Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Flower Quilt

I used the new Delft Designs die for the Big Shot to cut and paper piece the flowers on this quilt. The Stampin' Up! fabrics are called, Twitterpated, Springtime Vintage and Flirtatious. They are 18 X 28 in. fat quarters.
You'll also need batting and 1.10 m. of backing fabric.


Instructions
From cardboard (I used a file folder) cut patterns of both Delft Designs petals and circles with the 2-1/2 in. and 3 in. circle dies and the Big Shot.

Draw a line down the centre of the large petal pattern.
Careful cutting of the Twitterpated striped fabric is important if you want to use it for every other square in the binding as I have done. Or, you can use equal amounts of all 9 fabrics. You'll also need 8 petals.

Trim the smallest amount of fabric from one side to straighten the edge, then cut six 2-1/2 in. X 18 in. strips. Sub-cut each strip into 5-1/2 in. and 12-1/2 in. sections for the binding.
Fold the remaining fabric into quarters and place the large petal pattern next to the cut edges with the wide end close to the fold.
Lay a straight edge close to the side of the pattern.

Use a rotary blade to cut through all 4 layers of fabric.

Position the fabric on the die with the diagonal edge along the side of the large petal and cut out 4 petals at once with the Big Shot.









Place the pattern close to the diagonal cut edge of the remaining fabric and use the rotary blade to cut beside the other side of the pattern.


Position all 4 layers on the die and cut out 4 petals with the Big Shot.
Open the last piece of fabric and fold along the length only. Place straight edge 1-1/4 in. from the fold and cut.










Open the strip and cut off the ends, leaving a 2-1/2 in. X 8 in. strip. Sub-cut a 2-1/2 in. square for the centre of the the sashing and save the 2-1/2 in. X 5-1/2 in. section for the binding.

Choose 4 fabrics for the blocks and cut an 18 in. square from each. You will also need 6 petals of each fabric.
The strips for the binding will be cut from the blocks after the flowers are appliqued.
Fold each the remaining fabrics into quarters and position the large petal pattern next to the cut edges in a corner.
Place the straight edge close to the side of the petal.
Cut through 4 layers with a rotary blade.
Position the fabric on the die and cut 4 petals with the Big Shot.
Place the fold of the remaining doubled fabric on the die in the centre of the large petal.






Open the fabric and cut 2 petals with the Big Shot.
Choose 4 fabrics for the sashing strips and squares. Cut four 2-1/2 in. X 18 in. strips from each fabric. From 1 strip of each fabric cut two 2-1/2 in. squares. Save the remaining 2-1/2 in. X 13 in. strip for the binding.

Cut 8 large flower petals from each fabric.
Sew a running stitch around each petal 1/8 in. from the edge.

Position the small petal pattern on the fabric petal and pull up the thread. The edges will curve over the pattern.
Press the seam allowance and remove the pattern.
Hold two petals together and take tiny stitches through the pressed edge ending before the curve of the petals.
Sew 16 petals together and pin to a block. Notice that the flower won't include any of the block fabric.
Sew the outer edge of the flower to the block by hand or machine.
 Turn the block over and trim the fabric from behind the flower leaving a 1/4 in. seam allowance. Save the block fabric for binding strips and flower centres.
Cut two 2-1/2 in. X 5-1/2 in. strips for binding.
 Cut 3 in. circle from scrap for flower centre.
 Sew a running stitch around circle. Position 2-1/2 in. circle pattern piece on fabric circle and pull up thread. Press the edge and remove the pattern piece.

Pin the circle to the flower centre and sew close to the edge by hand or machine.


Use a scant 1/4 in. seam allowance to piece the quilt top.
For sashing sew squares and strips to make left, middle and right narrow sections. Press the seams towards the small squares.
Sew leftover strips to blocks and press seams toward the blocks.
Join the sashing and block sections pressing the seams toward the blocks.
Place right side down and tape edges to work surface with masking tape keeping the fabric square. Cover with batting and backing fabric and pin through all layers.
Quilt as desired. I sewed rows spaced 1/4 in. apart on the sashing, creating a grid on the small squares. Then 1/4 in. inside and outside the flower centres.  Finally, 1/4 in. inside each petal and 1/4 in. outside the flower outline.
For the binding sew 12-1/2 in. strips together using striped fabric between each print. Sew 5-1/2 in. strips together in the same way. Press seams open and cut these into 2-1/2 in. sections. Sew the sections together into a continuous strip. Fold and press length. Sew around trimmed edges of quilt using a 3/8 in. seam allowance, with mitred corners. Hand sew folded edge to back of quilt.

Supplies
Twitterpated fabric 125412
Flirtatious fabric 122335
Springtime Vintage fabric 121817
Big Shot 113439
Dresden Designs die 125597

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Ink Techniques: Direct to Paper

Swipe an ink pad directly onto card stock or paper for a number of effects. I especially love to use this technique to imitate denim!
To produce the look of suede, I used scrunched up freezer weight plastic, inked it on an ink pad and pressed it onto card stock. You'll get a more subtle version if you use thinner plastic.














Faux Denim
Swipe Night of Navy ink pad over Marina Mist card stock from side to side and top to bottom.
 Repeat with Not Quite Navy ink pad.
Scrunch up plastic (I used a freezer bag), pick up ink from a Not Quite Navy pad and stamp it onto the card stock.









Faux Suede
Use scrunched up plastic to apply More Mustard ink to Soft Suede card stock.
Repeat with Chocolate Chip ink.
Optional
Crumple card stock, smooth out and swipe with Chocolate Chip ink pad.
Swipe edges with Chocolate Chip ink pad.









Supplies
Stamps
-Perfectly Penned 122890
Ink
-Night of Navy ink pad 102977
-Not Quite Navy ink pad 103008
-More Mustard ink pad 103162
-Chocolate Chip ink pad 100908
-Real Red ink pad 103133
Paper
-Marina Mist card stock 119682
-Soft Suede card stock 115318
-Whisper White card stock 100730
-Real Red card stock 102482
-Brights DSP stack 117155
Tools
-Decorative Label punch 120907
-Ticket Corner punch 119867
Accessories
-Antique brads 117273