beauties kit, you can find it and many other flower-themed projects available there.

Through the Needle's Eye