Sweet Snow Along 8 - Intricate Cutting and Embroidery

The goal this week is to assemble the Gingerbread and Snowflake blocks, and embroider some finer details on all blocks.

You will need:

             - pattern pages 7, 10, 17, 19, 28 and 31

             - 1 - 8½" fabric squares of Blue Painter’s Baby Buttons

             - 3 - 8½" fabric squares of White Vintage Ads

             - 1 - 8½" fabric squares of Black Candy Making Text

             - 1 - 8½" fabric squares of Red Painter’s Baby Buttons

             - the collection of fabrics

             - Fusible web -  EZ Steam®  or Steam-A Seam II Lite® 

             - Light fusible interfacing

             - optional - Whisper Web Mash Light® 

             - optional - Sewer's Aid® 

             - paper scissors and fabric scissors

              - optional: Mary KayBuckley's Perfect Scissors® 

              - optional: The Shark Applicutter® 

             - 10"  piece of parchment paper or a non-stick pressing sheet

             - white and black thread

             - black embroidery floss and embroidery needle

Products shown in blue are available at thimbles & things (Orillia, ON), Threads That Bind (Maxwell, ON) or your local quilt shop.

Blocks 7, 10, 17, 19, 28 and 31

Follow the same process as we did with the other applique blocks, but please be aware that these blocks require some finicky cutting and outline stitching. Note that blocks 10 and 31 have the same snowflake design.

Blocks 17, 28 and 31 have cutout areas. As you can see in the photos below, using a very small rotary cutter like the Shark Applicutter® helps getting the cutting started. I am only pressing down on the cutter here to make a slit to slip my small scissors into. By the way, Mary Kay Buckley's® small scissors are ideal for this kind of precise cutting.

  

     

Some blocks require noses, smiles, eyes etc. Here you have a choice, embroider by hand or use a permanent marker and draw on the features.

I have asked Sue B., a hand embroiderer extraordinaire, to explain a few specialty stitches, and she directed me to the following website as she felt she couldn't do it any better! Sue did mention that the Stem Stitch and the French Knot would work well in this project.

https://www.dmc.com/us/p-embroidery-stitch-guide.html

If you choose to draw on the features, then be sure to test your marker first. Check for bleeding of the ink and for thickness of the line. 

Using buttons for eyes etc. is great, but please remember not to apply them until AFTER your quilt has been quilted.

Square each block to 8". and remember to clearly label the blocks.

 Sweet Snow Along 9 will be posted March 8th. Mark your calendar.