Applique--now this is fun!

The first three months of work on my latest quilt project, Afternoon Delight, the 2020 Block of the Month for members of The Quilt Show has included both a learning curve and skill builder. I have never really done much applique as noted in previous blog posts. But that has all changed now.

This project is just what I needed. And, it is really enjoyable to just sit in front of the television and stitch.

These applique blocks, shown above, are the result of the first three months of this year-long quilt project. I decided to hand applique these blocks, since hand works is the most enjoyable and with which I have the least amount of experience.

These applique blocks along with the pieced blocks, at right, represent just three months of work. There are 64 blocks in all in this quilt.

I’m thrilled with my progress though. Not only am I current and even a little ahead, as related in my previous blog post, but this quilt is going to be lovely, and oh, so colorful. I’m using fabric from prior projects, so as I work, there is already a familiarity to this. Honestly, I love everything about this project.

I have enjoyed the applique process the most. I liken it to being a kid again. What a great activity. It was like I was back in kindergarten again, passing the time with my cutting, pasting, and sewing.

My scissors are a little sharper now; cutting is much more precise as I create templates out of thick freezer paper. Pasting doesn’t include a jar with a brush attached to the cap, but rather uses spray starch squirted into its own cap, and painted on with an artist’s paintbrush. The sewing isn’t done in holes punched out of cardboard cards using yarn and a huge, dull needle either. Today’s project uses a fine milliner’s needle, silk or cotton thread, and very tiny stitches.

There is also lots of pressing with an iron in today’s projects. I didn’t iron in kindergarten, but I did try my hand at it when I was little. My mother used to let me iron pillow cases and sometimes, my doll clothes. I loved to iron. It all came to an abrupt halt one day though when I ironed my doll’s plastic raincoat. I’ll never forget it. I was about five years old. The raincoat was light blue with double white stripes going vertically and horizontally to form a tiny checkerboard. As I put the hot iron onto the back of the coat, I couldn’t figure out why the iron wouldn’t glide smoothly across it like it did on the linens. I kept trying until I saw smoke and smelled something burning. My mother saw what I was up to and snatched the plug out of the wall. Oh, what a smelly, nasty mess.

My applique experience has been nothing like that. However, it wasn’t so easy at first. I made a couple of those blocks three times because I just wasn’t happy with how they turned out.

I tried various methods and techniques, but finally found the one that feels right for me. I’ve really enjoyed making these blocks and can’t wait until the next patterns come out in April.