NEW - APRIL BANNER OF THE MONTH .... Stormy Weather......and a WINNER!!!!-

A little stormy weather doesn't bother Sunbonnet Sue. She's prepared! Here she is in our latest pattern offering....soon to make its appearance in our sales room. 

April Banner of the Month

Sunbonnet Sue knows "April showers bring May flowers!" In her mind, they're already blooming. This block, basically, a log cabin, is very easy to make, as are all of the blocks we include in our applique patterns.

The rain is coming down.....raining cats and dogs....well, dogs, anyway......

....but even her pooch is protected from the deluge!

On she goes....promises to keep. 

Our banner patterns include instructions for fusible web applique but you can do them any way you please. This sample was sewn with the web and machine appliqued.

Just right for our recent stormy weather!

Again, Joan, over at Moose Stash Quilting has done herself proud, testing our patterns. Thank you so much, Joan, for another gorgeous sample.

And on another note:

A little dust storm called a Haboob came through last week. Haboob is an Arabic word originally describing sand storms in the Sudan. It is pronounced hay-boob. As was the case last week. the Haboob preceded a thunder storm. You can read more about it here. 

And on a final note:

  It's time for a drawing and someone has won their choice of a Prairie Cottage Corner pattern!

And the winner is:  Linda H.

Congratulations, Linda

End of the Week and New Patterns

I'm giving you all a sneak peak at some new patterns coming down the road.  It's the end of the week here on the prairie.  We got sunburned weeding the garden earlier this week, discovered a family of skunks living under our neighbor's storage shed, and managed to get some finished quilts photographed properly, for a change.  It's quite hot today and will be in the 100's by Sunday (humidity about 12%).

Here's the first pattern, for Christmas.  This is just the computer version of it but the yardage and cutting instructions are all done.  It's called "Santa Claus" (isn't that original?), for now.

And another pattern, for Autumn, called, for now, "Harvest Time".  This may be three patterns in one, what do you think?  Again, this is just the drawing.....not the finished sample, yet.  

I'm sorry to have to mess these up a little with the copyright.  I'm supposed to have a watermark on them but haven't finished the confirmation on that yet.  Should be done in a couple of days, though.

Time to stop working, though, and put the feet up for a while.  Thinking about what to fix for the weekend meals to keep everyone going forward and happy.  Hmmmm.......tomorrow, we'll cook something together, eh?  I've been thinking of a bean salad and/or maybe Chile Rellenos.

8 Great Potholders Embroidery Suggestions

Basic Embroidery Stitches for Appliqué

Over the next little while, I’ll be showing you the stitches I use with my appliqué projects.  Our model today is Sunbonnet Sue with her doll.  This is a 6” potholder design from our pattern, “Eight Great Potholders”.

We’ll be looking at and learning about the Blanket or Buttonhole Stitch, Chain Stitch, Lazy Daisy, Stem Stitch, French Knot and Satin Stitch.  In the Sue, above, you can see all but the Satin Stitch used.  I’ll also include some rarer stitches such as the Ribbed Spider and the Bullion Knot.

The first stitch of importance to appliquérs is the Blanket or Buttonhole Stitch.  This is the stitch that makes a nice, protective edge to your appliqué pieces, whether they are turned edges or raw edges with fusible webbing underneath.

Begin the stitch by going down through the appliqué piece about 1/8” to ¼” from the raw edge and coming up right next to the raw edge.  Always go DOWN through the appliqué piece.  Coming UP through the appliqué piece tends to raise it and may cause its position to shift.

To make your next stitch, go down through the appliqué piece again, about 1/8” to ¼” away from the first stitch, holding your working thread so that when you come up through the background piece at the edge of the appliqué, you are making a loop.  Pull the thread firmly (but not too tight) so that the fabric is not pleated or pinched. 

Continue this way until you need to rethread your needle.  To stop, make a stitch and immediately go down through to the back, anchoring your last stitch.  You can make a small knot or weave the remaining thread through your back stitching to tie it off.

 Here are some examples of how to use this stitch.

Here you see the Blanket Stitch in blue along the edge of Sue’s bonnet, in company with the Lazy Daisy and Chain Stitches.

Here you see it used on the tiny head of her doll as well as on her hand and dress.  This embroidery is over two-sided, fusible webbing.  For small, intricate shapes, the webbing works very well, as you can tell.

Here is the stitch used on her shoes in company with a tiny chain stitch.  We used one strand of embroidery floss here, since the shapes are so small.  These potholders bear up well with use but I see a lot of people just hanging them in the kitchen as decorations.  The embroidery does make them a little precious, I think.  I love appliqué with embroidery.

Here is the back of Sue’s dress and a bit of the sleeve with almost all the stitches in view.  They work very well together.

I hope you enjoy using these stitches.  I think I’ll give this pattern away for our next drawing coming up.

Happy Stitching!

"Simply Sue" - A great way to

 welcome SPRING!

Don't forget to leave a comment.  When you do, you are automatically entered for a chance

 to win a free pattern (below).

Yes, I said SPRING!  It's high time we looked  Old Man Winter in the eye and said it:  SPRING! SPRING! SPRING! SPRING!

So there!  I've put our "Simply Sue" pattern on sale this week at 30% off, in celebration of the Spring that must surely come soon.  That's a savings of $3.00.

Here's the "Simply Sue" quilt hanging in The Quilt Crossing in Odessa, WA

The pattern is really simple - you can do as much or as little embellishment as you want.  I like embroidery, so use it for all the small things like the shoes, flowers and accessories.

Here, I used some fabric pens to "paint" the baby doll face and blanket.  I added some eyelet for the petticoat and hat; and embroidery for the flower.  It's fun.

I hope you will try this pattern for yourself.  You can do all kinds of things with it.  Here it is in pastels AND crayon colors:

                                  

Happy Stitching - Visit Prairie Cottage Corner Store to buy this pattern.