I love getting mail and today was really special! :-) I received my giveaway win from Barb at BejeweledQuilts. It is the first time I've ever won a blog giveaway. ;-) I love the Dresden Star pattern! Barb also included the templates and a cheery batik fabric. :-) Thank you so much Barb!! :-)
Thank you for all your comments about my north wind blocks/top. Last night I ran out of pins putting rows together, so today I will be sewing. And then pinning some more rows together. I'd really like to get the blocks together this week~ and I'm sure my family would like to see it off the floor! ~~I mean, my design wall! LOL :-)
I also started prepping my May and June blocks for the BunnyHill BOM. (see sidebar) Yes, I am behind. :-/ But I'm working! I wanted to show you how I do the handles, since I've had a few questions... I lightly trace the pattern on the back of my background square with a mechanical pencil. ~Remember to trace from the backside of the pattern if you want your block to end up looking like the photo. ;-) For the basket and handle, it really doesn't matter since they are the same on both sides. ;-) Then I take a dark thread and big running stitches to stitch around the handle area. I start exactly where the handle meets the basket, but when I sew the handle on, I start sewing just a bit below this point.
My handle is cut from the bias and is 1 inch wide, folded and pressed in half. If I place the cut edges so they meet my basting line, and sew a scant quarter inch seam with my sewing machine and a small stitch length,
it leaves me with exactly a quarter inch wide handle. I trim out a bit of the seam allowance~ kind of staggering it so both thicknesses of seam allowances are not right on top of each other. (that is a trimming trick I learned in making clothing) Then I press it up and as I hand sew t
he folded edge down, I remove the basting stitches. Ta-da, my handle is in place and I've only had to hand stitch one side~ and best of all no pencil, or water soluble lines to remove. If you look on the back after you've stitched it, you will find your applique stitches on your pencil line~ or so close that no one will ever know! ;-)
it leaves me with exactly a quarter inch wide handle. I trim out a bit of the seam allowance~ kind of staggering it so both thicknesses of seam allowances are not right on top of each other. (that is a trimming trick I learned in making clothing) Then I press it up and as I hand sew t
he folded edge down, I remove the basting stitches. Ta-da, my handle is in place and I've only had to hand stitch one side~ and best of all no pencil, or water soluble lines to remove. If you look on the back after you've stitched it, you will find your applique stitches on your pencil line~ or so close that no one will ever know! ;-)If you click the photo's~ hopefully they will enlarge a bit. The last one is of my handles waiting for me & my needle and thread. ;-)
That's all for today~
Until next time~
Happy Stitchin'! :-)
4 comments:
Congratulations on the big win. You will have fun with that pattern.
The little handles look so cute. Great job!
What a wonderful win you've got there! Good for you! 8-)
Thanks for your little tute on the basket handles. I shall have to give that a go WHEN I get to those blocks... 8-)
Happy stitchings!
I like the "handle" lesson!
Thanks for the shout out...and the lesson on the handles, I was just going to give up on these blocks but maybe I will try your way. thanks
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