Friday, October 30, 2015

Farm Girl Friday - At Retreat!!!


Good morning 
Farm Girl Friday people!
This morning I'm at my 
second retreat this month 
hosted by
in Draper, Utah:)


We are sewing from the book 
and also a few other fun little projects.




We all have these barn name tags...
aren't they cute?





This is what the classroom
 looks like at 
The Lodge
where our retreat is.
Isn't it gorgeous?


We have lots of Farm Girl blocks
 up on the design wall...



And lots of shopping at
 Thimbles and Threads 
darling quilt shop...
(out of print and hard to find BIMB fabrics)


Lots of chatting around the fire...


And super fun kits
 put together by 
Thimbles and Threads.




I also introduced three new 
Farm Girl Companion blocks
 for this months retreats...
this one is HONEY BEE!



This one is
BARN CAT...



And last but not least
 is my farm girl
MILK COW!

All three blocks will be
 available
 in PDF pattern form soon...
Stay tuned and I will 
announce when they are ready!


In the meantime...
you can follow all the fun
 by tuning in to my

See you next week!
xx
Lori



Friday, October 23, 2015

Farm Girl Friday - Mr. Jack O. Lantern Tutorial!


Good morning cute people!
Welcome to another episode of 
Farm Girl Friday:)



Where we sew all cute things
 and more from my latest book... 



Farm Girl Vintage
to join in on the fun!



Today we are going to
 play with my 
Patchwork Pumpkin 
block on page 51
 of the book.

With just a few
 extra bits of fabric...
 and just in time for
 Halloween
let's make 
 Mr. Jack O.Lantern

YaY!

Let's get started:)



Normally you would need
 30 orange squares 
to make the block...
but for Mr. Jack O' Lantern
 you only need 26.

To replace those 4 squares...
you will need to cut
 from orange fabrics;

For a 6" block- 
Cut 4 -1" square's
Cut 4 - 1" x 1 1/2" rectangles

For a 12" block-
Cut 4 - 1 1/2" squares
Cut 4 - 1 1/2 x 2 1/2" rectangles

This is for his mouth section.
Cut the stem and the leaf 
exactly the same as in the book.



Choose a background fabric and 
blacks or charcoal prints
 like I did 
to use for his eyes,
 nose and his smile:)



Cut the following;

For a 6" block-
Cut 1 -1" x 3 1/2" strip for smile
Cut 6 - 1 1/4" squares
 for his eyes and nose.

For a 12" block-
Cut 1 - 1 1/2" x 6 1/2" strip for smile
Cut 6 - 2" x 2" squares
for his eyes and nose.



Cut your background fabric 
the same as the book.
I'm making a 12" block and
 I added borders so I also cut;
2 - 1 1/2" x 12 1/2" 
for sides
2 - 1 1/2" x 14 1/2" 
for top and bottom

Borders for the 6" block are on 
page 120 of the book:)



Let's start with his smile.
Sew two rectangles and 
two small squares together.
 Sew an easy corner triangle 
onto each end of his smile...




Like this.
Press seams open for less bulk.



Sew them together and then
 add the remaining 
orange rectangles onto the ends.



Set his smile aside for now 
and sew the easy corner triangles 
for his eyes and nose.



Sew one onto a corner of
 one of the 26 orange squares:)
Don't forget to use your 
so that you don't have to mark a line:)

YaY!



Sew the eyes and nose
 sections together.
Press seams open.
Now lay out into rows 
and sew the block together 
exactly like in the book.
Easy Peasy!




Add your borders and
 say hello to 
Mr. Jack O.Lantern!
He's smiling at you:)



Wasn't he fun and easy to make?
I think he would be a 
super cute Halloween mini...
or a really fun table runner.

How about making him into a 
 for your favorite 
little ones or a friend...
 or even for your honey?

It would be so fun to 
fill it with Halloween treats:)

I hope you enjoyed my
Mr. Jack O.Lantern
tutorial...
See you next week!
xx
Lori



Friday, October 16, 2015

Sew Simple Shapes - Tutorial using Pellon for Easy Hand or Machine Applique!


Good morning cute people!
Today is day 3 of my appliqué tutorials on how to use my new
Sew Simple Shapes.

for my iron on appliqué method

for my traditional hand appliqué method

Today I'll be talking about
 my super easy and fun 
 most favorite way to
 prepare my pieces 
for applique!

I'm so excited that my 
 are finally here and
 available to play with!

I love appliqué and I have found 
over the years that 
some think it can be hard
and so they are afraid to try it.

Because of this...
 I decided to design a line of shapes
to use for appliqué so that 
I can show you how 
easy and fun it really is!

Appliqué can add so much 
to your sewing skills. 
Not only can it 
add personality 
to your projects...
I especially love appliqué 
mixed with pieced quilt blocks!


This week...
 I posted to show you
 how to use my 
Sew Simple Shapes
 in several 
different appliqué methods...
so you could learn and
 then choose your favorite!



This is what they look like
 in their cute little package:)
I named my first set 
because the shapes are flowers,
 leaves and petals:)
The set has 24 fun shapes 
to mix and match 
for super cute and
 easy applique designs!



I'll be using shape A-12 to make a 
"SEED" block.
This is a traditional 
appliqué block with many names,
 but my grandma and great aunts 
always called this shape
 a seed...so I will too!


I designed a line a fabric called 
Calico Days
 to go along with my BLOOM set.
It will be here in December...
Just in time to start my 
BLOOM Sew Along in January!
We will be making the above quilt...
one block at a time ...
every Monday 
right here on my blog!



But for this weeks
 tutorials...
I used this
 super cute fabric collection
called Fancy and Fabulous!



To cut fabric for the SEED blocks
for each tutorial and method this week... 
I cut 5" squares from the prints and
I cut 7 1/2" x 7 1/2" 
squares for the background.
(I'll later square them up to 6 1/2" square)
I always cut my appliqué background 
1" larger than needed
 because the appliqué process
 can shrink your blocks a little ...
so I like to appliqué first 
and then
 square up the block afterwards.



So this is my 
very favorite method to 
prepare my appliqué pieces...
for both machine appliqué
 and hand appliqué.
I LOVE the results for either way!

I use Bee in my Bonnet 
Sew-In interfacing
  (that means sew in NOT iron on) 
It comes in a 3 yard package. 
You can purchase by 
or find it at your local 
or online quilt shop.




Simply trace the SEED shape
 directly onto a piece
 of the interfacing
using a mechanical pencil
 for a nice thin line.
I traced 4 for my seed block:)



Then pin it to the 
right side 
of chosen fabric....
with your marked line
 on Pellon side up.



Now take it to your machine 
and sew DIRECTLY 
onto your traced line...
backstitching when you
 start and stop to secure...



Like this.
(that stitching line that goes off the edge is because I chain piece my shapes)



Cut out the shape leaving
 an approximate
 1/4" seam allowance 
past your stitching line.



Pull the interfacing apart from 
the fabric and make a small clip
 with a small sharp pair
 of embroidery scissors.



Once clipped...
you can get in there 
to cut a criss cross
 for turning.



Turn right side out.



I love to use this awesome
 turning tool by CLOVER 
to push out the 
curves and points...
it works nicely for that!



After you get the 
shape how you want it...
press it flat like this.
 Press on the fabric side.
PRESS...do not iron.



This is what the 
back looks like after pressing.
See how nicely the 
seam allowances lie flat 
inside after pressing?

*FYI - You DO NOT need to clip 
outside curve seam allowances 
so that they will lie flat...
you only clip INSIDE curves and 
there are no BLOOM shapes 
that have inside curves.



See how the shape that you
 end up with is the same 
as the template that you 
started out with?
YaY!



Here are all four seeds
 turned and pressed.



Prepare your backing fabric
 by pressing in half 
both ways and both diagonal
 ways as well.



Place your seeds on like this...
lining up the points 
of the seed ends
 with the diagonal lines 
that you have pressed.

Pin each seed shape into place.

Now your block is prepared
 for either machine appliqué 
or hand appliqué...
your choice!
I like to do both...
depending on the project.



For machine applique...
I use an open toe foot 
so that I can see
 where each stitch goes.

I like to use matching thread 
for EACH appliqué piece by 
switching the top spool...
but I keep a neautral color
 in my bobbin.

I use a small zig-zag stitch.
 I set my stitch width at 1.5 
 and the length at 2.0.
 I backstitch where I 
stop and start to secure.





This is how it looks after
 I have machine appliquéd it...
it took literally 5 minutes.



The back...
small zig-zag stitch
 with neutral thread.



Press your block from the BACK 
and then square up with a 
6 1/2" square up ruler:)


I quickly prepared another block 
with Pellon to hand appliqué
 so that I could show you 
what that looks like. 



Here it is completed ...
prepared with my interfacing method 
and then hand appliquéd.
This took me about 
15 minutes to stitch down
 and of course I just used the 
traditional hand appliqué 
stitch that I teach
 on my blog post
The only difference
 is that the edges are 
already turned under
 when I use the interfacing.
YaY!
Easy Peasy:)



And because
 "SEEDS"
 turn into flowers...
I decided to use my
 A-1 Sew Simple Shape 
to make a circle for the center 
of each block from 
this weeks tutorials.

Of course I prepared them
 in the same way 
that I just showed you...
my interfacing method:)



I hand stitched the 
circles in the center...
easy peasy!



This will probably become a pillow...
my daughter Kassidy 
has already 
claimed it for her room:)



So now I've shown you 
several ways to use my 
Sew Simple Shapes.

I am so excited about them 
and I hope that you will 
love playing with them too!
to get a set of your very own.

I will be showing you 
many different things
 to do with them...
remember that there are
 24 in the set and 
I've only used 2 
for this project...
oh the possibilities!!!


I'll be back next friday 
with a brand new 
Farm Girl Fridays post...
"LIVE" from my 
Farm Girl Vintage 
Workshop/Retreat!
See you then!
xx
Lori