My Appliqué Technique

I have always loved to appliqué, but I have never been 100% happy with the techniques that I've tried for machine appliqué. Until now!

I want to share my method with you because it is so simple, fast and has a wonderful finish. If you're not crazy about machine appliqué, this method might change the way you feel about it.

My home-made appliqué starch recipe

In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with

2 teaspoons of cold water.

Add 1 cup of boiling water and stir. Then fill to the 2-cup line with cold water and stir.

Trace an appliqué shape onto the dull side of a piece of freezer paper. Cut out the shape about ½” outside of the drawn line. Place the shape, shiny side down, onto the dull side of another piece of freezer paper. With a dry hot iron press the two pieces of freezer paper together. Peel the double-thick freezer paper off your ironing board, and cut out along the drawn line.

Shiny side down, place the freezer paper shape onto the wrong side of a piece of fabric. Press the freezer paper templates in place with a dry hot iron.

Cut away the fabric around the shape leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.

Apply the starch to the ¼” seam allowance with a small paint brush.

Using a mini iron and an awl, press the seam allowance towards the freezer paper.

Once the shape has cooled, remove the freezer paper template and if needed finger press the seam allowance back into place.

Using a cotton 2-ply fine embroidery thread that matches your appliqué shape and a 60/8 needle in your sewing machine, sew the shape to your background very close to the edge with a straight stitch. Start sewing with a very short stitch to anchor the shape and gradually increase the stitch length as you go around. As you get close to where you started sewing, decrease to a shorter stitch and remove from your sewing machine and cut the threads.

Honeybee Blooms

In the next couple of weeks, several of my new patterns will be out. But I couldn't wait to give you a sneak peek at one of my new Charm Square patterns.

It's called Honeybee Blooms. I have a wonderful method of appliqué to share with you that helps to make this super fast and easy. In fact, my 11-year-old daughter Jenny did most of the appliqué on this quilt!

I love it and I hope you will too!

Sweet Summer

Our daughter Jenny and her pony Holly

Summer has flown by, but it has been amazing! We have been so busy, days filled with lots of horse shows and fun trips to the lake, long evening walks, just oodles of time spent with our children. We have had a ball it has been a summer I will never forget!

I did find some time to relax and design some new patterns. They will be coming out in the next month or two and I am so excited about them. It's wonderful to be back in my quilt studio and am thrilled to be playing with some beautiful new Moda fabrics. I can't wait to show you my new designs!

Confetti Cake for Christmas

Confetti Cake will look amazing in any fabric, but one of my favorites is Moda's new Merry and Bright collection due out next month. I just finished this quilt and I really like the way the colors and patterns come together!

Hard to believe Christmas fabric is already back in Quilt Shops, but there is nothing like planning ahead.

If you would like to order this pattern, just send me an email!

Margot

My Sewing Studio

Here is a little peek inside my sewing studio

Margot

Happy Easter

The best way I can think of to spend this Easter weekend is with friends and family ... and of course FABRIC! I think all of the new fabric collections in the stores today are just amazingly beautiful. I love designing with them and I can't wait to get started this afternoon on a quilt design with the new Moda collection, Posh. If you have not seen this fabric yet you should have a look at your local quilt shop for it.
I'm so happy it comes in 5" charm squares because this collection is so beautiful it's almost too hard to cut up. Love it!!

Happy Easter everyone!
Margot

Summer Splash

Summer Splash is my new table runner pattern. It's designed with Mary Engelbreit's fabric collection Friends and Flowers. This pattern is quick to make and so much fun! In each pattern I include my homemade starch recipe and my easy machine appliqué technique. The finished size is 23" by 45".

Beautiful Blooms

I have a new quilt to show you called Beautiful Blooms. This winter several of my quilt designs have focused on flowers and blooms. We have had nothing but snow, snow and more snow for months. I am longing for green grass and Beautiful Blooms!

Margot

The Bunny Patch

Look who I found sleeping in "The Bunny Patch" this afternoon. What is it about Cats and Quilts? Rascal is my offical quilt snuggle tester. I adore that about him.

Rascal you are so sweet!

Wild Turkeys

We don't live on a turkey farm but if you came to visit you might wonder. Here are four of the flock of twenty-eight turkeys that we see on our property several times a week. They are so much fun to watch.

Amazingly, wild turkeys can fly!

Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery Block of the Month

Exciting news!!

Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop has invited me to be part of her Designer Mystery Block of the Month Quilt. She has ask 12 designers to create a block using the Peace on Earth collection by 3 Sisters for Moda.

I am so excited to be included in this project.

Thanks Kimberly!

To find out more and to sign up for the Mystery block of the month follow this link to the Fat Quarter Shop.

http://www.fatquartershop.com/Designer-Mystery-BOM-Peace-on-Earth-3-Sisters.asp?Store_id=499&T=1

Country Charm

My pattern Country Charm has a new look with Moda's new Hemming House collection. This table runner finishes 19" by 53". I sure love those Moda Charm Squares.

Frosty Morning

This morning the sun is shining and the birds are singing. After an early morning walk I thought it would be nice to have a picture of Peppermint Twist hanging from one of our trees. I know that most of us living with the snow are looking forward to Spring after this very long winter, but today the crisp frosty air and brilliant sun remind me that the Canadian winter has its wonderful moments!

I have been very busy designing new patterns and meeting deadlines and I am sorry to say that I have not had the chance to blog lately but I'm back with some new patterns I hope you will like.

I said I loved the new Dandelion Girl fabric by Moda that is scheduled to come out in March but I am not sure if I said just how much I loved it.

It is so pretty!! I designed three quilts around this fabric. This is the center of one of my new patterns, The Bunny Patch. This 50" square quilt would make a great table cover or wall hanging for Easter or all summer long.

My website http://www.thepatternbasket.com/ will have four of my new patterns for spring added any day so please come by for a visit.

Margot

Sweet Hearts

Just in time for Valentines day ...... for all of us who love hearts here is my new pattern Sweet Hearts!

Life In The Country

One of the wonderful things about living in the country is having special visitors. This handsome boy comes to visit me almost every day and stops to feed outside my sewing studio window. I took these pictures from my studio this afternoon and I wanted to share them with you. (I wonder if he would like a quilt to keep him warm this winter!)

Quilt Display Ideas

Last Spring we moved into our new home that we built on an old Christmas Tree Farm. Ever since we moved in I have been trying to figure out the best way to hang my quilts for display. One of the walls in our family room is perfect for a large quilt, but since I love them all and it was very difficult to make a choice, I decided to hang four at once!

I am always looking for wonderful new ways of displaying quilts so if you have an idea that you would like to share, I would love to hear about it. You can contact me through my website http://www.thepatternbasket.com/

Look who is sitting on the couch.
Rascal! Can you tell he likes having his picture taken?!

Margot

Dandelion Girl

I have several new patterns coming out in the next month and I am so lucky to work with some of Moda's beautiful new early spring collections. Dandelion Girl coming out in February is absolutly one of my favorite collections ever! I admit that I have fallen inlove with this collection. Fig Tree Quilts has done it again. Love love LOVE the colors!

Here is a very little sneak peek at my new pattern design. I can't wait to show you what the finished quilt looks like!

Happy Saturday!

Margot

Heart Pincushion

Every sewing area needs a pincushion. This is my Heart Pincushion pattern available to download FREE! from my website. What I like most about this little pincushion is that it's really chunky so you don't have to worry about the pins coming through the back every time you pick it up. You know this is not a very nice feeling if this has happened to you. What is even better is that you don't make just one, the pattern gives directions to make two at the same time.

A great Valentine's or anytime gift for a quilting friend!

Me and My Sister Designs made my Heart Pincushion into a strawberry to help introduce their beautiful new line of Moda fabric, Strawberry Lemonade, at fall market. Visit their website to have a look, they are so sweet! http://www.meandmysisterdesigns.com/

Please follow the link on the right to The Pattern Basket website to download this FREE! pattern.

Potted Blooms

Potted Blooms is one of my favorites. I love this quilt! I just put it up on dispaly in my office so I can admire it every day.

With all the snow outside, it's nice to have something blooming inside. I can't wait for spring!

So Sweet

This is our little Rascal. Our son named him and he sure is living up to his name! He can usually be found in my studio sleeping on my chair. I have to get up very early in the morning and get into my studio before he makes himself at home.

We have three Cats -- Rascal, Ms. Annie and Teddy.

Confetti Cake

Here is a photo of my new pattern, Confetti Cake. I love the way this quilt comes together with an easy strip piecing method. I had so much fun designing it with Moda's 10" Layer Cakes in mind. Confetti Cake is available from these great on-line stores: http://www.thefatquartershop.com/ http://www.shabbyfabrics.com/ http://www.fatquarterquilters.com/

Visit your favorite!

If you would like a list of the quilt shops in your area that carry my patterns, visit my website and e-mail me.

Welcome the the Pattern Basket Blog January 10, 2008