Windowing Fusible Applique'

This is not a NEW IDEA (Windowing Fusible Applique')...it's a few years old.....but I thought I would trot it out because of a question I got from one of my fellow stitchers.

One of the girls wanted to make some quick door hanging decorations for patients in our local nursing home.
 I decided that the two-sided-fusible-web-windowing-technique would be just the thing.  So here goes.....

I picked out a section of the fabric, Spring Fling, that would allow me to collect 7 flowers and 3 dragonflies.

 I ironed the 2-sided fusible web to the back of the fabric.

Then, rough cut the parts I wanted in my door hanging.

Like this.....

Then, I cut carefully around on the outside edge.

I laid them out on the background, which was 12 1/2' x 18 1/2", and designed a vase to go with them, using plain copy paper.

I made the vase, by folding the paper, first, then drawing the shape and cutting it out while it was folded so it would be symmetrical.

I tried some different fabrics with the flowers for the vase and decided on this tonal batik piece I had in my stash.

I folded the fusible web and rough cut the shape about 3/8 inch away from the line traced from my pattern.  I cut out the "arm holes" on the actual lined edge.

Then, to "WINDOW" the shape, I cut out the center about 1/4" inside the traced line.

I laid it on the wrong side of the batik and fused it with a hot dry iron - about 5-8 seconds.

Then, I cut it out on the traced line of the outside edge of the shape.

Looks about the right size.  I cut out the "arm holes".....

....and removed the paper backing from all the shapes I had made so far....

....and laid them out on the background.

I drew shapes of stems and leaves on the paper side of the fusible and fused it to the wrong side of the green fabric.

All the elements......

were ready.

I began to lay them out on the background for the last time.

Everything's on there except the dragonflies.  I went ahead and ironed everything in place....then, added the dragon flies......and fused them, too.

All done!  Wasn't that fun?  It took about an hour and thirty minutes.  All I have left to do is to cut the backing, sew it to the piece, right sides together, leaving a turn-out space at the bottom; turn it inside out, press, and blind stitch the turn-out space shut.

TA-DA!!!!! The BEAT THE WINTER BLUES DRAWING for Prairie Cottage Corner PRIZES!!!!!!

Are you ready for the DRAWING for the Spring Blog Hop Prizes from Prairie Cottage Corner?  I've had so many wonderful comments and new followers and new subscribers, I've decided to draw EIGHT (8) NAMES instead of three from the commentators and followers lists.  DRUM ROLL.....

And the Winners are......

Barbara Woods

Karrie S.

Marion (in Germany)

Lyn

Gail Olney

Marjorie

Stasa Lynn

BJ Bevins

Congratulations!!!!!

Click HERE to view the patterns you may choose from.  Then EMAIL your choice to me and I will send the pattern to you in pdf format.

Spring Blog Hopping - Join the Fun

Spring is Sprung.

The grass is Riz.

I wonder where the Flowers is?

 TO WIN YOUR CHOICE OF ANY OF THE  PRAIRIE COTTAGE CORNER PATTERNS AVAILABLE NOW AT "PATTERN PEDDLERS" 

(or in the post below this one), JUST:

(1) FOLLOW ME,  AND 

(2) LEAVE ME A COMMENT TELLING ME WHICH ONE YOU LIKE THE BEST (If you're already a FOLLOWER, just say so in your comment - I'll be drawing THREE NAMES from the comments).

International participants welcome - your pattern will be sent by email in pdf format.

Join the Blog Hop Party by clicking here to see the list of participating quilty blogs.

Shhhhhh....and, by the way, YOU CAN HAVE A FREE PATTERN NOW if you  (1)subscribe to the email feed in the right hand side bar and (2) tell me in a comment that you've done so, then (3) email me at prairiestitcher at centurytel dot net to get the pattern.

NEW - For autumn - Coming soon - "Harvest Mice Wall Hanging Pattern"

On Our Way to Market 2013....well, part of us

"Harvest Ghost" and all of the following patterns will be available through PATTERN PEDDLERS at 2013 Spring Market in Portland, Oregon.  We hope retailers and others will enjoy our new offerings!

  

 Bird of Paradise Wall Hanging Pattern

Christmas Sunbonnet Sue Wall Hanging Pattern

Deutschesfest Potholder or Small Wall Hanging Pattern

Prairie Sweethearts Quilt Pattern

Autumn Wreath Wall Decor Pattern

Heart Etui Needle Case Pattern

8 Great Sunbonnet Sue Potholders Pattern

Harvest Kitty Wall Hanging Pattern

Harvest Mice Wall Hanging Pattern

Flowerbasket Sunbonnet Sue Quilt Pattern

 

I can't wait to show you the new patterns for Christmas 2013 and Spring 2014!

How to Stay Warm in Winter

It's been 24 degrees F. here forever, it seems.  And foggy!  What better way to endure winter, than stretched out with Louis L'Amour and two kitties?  About New Years Day, my DH was glad to have the company with the weather so cold.  And, of course, Bodecia and Norman were glad to help, even though it was such a sacrifice!

 Bodecia's not aware, yet, that she's the subject of an upcoming blog post.  Norman, however, is ready and waiting for top billing. " See my claws?  If not for furniture, then what?"  Notice all our furniture has coverings.

Finally, Bodecia is vaguely aware of the hovering "flashy-washy thing".  "Oh no!  Spots before my eyes!"

They're both exhausted from having had a night of uproarious fun, taking ornaments off the tree and batting them across the floor.  After so many years, you'd think they'd be bored with that.  I know WE ARE!  Well, so it's time to hibernate, definitely.  Stay comfy, all.  By the way, that's my almost-first-early-quilt providing the hugs.....a kitty fabric Turning Twenty.  The backing was a Laurel Burch kitty fabric that is so dreamy.  I still have a few little shreds of it left.

Aren't her designs wonderful?  I couldn't find a swatch of the exact one but love this one.  Thank you so much, Laurel Burch for all the lovely images and the rich colors.  Our world is better for all of that.

Coming up, I promise......Applique' Made Easy!

You had to find out sometime.......

 ....I'm a "horse nut".  I LOVE horses.  I've had these lovely pictures of famous-almost-undefeated-Thoroughbred-race-horse-Zenyatta for several months and I thought I would share them with you.  You can visit Zenyatta here.

This is Zenyatta with her exercise boy.  She ran most of her races at Santa Anita racetrack in California.  She is a 2004 mare out of Vertigneux by Street Cry.  Her pedigree includes such notables as Native Dancer, Nashua (twice), Hail to Reason and Princequillo (Secretariat's lineage too).  At 17.2 hands, she's a very tall lady.  She raced in 20 races and won 19 of them.....you can see more about her here.

After the tragedies of Barbaro and Eight Belles (both very heavily line bred from Native Dance through Mr. Prospector, who threw many foals that eventually broke legs due to bad ankles), I stopped watching horse racing altogether, so I missed her racing career.  Then, just before Christmas, I saw a documentary of her on television, so I became a fan.

Her racing style was very like Secretariat's in that she liked to come from behind and her stride, like his, as you can see, is very long.  The top photo is of her racing and the second one was taken after retirement at, I think, Lanes End thoroughbred stud, in Kentucky.  After retirement, she was bred to Bernardini, a grandson of Seattle Slew (A.P. Indy) which gives him the rich heritage of Princequillo and Bold Ruler (twice).  He also has Mr. Prospector in his lineage, so let's pray that the strength of Bold Ruler will negate the bad ankles and make their foal a strong and healthy runner.  Here's a picture of Bernardini, below.

He's a beauty.  He is also descended from Nearctic and, further back, the great lineage of War Admiral, son of Man O War and grandson of Fairplay.  These are great, strong bloodlines.

So, in March of 2012, Zenyatta gave birth to a lovely dark brown colt, dubbed Z12, for now.  Hopefully, he will get a fancy name, soon as he becomes a yearling.

Zenyatta, giving her baby some wonderful advice about how to negotiate life.  "It's more important to be nice than handsome", she's saying, "but very important to be strong and fast."

"Okay, baby Z, now, best foot forward.  Go ahead, smile for the camera.  O, wait, there are some hairs wrong here.  There!  Smile!"

And so they spent the summer at Lanes End and baby Z grew and grew.  Isn't he something?  He was just about ready to be weaned, I think, in this picture.  By the way, Zenyatta is in foal, again, this time to Tapit.

The world is watching to see how her babies do, now.  No matter what, though, Zenyatta joins the great ones of thoroughbred racing history and has earned her place with those that went before.  She not only beat the fillies, but, also, the colts.  And she did it with style.  No easy task.  You can buy the documentary I saw of her here.

Coming up next.......Applique' the Easy Way.....a tutorial.......