Don't look now!

This little quilter went to market ...

.....well to be perfectly honest ... I am not so little after making sure I was so very well fed during the winter months ... but that's a whole other story!!!!

Anyway as I was saying I had my very first stand at the Australian Quilt Market held here in Melbourne last weekend .. and you would have to say that it was a very successful weekend. 

 
I could not have found a more supportive or enthusiastic helper than I did in the gorgeous Jan from Sewjourn ...

Set up was interesting & exhausting .. it took 3 attempts to finally have everything looking OK in the small space. Saturday was an incredibly busy day and if it wasn't for Jan I would never have managed! We met so many people that I have gotten to know through blogging and through Don't Look Now!

Before the show started I thought I saw Rosalie walking past my stand ... but I didn't want to behave like an absolute groupie so I just smiled like a doufus ... so although I got to see Rosalie many times I didn't actually meet her! I did meet up with the amazingly talented Helen, Jo ...

Leonie, Tracey, Lorraine & Leanne, Penny ....

Sandy ...

Corrie (I am going to be teaching for Corrie in Sydney next year ... let her know if you are interested as a few spots have already been taken!), Andi, Jodie & Annie (who always cracks me up!), Lynn, all of the gang from GJ's (who still don't have a blog!!!!!), Melly, Anni, Di, Sarah & I'm absolutely sure I have forgotten to mention many of you ... please forgive me if you are one of them as I spent most of the two days in a daze!

A group of us got together and had dinner along Southbank after the market finished on Saturday night ... I really enjoyed the evening getting to know everyone a little more. Mind you I don’t think that any of us managed to take a photo .... :( ... not very good bloggers are we!

By the end of the day on Sunday Jan & I were both totally exhausted ... but I am very excited to say that there are now 36 more Australian retailers that are stocking Don't Look Now patterns!!!!!! Obviously this is fabulous for me ... but it was also fantastic to meet the shop owners and go through the products that I use and work on making sure that they are able to access them .. including the Floriani Stitch & Wash Fusible & Lite Steam-A-Seam 2. They were also able to ensure that they can access the wide linens & white cottons that I have used in many of my projects and something I find even more exciting ... some of these retailers have just placed their first order of Kaffe Fasett fabrics!!! I will list all of these retailers on the weekend and then over the next few posts I will tell you a bit about each of them state by state .... and do the usual new retailer giveaway.

It's about time I also got off my bottom and sorted out my class list for next year because after last weekend I have been virtually booked up entirely with teaching for next year ... but I'll let you know once that's done.

It was also nice to catch a glimpse of the latest quilt that I made up for Homespun at the market .... an advanced copy even found it's way into my letterbox today ...

 
... this is Little Monsters and I will be able to show you more when it hits the magazine stands early December.

So what have I actually been doing since the market ... well there were a lot of projects that I should have made a start on this week but to be perfectly frank I have felt totally zapped and have managed to make a start on just one ...

this year I am planning to have a candy coloured Christmas ...

Joseph's Coat Update ....

 Now for our Joseph's Coat over achievers!!!! Well as for Marielle ... what can I say ... 24 hours after posting the last tutorial she had finished her first block!!!

And only a few days later she had finished all 7 - enough for her first row!!!

 Absolutely amazing! Well done Marielle! She chose Meg's Garden as her prize for finishing 7 blocks and has already received How does your garden grow for finishing off the first block.

Janet from Quiltsalot, Good 4 Once & Quilts & Threads have also finished off 7 blocks. Quilts & Threads is actually planning on making a king sized quilt .... yes I think we will need to arrange psychoanalysis for this poor girl!! (guys if you have blogs please send me the links so that I can add them)

      

So ... in light of all of these over achievers in our group I thought that I might toss in one more pattern for one of you who has shared photos of their progress on flickr ....I figured that it best to just choose a random number which turned out to be 17 ...

which was posted by Mary on Lake Pulaski ... I would love to send you a copy of How does your garden grow? Mary ... email me your snail mail details please.

Well done to you all for such a great start & thank you all for being so very enthusiastic. Please do make sure you take great care to make sure the points on your petals are true & that you take care when positioning your shapes ... the placement sheet needs to be your best friend!!! Shelly has kindly made up a little 'helping hand' for us on her blog to help those of you that might be still having problems making pointy points. Thanks Shelly.

A couple of other stars have made buttons for our side bars but I have 'miss placed' their emails in the sea of emails that I have been getting lately ... I will be able to find them ... but it was taking too long to find while I was writting this post ... next time :(

OK ... so for the incentives for this coming week ... I will select one random photo & one other person who has posted a photo of their first 6 blocks ... which is what our goal will be by the end of next week.

Please also remember that the Flickr page is intended as a sharing place for projects involved specifically in this quiltalong ... please save photos & descriptions of other methods for your blog or own Flickr album ... don't place them in the group pool please.

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OK that's it ... I had stacks more to share including a peek at Buttonberry stand at a recent market and some photos of other peoples things but as my internet has dropped out on me three times while I have been writing this post ... meaning that I have written this post three times ... I trust you will understand my need to salvage a little of my sanity and sign off for now!

Enjoy your weekend!!!

Kellie 

Joseph's Coat - Placement of applique shapes & finishing your block

Now this is the fun part! Grab a cuppa, your petal shapes, a 12" square of your background fabric, glue stick, applique pins, needle (size 11 straw), threads, scissors, a light box ... if you have one ... and lets go!

Placement of your applique shapes ...

You will need to position the placement guide, that you made in step one, on a flat, firm surface where you can place your background fabric over it and still see your placement makings through the fabric. Obviously, the easiest way to do this is by using a light box but if you don't have one there are other ways to do this .. such as securing your project to a window or to a glass top table etc. Alternatively, you could carefully trace over the positioning lines using a fine permanent marker so that you can see the lines through your fabric without a light source - although this will probably only work if your background fabric is white.

Tape both the placement sheet & the background fabric in place using a little masking tape to avoid movement during this step. Apply a little glue to the seam allowances on the back of one of your petals.

Once complete, carefully position the petal shape over one of the centre petal positions on your background fabric, making sure you match up your points.

Apply glue to the back of another petal and carefully position it on the outer edge of the block ... see below ... taking care again to patch up your points.

Continue in this manner around your block, carefully positioning your petal shapes making sure that the points meet as perfectly as you can manage ... this job will be made much easier if you have been able to create sharp points when you originally made the petal shape.

I use glue to initially position the petals because it makes it quick & easy to reposition them, if you need to. 

 
 
Although the glue stick will hold the petals in place initially, because you will be manipulating the project around quite a lot while you stitch, you will need to pin the petals in place to ensure their stability until they are secured permanently with your stitching.

Applique pins are perfect for this purpose as they are lovely and small making it less likely that you will get your thread caught up in them while you are stitching. You will also need a couple of pins along the side of each petal in addition to the pins I have used in this photo.

Stitching your shapes in place ...

Before we jump into the applique stitch here are a few little tid bits that you may or may not have a hankering to know about ....

Do you sometimes have problems with your thread knotting up and becoming tangled while you are stitching? It may just be because you have threaded your needle with the wrong end of your thread!!! If you are left handed, like I am, you should thread your needle using the end that you cut ...not the end that comes off your cotton reel! If you are right handed you should thread your needle with the end that comes directly off your cotton reel. 

Do you know how to make a 'Quilting Knot' in your thread??

Basically this is just a french knot of sorts .... thread your needle then take the eye end of your needle between your thumb & second finger ... place approximately 1cm of the long end of your thread between your first finger and the needle - holding it in place with your thumb.

Wrap your thread over and bring it back under your needle holding the loop in place on the needle with your thumb and first finger ....

 
... pull the thread tight around the needle and holding it in place with your finger and by maintaining the tension on the thread with your other hand.

  
Wrap your thread around your needle a second time. Pull the thread tight around the shank of the needle.

Then while holding the loops in place firmly with your thumb and first finger .... use your other hand to carefully pull the sharp end of the needle through the loops of thread, while continuing to hold the thread loops firmly with your thumb & first finger.

 
Pull the needle until the entire length of the thread has been pulled through the loops ...

 creating a small knot in the end of your thread.  

Which direction should you stitch?

If you are left handed you will find it easiest to stitch from left to right and if you are right handed you will find it most comfortable to stitch from right to left ... generally speaking that is!

Blind stitch ...

We will be using the exact same stitch that you would use if you were needle turning this applique ... but you obviously don't need to flick your seam allowances under with your needle because we did that earlier!

Firstly I will show you the actual stitch then we can look at the order that I sew the shapes down later. Anchor your thread behind your block under the applique shape you intend to work on. Pull your needle through to the right side of your project by coming out slightly under the applique shape, taking the needle up through the petal as close to the fold line as possible (the fold that was created when you turned the seams allowances under).

While holding your block with your non-dominant hand ... thumb on top and fingers under where you will be stitching - your first finger should be positioned directly under where you are stitching. Carefully take your needle straight down into the background fabric directly in line with your initial stitch.

Once you feel the tip of your needle pop through to the back ... tilt your needle back and take it back up through the background fabric ... only a millimeter or two from where you came through ...

... remember to come through your background fabric a thread or two under the shape then take the needle through as close to the folded edge of the shape as possible. Pull your thread through firmly.

Basically this is the stitch that you will be using through out this entire project. If you are careful and you match your threads well to your applique shape you shouldn't really see your stitches.

Remember that your stitches should only be a couple of millimeters apart. You should find the back of your project should look something like this ...

 
 
If you are able to see your stitches it may be because ...

* your stitches are too far apart

* you aren't beginning your next stitch where the last stitch finished

* you are coming through your applique shape too far from the shapes folded edge

* you are coming up through your background fabric at a point that isn't slightly under your applique shape

This really isn't a hard stitch to master and once you get in the swing of it you will find that you will really motor along!

Stitching order ...

I start my stitching off along the edge of one of the centre petals about an inch from the centre point. I stitch toward the centre. Once I reach the centre I then anchor all of the other five points making sure that they all meet as closely as possible in the centre.

To do this... bring your needle up under the petal you are working on, just before the centre point of the block. Then take the needle into shape, slightly below the centre point, slide the needle along in between the seam allowance and the top surface of the shape coming out through the point. Now take the needle through the background fabric at the centre point bringing the petal point to the centre of the block. Continue to sew a few anchoring stitches along one edge before moving to the next petal.

Once all of the centre points have been secured select one petal and continue along one edge to the other point.

Continue stitching along the inside edge of the adjoining outer petal, then down the next inner petal, up the other side of that same petal and so on until all of the 6 inner petals have been sewn down and the inner edge of the 6 border petals. Do not, at this point, sew down the outer edges of the border petals ... this will be completed when the blocks are sewn together.

 
That's it!! I hope you can follow all of this ... it has been a challenge to get decent photos for this post as it is pretty much impossible to take photos myself while using both hands to stitch .... so Joshua spent quite a lot of time taking photos of my hands today! ... Oh and his brand new thongs!!!

You should now be able to make yourself a block or two or 49! So go forth and stitch people!!!! Should we have a little incentive? How about ...

... the first person to finish a block and post a picture of it on the Joseph's Coat flickr page .... will collect a How does your garden grow pattern. You will need to be listed as participating in the quilt along to play along.

... the first person to finish off 7 blocks and post a picture of them on the Joseph's Coat flickr page .... can select any one of my patterns to do with as they please. Don't forget that you will need to be listed as participating in the quilt along to play along.

Seeing the plan was 3 blocks every 2 weeks I think it would be great if we could all meet on Flickr at least every two weeks to share our progress.  

Edit ... Edna has been checking up on you girls !!! (see comments) If you are joining in please;

* make sure your link is functional on the Mr Linky list - please check yours and let me know if it needs fixing

* make sure that you have at least linked to the quilt along on your blog if you have one ,,, fair is fair guys!

* if you have decided to opt out .. no problem ..just let me know so I can take you off the list.

I will run lots of random giveaways and incentives during the making of the quilt ...but you will need to be on the Mr Linky list to join in.

Congrats to Marielle was the first to complete a block! Well done Marielle ... it looks lovely too with the green background! Very dramatic!;

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If you are in the UK and looking for something to do this weekend make sure you head off to the Chilford Autumn Quilt Festival .... if you happen to make it there please go and say hello to the Buttonberry Duo who have apparently rustled up a Meg's Garden & Oh Christmas Tree of their very own ... in their spare time!!!!

As for me ... well I am going to be burning the candle at both ends even more than usual this week as I have in a moment of total madness weakness decided that it would be a good idea to take a stall at the Quilt Market (trade show) here in Melbourne next weekend ... how everything is going to get done before Friday I have no idea!

Enjoy your weekend!

Kellie

Joseph's Coat - Cutting your fabric & making your applique shapes

So are we having fun yet???? I am purposefully dragging this out a little as so that I can organise a bit of a head-start ... I have managed to finish off 7 blocks ... which will hopefully give me a good buffer should the wheels fall off while we are making this quilt!!!

I have had a couple of questions already about cutting such large expanses of fabric ... don't fret too much ... I can't cut a straight line to save myself!!!! The cuts that we make in the background fabric don't need to be precise you wont be piecing these squares! Providing you have the dimensions provided all will be cool! Make sure you read all of the directions in this section before you proceed.

I've also been asked about prewashing fabrics ... I never do this basically because I'm bone idol and can't possibly wait another minute once I decide I want to start on a new project! If you usually pre-wash then by all means do so! If you are worried that your coloured fabrics might run then prewash your fabrics ... better safe than sorry! There will be allot of time put into the making of this quilt ... the last thing you would want in the end would be to be sitting looking at the beautiful pink hues in your 'white' background fabric ..... wishing that you had prewashed!!!

Cutting your background fabric ....

Using a cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter cut your fabric as follows ... I have listed the cuts for both 60" & 40" wide fabrics make sure you are following the correct one for the fabric you have purchased!!!;

For 60" wide fabric

Cut fifteen 12" strips across the width of your fabric. Further cut these strips into;

forty-nine 12" squares 

thirty-six 12" x 6 1/2" rectangles

seven 12" x 10" rectangles

For 40" wide fabric (8 yards)

Cut twenty three 12" strips across the width of your fabric. Further cut these strips into;

forty-nine 12" squares &

thirty-six 12" x 6 1/2" rectangles

seven 12" x 10" rectangles

You will have some fabric left over ... always good to have a buffer .... just in case!!!! That's it for cutting. Set your remaining background fabric aside.

 Making your applique shapes....

Collect your coloured fabrics, petal template (made previously), Stitch & Wash, mechanical pencil, sandpaper board (if you have one - this isn't essential), fine sharp scissors , iron & glue stick.

Firstly we will trace out the applique shapes onto the Stitch & Wash. Take a close look at the Stitch & Wash one side of the product is slightly shiny - this side is the adhesive side so make sure that you trace your shapes onto the other side of the product.

 
Position your Stitch & Wash dull side up on a firm, flat, non-slip surface. If you have a sandpaper board use it - these are great to hold your surface still when you are tracing out templates.

Position your petal template on the Stitch & Wash and hold it very still while you carefully trace around the outside of your template. Take great care to get the points correct. Make sure that you hold your pencil as upright as possible - when you hold your pencil on an angle the shape wont be accurate as the lead angles away from the edge of your shape distorting it.

Each block needs 12 of these petal shapes - so trace out at least enough for one block. Nest the shapes together carefully to avoid wastage while making sure that you allow a few millimetres between each shape to enable you to cut separate them without damaging either of the shapes edges.

 
Once you have finished tracing the petal shapes, roughly cut them out not on the line at this point - I like to cut my shapes out like this first as it is much easier to then cut the shape out accurately once you only have a small piece to manipulate.

Once the are all separated carefully cut out the shape accurately just along the inside edge of your drawn line. Once you are finished double check them for accuracy. The shapes are now ready to be fused to your fabrics.

Collect at least 12 different fabrics for your block. I tend to collect my fabrics in groups of two that work particularly well together. I then look for an element in one of the fabrics that I can then draw on to slightly change the tone in the next group of two fabrics and so on until I have 12 to work with.

 
I particularly love Kaffe Fasset fabrics for the diversity that they provide within a single piece of fabric. Using careful planning and fussy cutting I can often find several areas within one piece of fabric that once cut bare no resemblance to each other making my collection of fabrics appear much broader than it actually is.

I can move the applique shape around this gorgeous piece of fabric at least 5 times and find petal shapes that bear little or no resemblance to each other ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fussy cutting also allows you to focus upon a specific area of interest within a piece of fabric adding drama to your project.

Once you are happy with your choices, carefully position your Stitch & Wash shape, shiny side down on the wrong side of the fabric.  Following the directions provided by the manufacturer ... use a dry, hot iron to fuse the shape to your fabric.

Allow the fabric to cool and then roughly cut it out leaving at least a 1/4" seam allowance around the entire shape. Now carefully cut the seam allowance down to slightly more than an 1/8". 

 
Carefully trim the points to slightly less than the 1/8" by clipping the tip ...

... then trim off small amounts from the sides of the tips.

Lay your shape down on a scrap piece of paper and apply the glue stick to the seam allowances.

Fold the seam allowance over at the tips ...

.... then carefully fold over one side making sure that this seam allowance doesn't protrude into the seam allowance of the other side of the tip.

Then fold the other edge over creating a precise tip - hold it in place for a short time to allow the glue to hold.

 
  Now carefully turn the remaining seam allowances in creating a smooth edge to your shape.

Use this method to create all 12 petal shapes. I tend to make one block at a time ... I should have the patients to make enough petals for at least two blocks at once ... but because the actual positioning of the shapes and stitching is so much more fun I just can't possibly wait that bit extra time to get started ... ;)

I will stop here for today and I'll be back again on Friday with the positioning of the shapes and the ins & outs of the applique stitch .... then there'll be no stopping us!!!!

I appreciate everyone's goodwill in relation to this project. Please do not use this pattern for profit in any way ... this pattern & the directions are given in good faith and is intended for your personal use only and not to be reproduced in anyway.

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There have been a couple of new retailers begin stocking my patterns in the past week or so. First up is a local Melbourne shop ... Sunspun ... they specialise in Kaffe fabrics and the most beautiful supply of wool ... everytime I visit I always wish I would take up knitting or something.

Next up is Volksfaden which is a terrific German based onlile shop. Linda, who heads up Volksfaden, has a spectacular range of contemporary quilting fabrics and patterns ... well worth a look!

As with all new retailers I will be very pleased to send off a copy of How does your garden grow to the first person who purchases one of my patterns from either of these two retailers  ... you just need to email me with proof of purchase.

Ballarat Patchwork & Patchwork House also now have stock of my new patterns.

And just because I hate posts without photos of the kids in them ....

... here is our Harry Potter who was good enough to attend Joshua's kinder last Thursday to help them celebrate Halloween! Those scarves sure have been very useful ... thanks Lorraine!!!!

I hope you also had fun!

Kellie

Joseph's Coat - Drafting your block, creating a placement guide & template shape

Drafting the block...

Go make yourself a cup of tea or a glass of wine, get comfortable and take some deep calming breaths ... this part of the project is going to involve a little geometry .....

You are going to need a sheet of paper about 22" square ... join together some smaller sheets if you have to. I suggested using A3 sized paper ... for those of you who aren't familiar with A3 paper ... it is twice the size of an A4 sheet of paper ... does that help? ;) Which ever way you manage to come up with your big piece of paper to draft your pattern onto is really irrelevant .... providing you can some how protect it as you will need to refer to this sheet throughout the entire project.

Place your sheet of paper on a flat surface, collect your compass, ruler & eraser ... although I'm sure we wont make any mistakes so we wont need the eraser anyway!

Lock your compass at 5 1/2" which will ultimately give you an 11" block.

 
In the centre of your sheet of paper draw out a circle.

Place the point of your compass on any point around the circumference of the circle and draw another circle. This circle's cicircumference should intersect the centre of your original circle.

 
Now place the point of your compass on one of the points where the second circle intersects the original circle's circumference - draw out another circle. The circumference of this 3rd circle should intersect the centre points of the first and second circles.

Now place the point of your compass on the point where the 3rd circle intersects the first circle's circumference - draw out the 4th circle. The circumference of the fourth circle should intersect the centre points of the first and 3rd circles.

Continue in this manner until you have drawn out a total of 7 circles where circles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 all intersect at the centre point of the first circle.

 
 
You should now see the makings of the center of your block - being that of the 6 petal shapes that converge at the centre of the circle. We now need to draft a further 6 petal shapes to frame the block.

Place the point of the compass at the point where the circumferences of the 7th & the 2nd circles intersect. Draw an arc that intersects the centre points of the 2nd & 7th circles.

Place the point of the compass at the point where the circumferences of the 2nd & the 3rd circles intersect. Draw an arc that intersects the centre points of the 2nd & 3rd circles.

Continue in this manner until all of the 6 petal shapes have been drafted to frame the original circle block.

 
 
You now have a placement guide to help you with positioning your applique shapes on your block. You will need to refer to this placement guide throughout the project so it's a good idea to laminate it to preserve it's integrity because if you are anything like me it will be dragged all over the place with you!

 
Creating the petal template ...

At this point you will need to make yourself a template of a petal shape that you will use throughout the project to draft out all of the petal shapes in the quilt and trust me there a whole hell of a lot of them!!!

Use a little tape to secure your template plastic over one of the petals you have created. Locate the centre points of the two intersecting circles that have created this petal. Using your compass carefully re-draw the arcs to transpose the petal shape accurately onto your template plastic.

Using a small sharp pair of scissors cut out the petal shape on the line you have drawn .. if you cut out either side of the marked line of your template it's size will be either slightly smaller or slightly larger than what you ultimately want it to be.

 
Check the template for accuracy by positioning it over the original petal. It is important that this template is accurate as you will be using it to create all of the petals in the quilt and they all need to fit together snugly ... a bit like a jigsaw puzzle.

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That's it for today ... not very exciting so far is it? Setting up is always a little tedious ... but very important all the same to make sure the project comes together nicely.

I'll be back on Tuesday with the next steps which will be much more fun and a whole lot more colourful!!!

Great to see some of the blogless girls joining in with their newly created Flickr pages .... which reminds me .... I will establish a Flickr Group this week so that we can share our progress once we start putting together our blocks. I figure that this will be a great place to share our progress, be inspired by each others colours choices and chat.

I appreciate everyone's goodwill in relation to this project. Please do not use this pattern for profit in any way ... the pattern & directions are given in good faith and is intended for your personal use only and not to be reproduced in anyway. Lets keep it nice!

Kellie