One of the things that I think could possibly trip people up when it comes to a reverse applique project, is that you have to essentially cut a hole right in the middle of your project... did you ever have your mom reprimand you sternly for doing the same with your construction paper art projects?
Well, I say, that if you already had those natural tendencies when you were young, then perhaps you were onto something back then, so shake off any guilty feelings and charge boldly forward... no holding back!
Just because reverse applique requires you to cut a hole out of the middle of your project doesn't mean that you have to waste it... not with my Waste-Not, Want-Not pillow! Last week I shared my Circle Around pillow, which is a reverse applique pillow, and with all those pretty cut-outs, you didn't think that I could throw them away?
So, I simply made a freezer paper circle template that was slightly smaller than my cut-out, a little starch, a little ironing, and viola... pretty finished circles to applique on a quilted background. This time I did the quilting before I finished the applique, even though I usually quilt after my shapes are appliqued on.The circles are finished with a blind stitch, using an invisible thread from Aurifil.
Ahh... things are really warming up for summer aren't they? Have you relaxing and putting your feet up too?
While digging for fabrics for a project recently, I ended up stumbling onto a whole stack of leftover linen triangles from a pillow that I had made for my husband. Then the idea hit me that I could use them with the leftover scraps from my Modern Improv paper piecing pillow to make another coordinating pillow for my parents... but I wanted this one to just happen.
Am I the only who does this?: As I sat down to finish my husband's pillow I was
quite perplexed because I didn't have enough triangles to finish all the blocks... so, what did I do? Cut some more... of course. You cannot imagine how annoyed I was with myself to find out later that I actually had cut them (like I thought), but they had fallen behind my sewing machine where I didn't see them.
I suppose if they come to good use in the end, then it doesn't matter how they get there, right?
I first started out with a random color layout, but found it to be a little chaotic. When I grouped the colors and organized them a bit, it seemed to have a better flow. There have actually been several projects where it felt like I had just hit a roadblock, until I reworked the color organization.
I also let the shapes within the pillow dictate how I did the quilting by first following them, and then simply echoing the quilting in various widths.
As I've said with just about every improv project that I've ever done, it's an uncomfortable stretch for me, and I'm still left asking myself if I will ever warm up to it. I guess it's a little like eating broccoli... it's ok to try it every once in a while to see if you still don't like it.
What's your "quilting broccoli" that you have to keep coming back to, just to see if you still don't like it?
Linking up this week to Let's Bee Social.
