barbara brandeburg

A Trick

My tip for the week. Notice the center of the fusible has been cut away to create a softer applique. But, notice a tiny piece is attached at the bottom left. I tack the shape around the edges with the tip of the iron, keeping the center attached to make sure I'm not all stretched out of shape. Once I'm good, I'll clip away that little section, remove the center, and press the rest of the shape with my dry iron – a tidy trick that works every time. If the shape is large, I'll leave several spots attached and snip it away as I work around the piece with the iron, freeing up the center as I go. Sharp points on gingher's scissors are best. Why can't I spell scissors without trying three times?

Belated Can Be Better

Okay, I'm bragging here. My daughter is so dang thoughtful. She put time and effort into thinking about what would really be perfect for me. She went to a giant boutique of hand made goodies. That is so perfect. And these darling button magnets are so me! Buttons! I love it that someone made them and has a little business selling them. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Don't even get me started on the letter she wrote me. I'm dizzy with glee! Oh, and I almost forgot. The magnets came in a darling itty bitty tin. Love it, love it, love it!!!

The Team

Katie and I are teaming up to collaborate on a project together. This should be fun. I'm already seeing a little bit of tradition and a little bit of now.

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. My husband took me on a three hour spring flowers drive, cooked, and made hot fudge! Great guy!

Socks will be available as a pattern in a couple of weeks. I'll get it off to the printer tomorrow. Can't believe I'm already brainstorming ideas for Katie's project and more. It's the blessing and the curse of the busy, creative mind. Fabric too.

Socks

Baby It's Hot Outside

Well, we just had our first teaser heat wave and I've been indoors doing Christmas! What a crack up. Every quilt designer is in a frenzy getting ready for the semi-annual trade show and I've been designing Socks. I'll get it off to the printer next week, but hopefully get you a better photo tomorrow when there's daylight. I really had fun designing these. They're BIG, but not as big as my last stocking pattern! I like this new way of skipping the trade show and using the time to keep the creative roll going.

I'd like to give a special welcome to my international visitors. I am thrilled to see all the different countries. Australia, UK, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Japan, France, and more. Thank you for visiting!

Japanese Textiles

For me, right now, this is the cutest fabric on the planet. The brown one is the prettiest. Had to have em. They were close to twenty a yard, but I just had to have a little piece. It's going to be hard to cut these. I usually don't bat an eye when I slice into yardage with my rotary cutter. It's actually a little thrilling – but these two....?

Socks

My new patterns will be available from Quilter's Warehouse soon. Please feel free to e-mail me (up on the right sidebar) if you need a pattern soon.

More thoughts on prewashing fabrics from the previous post....So far, it appears that it's about even. Some quilters prewash fabrics and some don't. I'm fascinated at how many use products in the rinse cycle to prevent dye bleeding. I thought of another reason to prewash. Fabrics shrink differently in the length and width. Most quilts will have fabrics going all different directions, especially on borders. I also have an inside source that tells me that your long arm quilter will love you if you prewash your fabrics! On the opposite side of the fence – If you accidentally end up with a stretched out, wavy border and the fabric hasn't been preshrunk, you can steam it to ease in the fullness. That probably all sounds greek to a new quilter. Getting a border to fit is the challenge of a beginning quilter.

Working on some Socks!

To Wash Or Not To Wash

My sister and I had a recent conversation about pre-washing fabrics to reduce dye bleeding problems and eliminate uneven shrinkage of pieces in a quilt. I had a recent comment on the blog about this too. I've always been a die hard preshrink gal. I use hot water and a hot dryer. This has always worked for me. I hate it when I spend a lot of money and time on a quilt, only to have part of the quilt shrink more than another. I had a lovely red and white quilt that was ruined when someone spilled liquid on it at a trunk show. The red bled into the white, and I couldn't save it. It was one of my favorite quilts. That said.... There does seem to be a trend to not pre-wash fabrics. The quality of yardage is very good now, especially if you purchase fabrics from a reputable quilt shop. Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, Charm Squares, and Crazy 8's squares are usually used without pre-shrinking. I hand wash mine, then hang to dry, then steam well! Can't help it!

I think it's good to evaluate what you are making. If I were making a bag, craft item, or home decor item, I might consider not washing my fabrics first – especially if the fabrics were similar tones. If I were making a comforter with large pieces and I wanted to retain the nice finish on the fabric, I'd consider not pre-washing. I will often use generous amounts of steam with the iron to pre-shrink yardage. It's time consuming, but a worthwhile alternative. I also use very little detergent and agitate the fabrics for a short amount of time, to help retain the sheen of the finish applied by the fabric mill. It's a personal decision, but I hope this helps you evaluate your projects and decide if you should skip this step, or be safe. Tell me what you do. What works for you? I'm curious.

I've been asked where I get my inspiration. My fail proof method for getting into the design mode is to wash, sort, and fold my fabrics. I can't help but start arranging nice little groupings. I had a late night "Play With Fabric" session and left a giant mess before my trip. Today I folded!

Look what I found just outside my kitchen window! Mama birdie is peeking out the top. Baby birdies a coming.

Cozy Cottages

I had a delightful and fabulous trip with my daughter to Orange County. We shopped and ate yummy girl food and went to the Norton Simon Museum and walked on the Balboa Pier and went to a world wide movie premier at the Newport Film Festival. The director is a friend of my daughter. I loved visiting Cozy Cottage Fabrics in Brea. It's been on my list for some time, and it didn't let me down! You know you are in a top notch quilting shop when they fold your fabrics like this. Kris, the owner was so gracious and nice!

The best cozy cottage of all was my sister Robin's house. We renamed it the Rose Cottage. Every nook and cranny was pure loveliness. Now I'm all refreshed and ready to get to work.

Cute Cute Cuuute

I've got a call into Moda to get my hot little hands on some of the cutest Christmas fabric I've seen in a long, long time. It's our Mary! Mary Engelbreit! I think I need to add the blue dot, from her last grouping, to the collection too. I'm barely done with my latest line of patterns and I'm already sketching and dreaming away on new stuff.

The number one question I've been asked over the years is where I get my fabrics. Mostly, it's by shopping when I travel to my favorite quilt shops, just like you. I'm jumping on a plane to go to Orange County.....the Big City.... to buy fabric and have a little fun.

More Applique Answers

This is continued from the previous post – I use Heat n Bond lite and never have problems with my needle gumming up or getting sticky. On my Bernina I use stitch number 26. It is one of the decorative edge stitches. Needle Down button. Mirror Image button. There is a handy button that we rarely use and never notice. It's called double stitch. It's near the Mirror Image button. It will create two stitches forward, then two to the left. It doubles the stitches. This is an even better route to go if you know your project will get heavy use.

I use presser foot #20, which is open toed. I don't have a fancy machine. I sold my newer Bernina because I liked my older one much better. I'm the queen of no frills. I just own my rotary cutter/mat/rulers, sharp ginghers siszzors, and that's about it. I've posted a photo of a very detailed quilt from an older book to show you how detailed you can get with fusible applique, and on the opposite end, the large scale birdie blocks, and the home dec items below. This had been rushed. Hope it answers some of your questions. I'm off for a week of fun!

Fusible Applique Questions

I've received so many questions about my applique, that I thought I'd try to answer as many as possible in a post. I use a buttonhole stitch on my Bernina. I set the Mirror Image button so that I can stitch on the right side of my shape, going clockwise. I also select the Needle Down button, so that when I stop and start, I can resume in the same place instead of finding my needle off in left field somewhere. I use an open toe foot that is short. This allows me to see what I'm doing and the short foot makes turning corners and curves a lot easier. My Bernina has a knee lift for the presser foot and that's wonderful for turning corners.

The Buttonhole stitch basically goes forward then takes a little bite to the left. A toweling stitch does the same thing, except it goes at a little angle. Either stitch works great. I've done a few quilts lately with a small zig zag stitch that reminds me of the retro sixties quilts. That look is so popular right now. Basically, any decorative edge stitch will work, as long as you catch the edges of your applique shape. Between the fusible web adhesive that is on the edge of the fabric and the stitching, your shape will stay put and you can machine wash your quilts or projects and "Jump on the Bed!" Fancy that!

I will use a shorter, narrower stitch on tiny pieces, and a wider longer stitch on large shapes. If I want a soft outlining effect, I'll use chocolate or grey or even black thread, and have also been known to double my thread on the top, to get a strong outlining effect. I've used monofilament thread on top, when I want an invisible look, but the "natural fiber" part of me doesn't like that. It can melt with a hot iron, so be careful. My sister Carol swears by the monofilament. I do use monofilament for machine quilting in clear only.(Lighten up on the top tension if you use monofilament, because it will stretch.)

I'd say that the standard size stitch I use is about an eighth of an inch long and wide, or just a bit smaller. Just adjust for the look you want and the size of shape. Incidentally, I use to be into a lot of detail and did 1/8" - 1/4" sized little eyes and flower centers. CRAZY! I'm thrilled to be designing cleaner lined, large shaped projects now.

This has been quick. I'll look at my machine later on and try to get exact numbers and post some close up shots too. That's one of my very first pillows. It popped up at my in laws over the holidays last year. My teenaged niece has used it on her bed for years and the applique really held up under heavy use. That's an old Debbie Mumm daisy print. Boy, my look has sure evolved, huh?!

p.s. We call him Mister! He has nothing to do with applique, but that pillow photo just doesn't cut it for me. Mister is walking and daddy comes home from Iraq in a few months! I need to get busy working on a big boy bed ensemble quick. We're thinking farm animals or bears in the woods.

Still Feeling The Blues

Collecting more evidence of the blues. I think I keep photographing that birdie quilt because I wanted to get accurate color on at least one photo. The darks are a rich chocolate brown that looks fabulous with the aqua. The little rod with clips is one of my favorite things. Bed Bath and Beyond or Ikea. It's a great way to hang inspiration, unfinished objects, swatches of fabric and more.

I just shipped the Birdy, Apron, and Bag pattern off to Quilter's Warehouse. They will have them up asap. The Breakfast pattern and Dandelions pattern will be available in about ten days or sooooo.

I've had lots of e-mails about my applique. I use high speed easy does it no brainer fusible applique. View my tutorial on the right sidebar. You're gonna love how easy this applique method is.