Debbie also reports that the wash-away product she referred to are Wash-Away Appliqué Sheets from C&T Publishing.

The website says that this product was inspired by Beth Ferrier. Now I happen to know that Beth uses a turned-edge machine appliqué method, not raw-edge. Just want to make sure we’re talking about apples and apples here, not apples and oranges. Here’s a portion of the product review from The Applique Society: “… When your project is finished you have the option of washing the sheet for a softer feeling piece or leaving it in and it will soften over time.”

I think this product is similar to the Appliqué Stabilizer that Sharon Schamber uses. Again, it’s meant for turned-edge appliqué. It remains in your quilt, and even though the stiffy part washes away, it leaves soft fibers behind.

Floriani has a similar thing too, called Stitch n Wash.

And Ricky Tims has one called Stable Stuff.

Whew!

In other news:

____________________________

Over the weekend, at Pacific International Quilt Festival, I picked up a flier from Amidon Quiltworks, home of the amazing Pearl P. Pereira of P3 Designs. The flier features a couple of exciting events coming up for appliqué enthusiasts.

The first is an Appliqué Weekend, May 31 through June 3, 2012. More details on the Special Events tab on their website.

The second is a Hawaiian Cruise in 2013, complete with appliqué classes on-board! They don’t have the dates set yet, but you can contact the shop for more information.

____________________________

I just posted a couple of amazing projects over on my Show & Tell Center. You’re cordially invited to go and see the beautiful teapots and baskets that quilters have been sharing with me.

And, I just heard from Janis Rink that the teapot quilt she made won a Blue ribbon over the weekend at the Empire QuiltFest in upstate New York! How very thrilling! You go Janis!

____________________________

Volume 4 of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks is coming out very soon! I’m happy to say that I have a block in this one too, and I think I spy with my little eye that it made the cover this time too! I’ll be participating in the blog tour that takes place November 7-11. My day to post is the last day, but I’ll remind you to go and join in the tour on Day 1, so you won’t miss out on all the fun and prize possibilties!

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Share This

Last month I had the privilege of taking a class in Hawaiian appliqué from Maui resident Keri Duke.

Keri was here for Pacific International Quilt Festival and came a week early to give a workshop for our guild. She’s snorkeling buddies with our program chair Tracey Brookshier so yay for us!

It was a beautiful day and a great location for a workshop. We were making a traditional breadfruit (ulu) appliqué. As Keri told us, this is usually the first pattern made by a quilter because it is supposed to bring fruitfulness and good luck in life.

Cutting out the motif, folded in eighths.

My big basting stitches. I was the first one done basting; some spent the whole morning just basting, using little bitty precise running stitches instead of big honking toenail catchers. Not necessary, gals. Just throw ‘em in there.

Some of the class members chose other colors for their projects.

It looks good any which way you do it.

After the entire dark-green leaf motif was basted, we did traditional needle-turn hand appliqué. I’m a fast stitcher (well, you know, it isn’t my first rodeo) and I had my block all done for Show & Tell at quilt guild the next night. This type of Hawaiian appliqué is about the most fun, I think. Once you get it all prepped, you just sit and stitch and stitch to your heart’s content.

My Ulu.

The following week was PIQF.

The crowd waiting to get in on Thursday morning.

Once I made it inside the doors, I chatted with Keri in her Keri Designs booth, and I was delighted to learn that she and another quilter had curated a special “Colors of Maui” exhibit for the show!

This hibiscus was my favorite entry, and come to find out, it was Keri’s!

If you’d like to go on a tropical tour of the Colors of Maui, there’s a lovely slideshow posted over at The Quilt Show. Enjoy!

Aloha,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Share This

I just discovered that Alex Anderson is offering a series of videos on hand and machine appliqué over at The Quilt Show website.

If you’re not already a member you do need to register but no $$ involved, the classes are free. Check it out at the appliqué classroom page and follow Alex through many hand and machine techniques. A great resource!

Cheers,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Share This

Best of World! It’s a big world, and I was so impressed!

Flower Market, Chichicastenango, Guatemala by Meri Henriques Vahl

You can click on the photo to get a larger view.

I asked Meri to tell us something about herself and her work.

Meri ~

I was born just outside New York City in 1945 to a family which, on my father’s side, has had literally generations upon generations of artists (I have never met a Henriques who wasn’t one sort of artist or another!). I received a BA in Fine Art from the University of California at Berkeley, which wasn’t terribly useful when it came to making a living! Fortunately, my husband does that for us, so I’ve been able to live the life of a housewife and non-starving artist.

Meri

In past years, I’ve worked on building costumes for the San Francisco Lamplighters under the guidance of the brilliant designer Melissa Wortman, and I’ve costumed shows for the now-extinct Bay Shore Lyric Opera Company in Capitola.

In 2006, I took my first trip to Guatemala on one of Priscilla Bianchi’s wonderful Guatemalan tours, and fell in love with what I’ve come to think of as the ‘Rainbow Country’. My first Guatemalan quilt, ‘Las Mujeres Azules de Guatemala (the Blue Ladies of Guatemala)”, a result of that trip, was just published in Lark Books 500 Art Quilts.

Las Mujeres Azules de Guatemala by Meri Henriques Vahl

I made a return trip with Priscilla in the fall of 2008, and the ‘Flower Market’ (the first quilt shown here) was the result. Here’s a description of my process. I began by putting the quilt back face-down on my worktable. Over this, I spread a layer of natural cotton batting, and then took out my scissors: I was ready to start creating…

The main central picture in the ‘Flower Market’ quilt is a fabric collage using recycled Guatemalan belts and huipiles (woven blouses), Guatemalan fabric, some cotton batiks, and a few flower prints that were cut into very small units. Because I couldn’t find all the flower prints I needed, for example chrysanthemums, I fused cotton fabrics onto Wonder Under and then cut them into narrow strips and ironed them down (just in case I sneezed or the cats got into them!). I also included short lengths of yarn in several places for flower stems, and layers of dark blue tulle (in the flower buckets, for example) to create shadows. Note: there are no seams in this area – it’s all raw edges.

For the faces, I took the photographs I was working from to Kinko’s and blew them up in black and white to the size I wanted, then traced the outlines onto tracing paper, which I then reversed, drawing the image onto freezer paper. Now I had a reversed image.

Next, I ironed fine off-white cotton onto the freezer paper and drew the faces with Aquarelle Caran d’Ache colored pencils using a very interesting layering technique that dates from Medieval times: I first drew the outlines in dark blue pencil, then shaded in the shadows; then came more pencil over-layers of tan, rose, brown, yellow, and black around the eyes. Once I had achieved the effects I was after, I used Sharpie permanent pens to add accents to the eyes, eyebrows, mouths, etc. I also used this same coloring procedure to draw the small baskets and any flowers and fruits I didn’t have store-bought fabric for.

Once my picture was complete, I carefully spread a single layer of black (yes, black!) tulle over the entire surface, added lots of pins to hold the pieces in place, and then spent hours and hours free-motion quilting over the whole thing, to ‘trap’ everything in place. The stitching (finally!) completed, I squared up the picture and then added the borders, using the usual traditional piecing techniques.

I have taught this fabric collage technique in the past, and will be teaching it again at the Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild on July 11, 2010, and also doing a presentation the next day for the Guild (I believe non-members are welcome to take their classes and attend the lectures). It’s a thrill to see my students take off on their own exciting explorations with this marvelous liberating and fun technique! Since there is no piecing involved, anything goes — and wonderful landscape can be achieved in just a brief couple of hours!

And, I can’t wait to go back to Guatemala and find out what else happens!

Kay here ~ thank you so much Meri for talking us through how your create your stunning quilts. I’ll also look forward to seeing what your next trip inspires!

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Share This

* June 3-7, 2010
* 3 full days of quilting classes
* Award-winning instructors: Kathy Kansier, Connie Sue Haidle, Linda Carlson
* Quilting “room” with ironing stations, large cutting mats, rulers and design walls
* Includes 4 nights lodging at Howard Johnson Branson with Private Room
* Breakfast & lunch each day
* Wine and cheese welcome reception
* Trunk show
* Door prizes and Goody Bags

Visit the Jaspers Events web page for full information.

And, if you click on the Events tab at the top of their website you’ll see the many intriguing vacations they have planned, including several more quilting retreats.

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Share This

Flights of Fancy by Sheril Drummond

I checked Sheril’s blog Serendipity and was delighted to learn that she is now offering patterns and on-line classes to help others achieve the stunning look of her quilts. While you’re there be sure to send virtual scritchies to the Cavalier King Charles spaniel .

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Share This

My pocasting pal Annie Smith is offering a fantastic opportunity for readers of All About Appliqué. She’s giving away a free seat in her on-line Quilting 101 class! This class, which starts October 2, is for all skill levels, from beginners to anyone who would just like make a beautiful quilt. The class runs for about 11 (yes, 11) weeks and is a sampler of techniques.

If you’re already a skilled quiltmaker and you win this class, you can give it to a beginnery friend!

Go to Annie’s Quilting Stash Classroom and read all about Quiltmaking 101. Leave a comment here on the blog before 7:00 p.m. California time on Sunday, September 27, to be in the drawing.

Have fun sewing in your jammies!

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Share This