"Gnome-shave" November (or How to Attach a Beard)

Instead of "No-shave November," over here it is "Gnome-shave November," as our gentleman gnome has a fun and curly beard! We have used curly wool to give some great texture to our gnome's beard, and the curly wool is available as part of the embellishments in our wool kit. While it might look complicated, we have broken the process down for you in a series of pictures.

 

Use just a small amount of curly wool—it doesn't take much.

Roll it around in your hands until you have a small, slightly compacted ball of wool. 

Pull apart the ball of wool to fit your beard shape.

Stick a few pins in the wool, then thread your needle with matching thread and start stitching at the top of the beard. 

With small tack stitches, couch the wool down working your way around the face.

Down one side of the beard...

...until you get back to where you started.

Your beard will look very fluffy and somewhat out of control. 

In order to tame that beard, take small tack stitches within the beard to tidy up the fluff. As you are taking those stitches, you can tack down any stray fibers and bring them under control. You will use a lot of tack stitches.

So that is how we attached the wool for our gentleman gnome's beard. If you don't have curly wool, wool roving would work, or just use the plain cream wool and add some stitching within it with wool thread.

Have fun with it!

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

Flora and Fauna

Almost 5 years ago, we started a project called Flora and Fauna of Germany. I (Kara) can't believe it has been that long! We began the project as a way to use up our scraps of wool and cotton with simple blocks inspired by the flora and fauna I would see on my walks in Germany with our two hounds. We released 16 blocks over the course of the next two years—one in cotton and one in wool—and loved being able to have the opportunity to bring nature to life with interesting threads, fabrics, and stitches. Once the project was finished, I put together the cotton blocks in a quilt with inked labels and hand-quilted it.

Meanwhile, the wool blocks were sitting on a shelf waiting to be assembled. A thought occurred to us that maybe we could add more blocks to create a larger quilt, and that is how our most recent pattern came about. 

Flora and Fauna is a 30-block quilt, made up of the original 16 blocks and 14 brand new blocks. We have also added an apple blossom border to finish the quilt. Whether it is a butterfly or a bloom, you will be able to stitch all sorts of things found in the forest or on a garden path. 

The pattern contains directions and templates for all thirty 6-inch (finished) blocks and the borders, as well as assembly directions. Embroidery directions and suggestions for thread selection are also included. This project is a perfect way to use up some of those small scraps of wool that we always save, as well as a way to try out some of those beautiful threads that we purchased just because they were pretty. The blocks can be put together quickly and before you know it you will have a lovely quilt.

Since it has been a while since we have had a Hopeful Stitchers project, we knew that Flora and Fauna would be just the thing for our Facebook group. The members of our Hopeful Stitchers group will be able to download the selected 5 patterns for free and have exclusive access to the discounted full pattern.

Each Monday and Thursday for the next two weeks, we will offer one or two of the blocks digitally as a free pattern—only in our Hopeful Stitchers Facebook group. The pattern for the full quilt will be available for purchase on Thursday, July 21, in our web store. Group members will have access to a special discounted price for 2 days only: Thursday, July 21 and Friday July 22. What a deal—30 patterns plus assembly instructions, all for about a dollar a pattern or less! If you are a member of our Hopeful Stitchers group, you will receive five patterns free. (You must join the Facebook group to get the free patterns and the coupon code for the reduced price.)

The first free pattern is the Wild Strawberry Block

This block is brought to life with just a few simple stitches and a little bit of ribbon. The PDF of the pattern will be over in the Facebook group. If you haven't joined our Hopeful Stitchers Facebook group, you can do so by clicking on the link below. (Blocks will finish at 6")

We hope you love this quilt as much as we do, and as always, please post your progress on our Facebook group page as you complete these little wooly blocks inspired by the great outdoors!

Hopeful Stitchers Facebook Group

A Little Chat About Pearl and Her Friends

Teri and I (Kara) are feverishly getting ready for the Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg, Virginia, the first week in March—making kits, gathering threads, and writing patterns. Since many hands make light work, I asked a friend to come over and help me put together thread kits. I was explaining that there were a few different types of pearl cottons in the kit along with the floss. She mentioned that she hadn't even heard of pearl cotton only floss. That spawned an idea for a short post on pearl cotton and its variations, along with how it compares to floss and wool thread. Many of us who have been stitching a while use all these threads on a regular basis, but if you are new to stitching, this is for you!

This picture shows floss on the left then pearl 8, 5, 3, and wool (Dried Sage by Weeks DyeWorks)

Embroidery floss is something most of have used and are familiar with, even if we just used it for those lovely friendship bracelets back in the day. It is plentiful and relatively inexpensive as threads go. DMC is the brand that is most popular and economical. It is usually 6-stranded and when used in stitching, is best separated by those strands in order to get a smoother stitch. You can use 1-6 strands in your needle, depending on the look you want to achieve.

Here you can see the 6 strands

Embroidery floss

Pearl cotton (or Perle depending on where you live) is great to use because it is not stranded and you can just stick it in your needle and go—no separating the strands. The most used sizes are 12, 8, 5, and 3; the larger number means the smaller diameter or thinner thread. (Occasionally, you can find it in 16 as well.) You can vary the look you are trying to achieve by using the different sizes. To fit the larger diameter threads through your needle, you will need to use a needle with a larger eye. We tend to use chenille needles ranging from #26-#18, depending on the thread. Teri is going to talk about needles in the next post.

Pearl 8

Pearl 5

Pearl 3

From left to right 8, 5, and 3

Weeks and The Gentle Art (just floss and wool) are two companies we like for threads, whether it is floss or pearl or even wool. Their products are hand-dyed, which gives a great variation in your stitching, but not so much that it is overly noticeable. They also come on these little cards, which makes it a little less likely to tangle. All you do is cut the bottom loops, and you instantly have the perfect length for stitching.

Wool thread is lovely to use as well and will give a completely different texture to your stitching. It is perfect for things that you might want to appear to be fuzzy or if you are stitching on wool, it will blend in beautifully. It lends a great contrast when used with other fibers such as floss or pearl.

Another popular company for pearl cotton is Valdani. Their pearl comes in different sizes and in a multitude of colors, both solid and variegated. It is very economical as the little balls go a long way.

Our curated In the Garden set by Valdani

Lastly, another company that we like to use is House of Textile Arts (Tentakulum) Painters Threads. These threads are dyed in gorgeous unique color-ways, and their names are based on famous painters.

There are many other thread companies out there that offer pearl cotton, but these are just a few of our favorites. All of these companies offer other fibers as well, and each fiber is going to give a different look and texture to your project. Below we have listed a few sources for these products and hope you will be inspired to try them all!

Weeks DyeWorks, Valdani, and The Gentle Art

Primitive Homespun and Needleworks

Painter's Threads

Threadnuts

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.

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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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