Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Stitching Society Confessional

When I first started on my Stitching Society adventure, I was a lot more anal careful about following the patterns.
 As part of the program, we were given a clear overlay to use with a dry/wet erase marker.
 We could then trace the design and use it as a guide to place the wool design pieces on the hexagon.
That was really helpful on Mr. Mouse. 
I don't worry about being so exact anymore.
You can also see that I don't reverse the designs unless it is something that wouldn't look right.
I trace the parts of the designs that I will be using for wool applique onto Heat and Bond Lite and then arrange my pieces on the wool hexagon. When I am happy with the placement, I fuse everything down. Even though it's not in the instructions for the fusible, I've found a little steam helps adhere the appliques more securely.
I usually set up 15 hexagons at a time since that's how many patterns we are given each month.

This is Wintertime.
I simplified the design a bit. I wasn't too keen on the stars at the branch tips, and after stitching a few snowflake French Knots, I removed them and decided this one was done!

Okay--this is my biggest secret--my pens!
 I use very slightly tinted fabric markers to do little touches of shading. You can see I used this very light gray to shade under the wing of the bird. I also used it extensively on Mr. Mouse above.
I use a grey, peach, lavender and light olive--I'm not trying to add color to the wool, only a bit of a shadow--very subtle. 

Most of the designs are fanciful, but on a lot of the flora and fauna, I use my iPad to Google images just as little guide for colors.

Notice there are no instructions--just a line drawing, so it's fun to figure out how each hexagon will be tackled.
The little circles on the branch could be French Knots or maybe crystals--I used pearly beads. 

Cardinal
I'm almost finished with my wintry group--next up: folksy!


14 comments:

  1. Those blocks look so lovely! ou make such beautiful things, thanks for sharing!

    Dutch greetings, Carolien

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  2. Love them! I do the same thing... if it isn't important to the function of the picture, I don't reverse. Too much time wasted!

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  3. Thanks for sharing some of your techniques. I also don't reverse many times. It really doesn't matter which way the cardinal faces.

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  4. These little blocks are lovely. That cardinal in particular caught my eye.

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  5. I have to agree. Reversing the blocks makes very little difference to a pleasing design like these.
    Great idea with the shading with the pens. I like that idea.

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  6. Great tip about the pens! It really is the little details that make all the difference! Love these woolly hexies! :-)

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  7. You are not the first person to say they use a little bit of steam with the Heat 'n Bond Lite when fusing wool. I am going to try that as I do find that the pieces are hard to get fused. I just try to get it enough to hold at least temporarily.

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  8. As always the blocks are lovely! I too like to use pens to add shading to pieces. I also use them when I'm quilting with a light colour thread and it strays into the edge of a dark fabric. I just use a pen to "erase" the offending stitch!

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  9. You are doing a fantastic job! I always love what you share! Great hints!

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  10. Another gorgeous group. Very informative, reading about your use of the pens for shading. Smart and practical.
    Your sum total of hexagons would have me hyperventilating if I'd ever see them in person. Each one is a little interesting treasure, don't you think?
    I'm thoroughly enjoying watching your progress. As cute as these have all been, I can't wait to see the folksy group.

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  11. These designs are lovely, i have never done applique on wool.

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  12. how do we get the patterns for these cute applique hexies

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  13. Can you share where we can get the book of patterns? So lovely!

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