News

Thank you Quilters Newsletter Magazine for publishing my Grand Fir Garland table runner and place mats in your Christmas issue that came in the mail today. It may be over 100 degrees at my house in Reno today, but it is never too early to start quilting for the holidays! Enjoy!

A special thank you to Lauren Jackson of Apricot Cottage Quilting for the wonderful job quilting the pieces!

A great big thank you to McCall’s Quilting for featuring my Blown Away quilt in their September/October 2016 issue!

If you have a collection of pre-cut 2 1/2″ strips of fabric in your sewing room staring at you and begging to be used, let those strips know their lucky day has arrived! Simply scoop them up and be blown away by a quick and easy method of machine appliqué.

I used a log (containing 26 strips 2 1/2″ in width) from the Chirpy Lola Collection by Ella Blue Fabric. This was enough fabric for the little whirligigs in the quilt, but I had to find my own binding. If you use a Jelly Roll or Bali Pop containing 40 strips you will have enough for the appliqué pieces and binding.

So here we go. Welcome to the wonderful world of Flip & Fuse appliqué! Although the Blown Away quilt pattern in the magazine includes step by step instructions for turned-edge applique, my Flip & Fuse technique is what I used to make the sample quilt. This technique is featured in my book Flip & Fuse Quilts by C&T Publishing.

How to Flip & Fuse:

1. Simply trace a Melon Shape (Applique Template in the magazine) onto the smooth, non-glue side of a piece of lightweight fusible interfacing. I like to use Pellon 911FF — it is strong enough to resist ripping, yet light enough to keep your appliqué pieces from feeling rigid.

2. Place the traced piece of fusible interfacing on a piece of fabric so the glue side of the interfacing is directly against the right side of the fabric. Sew along the drawn line.

3. Trim the unit 1/8” beyond the sewn line and make a slit in the interfacing. Be careful not to cut the fabric!

4. Turn the unit right side out by pulling the fabric through the slit in the interfacing. Use a small Phillip’s head screwdriver or another blunt instrument to gently push out the points of each melon.

5. Finger press the edges of the melons when you are pleased with the shape. Now the right side of the fabric is on top and the glue side of the interfacing is on the bottom. Notice that all raw edges are turned under! Pretty nifty!

6.  Use a hot iron to fuse the melon piece to the background as directed in the pattern. You can use a straight stitch, zig-zag stitch, or a blind hem stitch (my personal favorite) to sew the appliqué piece to the background fabric.

Note: I like to use clear .004 polyester thread to sew all of my pieces in place. However, you may also use cotton threads that match your fabrics. The pretty quilting on the sample was done by Laurie Vandergriff.

Dive in to the June 2016 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting hitting the stands and/or your mailbox in early April. I am very happy to have my "Sea Stars" pattern selected for the color issue on page 74. Enjoy!

The "Flip & Fuse" method of applique is demonstrated in this video by C&T Publishing. Give the technique a whirl on your next quilting project! Enjoy!

http://www.ctpub.com/blog/learn-flip-fuse-appliqu-with-marcia-harmening/

Connecting Threads used their Folk Blossom fabric line to give the City Blocks quilt a whole new look. The kit for a full-size bed quilt is available for $63.13 at http://www.connectingthreads.com/kits/City_Blocks_Full_Quilt_Kit__D8775.html?intmedid=BS--Kits.

Bev Sarchett from Grass Valley, California shared her beautiful version of the "Robin's Rainbow" pattern from Happy Stash Quilts.

She had so much fun making it that she made enough extra blocks to construct a gorgeous second quilt -- a girl after my own heart! :-) This quilt reminds me of the barn on my grandparent's farm in Oregon. LOVE IT!