BLOG 37

Another week has gone by since I last updated my blog. Life just goes on apace and, like everyone else, I wonder where the time has gone. If I have been sewing, then I have tangible evidence of time not wasted so here are my efforts this week.

Decorative stitches

The shapes of the flowers are drawn onto the right side of the fabric with a water erasable marker. I then play about with the stitches on my machine and fill in the marked shapes and beyond. The ‘beyond’ part is important as heavy stitching causes the fabric to shrink and distort.

I check whether they still fit into the shape of the flower before carefully removing the backing paper, from the fusible, behind the flower only. I position and stick the flowers in place and trim from the back.

Stitched flower

This part of the progress is fiddly and I am sure there must be an easier way. But once I have positioned one flower, I am encouraged to continue! Eventually the whole panel will go onto another rectangle of the coloured background fabric, and onto cotton batting so I can zigzag around the cut edges to prevent fraying. I find that the batting gives extra body to the work during the zigzagging, thus preventing distortion.

Building up the panel

Detail

Another project I have in mind is to make a patchwork throw for the small settee in our lounge, the only room that doesn’t have a quilt on display! As a member of a couple of sewing groups where I really need hand work to do, I could quilt the throw by hand, a technique I need to practice more. The curtains and carpet in the lounge were here when we arrived 4 years ago and, although they were not my own choice, I really like them. So they are the starting point for the fabric palette.

Settee

And here is the palette of fabrics I have chosen to make a patchwork throw.

Palette of fabrics

All I need to do now is find a pattern that is speedy to construct but interesting enough to challenge me and look effective. Watch this space!