Needle turn notes..

I am working away at my Needle turn appliqué tulips..as you all know.... by the ongoing posts of my gradual progress.  I am learning and getting better, but thought I would share a few tips that I have learned along the way.

First...I am not an expert! So take anything I say with a that in mind! But I did learn a lot on line from other bloggers.
This is a really great post about Needle Turn Appliqué..over at Cabbage Quilts.

I have to admit, I thought I was "cheating" by finger pressing the pieces first! But Cathy assures me I am still "legal" LOL
Finger pressing the edges makes it so much easier to fold under the edge with the needle.

Next...learning to tie a "quilters knot" made a huge difference. Who knew??  It is larger, and doesn't pull through. There is a great instruction post here..so I won't repeat the directions.

When I started, I would hide the knot in the fold of the appliqué piece..

But I found that sometimes it would pull through, probably because it is usually at the raw edge of the material. So I find that it is better to come through from the underside, going through the background fabric as well as the appliqué piece..

I like to hold the work on my lap, as I usually do this when I am watching TV, but found that I had some trouble keeping it level, and not poking my finger. So I started using the plastic template sheet under to stabilize the work, and find that works great. This is just a plastic loose leaf divider page.

I work from right to left (I am right handed) and take small stitches, trying to just catch the edge. Remember that you don't need to stitch any parts, like the ends of the stems, that will be covered by another appliqué piece...

I am still having some trouble with the points! They seem a bit bulky and difficult to tuck under.
First, cut off the end of the point..

I stitch to the point...

add a stitch at the very end of the point..

Then turn the corner and tuck under the other edge..

It works, but sometimes looks and feels a little thick and bulky..

So...there are a few of my tips. Hope this helps any of you that are trying out needle turn. And you should...it is fun, and relaxing!!

Linking up now to the Needle and Thread Network...

and Freshly Pieced WIP..
                                                    

A WINNER ....and an apology!

I know...I am a couple of days late here. I could make excuses...but really, it doesn't matter....I am just late getting this posted! :) Sorry!

Anyway....the WINNER of the fat quarters from Maui is ..

     Betty Lou has left a new comment on your post "home sweet home":

     Welcome home, hope your winter get-away was as wonderful as your pictures. We lived on the     beach of Oahu, Hawaii for four year in the 70,s. would love a couple weeks back there again to hear the sound of the waves crashing on the beach.



Congratulations Betty Lou! I know this isn't quite the same as hearing the sound of the waves crashing on the beach..but maybe will give you a little reminder of the islands! I have emailed you, so please send me your address. 

Why I am so late here is because I was out in Calgary helping my daughter paint her apartment! 

And her dog , Zoe helped us too !!

We worked hard, and got most of it done in 2 days.  Saved some for another trip LOL!
And I wanted to pass along a great tip I found on Pinterest. I always save the leftover paint to repair chips and scratches as the year goes by, but what a lot of room they take up. So.....great idea here....
fill small jars with some of the paint...you dont need much for touch ups...and label it with the room painted and the kind of paint.

Then you can get rid of the big paint cans!! We have a place here that recycles paint, which is great. So all these are stored in a little box in the closet! What a great idea...why didn't I think of that years ago ???

appliqué update...again

While I was in Maui, I did not have my sewing machine (yes, I did go through some withdrawal !! hehe) ...but I did have my appliqué project.   You can see some background information on this in previous posts.

I thought that I had done LOTS !!   But when I laid them out..wow...I STILL have a long way to go!

I am not quite sure how big I am going to make this, but probably another "circle" of tulips longer, then the 1/2 circle and a maybe a border?? We will see.

I actually ran out of bits and pieces when away, so had to cut some more.  I had to make more of the bias tubes too. Remember those cool pressing sticks that I used?  The ones that were made of plastic, and I was a bit nervous about them melting???

Well, I had good reason to be nervous!! Yes, they do melt!! I guess I had the iron a bit too hot, and did not slide it out fast enough and ......it fused onto the plastic!!

Fortunately, my DH was able to skim the fabric off with a sharp knife...and very little damage!

Lesson learned!!

oh...and dont forget to enter my Maui giveaway here!!

So lets link up with The Needle and Thread Network..

and WIP at Freshly Pieced..
                                             

home sweet home

Well..I am home again.  We have gone from this....

to this....

But it is only -20 C (about 4 below F) !!! Help !!

But spring is just around the corner....right???

But thank you for hanging in there, waiting for me to come back to reality! As a special thank you to my followers...I have a little piece of Maui to give away!

If you are a follower, just leave me a comment...telling me where you would like to be right now! (Maui is a great choice btw.... LOL)

Open to ALL follower!
Please be sure that I can contact you....no email...no prize..sorry.
I will pick a random winner on Sunday , Feb 24! good luck!

quilt shop exploring

We are having a wonderful, relaxing time here on Maui! (and we missed a lot of very cold weather back home in Canada ...bonus!)  And of course no trip is complete without checking out the local quilt stores.  So here is a run down on what Maui has to offer.

We are staying on the West side of the island, on Ka'anapalli beach. The closest quilt shop to us is in Lahaina (the old whaling village...very interesting whaling museum there).
 It is called Quilts N Fabricland.


This shop is not easy to find, as it is tucked away on the second floor of  a little mall. It does have one wall filled with Hawaiian print fabric, but really not a lot of other fabric. A lot of the store is filled with ready made quilted items, like pot holders and handbags. Lots of patterns too, if you are looking for traditional Hawaiian quilting patterns. But, unusual for Maui...I found the staff here a bit unfriendly...maybe it was a bad day??

Apparently there used to be a second quilt shop in Lahaina, called the Needlework Shop, but is now closed. 

The next adventure was into Kahului...which is where the airport is in Maui. It is about 45 min away from here. This was a great store...it is called Sew Special and is located in the Queen Kaahumanu Shopping Mall.

It is filled to the brim with everything you might want to find!! And lots of great batiks!!

The staff here were very friendly and helpful. I spent a long time wandering around in this shop!

Kahului has another fabric store...it is very large...more like a Fabricland (in Canada) or perhaps a Joannes (in USA). It is right on the main street out of Kahului as you leave the airport...easy to see from the street. I must admit..I didn't actually spend any time here. ...I thought that Sew Special filled my quilt shopping needs!!
 

And there is one more place...down in Kehei, called the Maui Quilt Shop. I haven't made down to this shop yet! This picture is from their web page. It looks like a nice little shop though, so might have to venture down there and check it out.


Anyway...that is what Maui has to offer for quilt stores...just in case you are ever here and looking!

And just a last shot...this is watching the waves up on the North Shore!

Maui Moments

We are still relaxing and enjoying our time in Maui...it really is a paradise!

Maui (the island in red)  is the second largest island in the Hawaii chain.
 
                                     

Maui has a population of appox 145,000 people, and over 2 million tourists visit every year!!

It is called the "Valley Isle" because of the large valley formed by the two volcanoes. The larger, younger volcano to the east, Haleakalā, rises to more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above sea level, and measures 5 miles (8.0 km) from sea-floor to summit, making it one of the world's highest mountains. Maui's last eruption  occurred around 1790. 

The view at the top of Haleakala is quite amazing! I looks like a moonscape!  It is very cold up there too! A huge change from the temperature at the beach :)

Maui is also the destination for the Humpback whales. The whales migrate approximately 3,500 miles (5,600 km) from Alaskan waters each autumn and spend the winter months mating and birthing in the warm waters off Maui,  most leaving by the end of April. There are estimated to be about 10,000 humpbacks in the North Pacific.

 From the beach you can almost always see evidence of the whales, and watching them breach is a favourite activity ! 

                           http://www.wpclipart.com/animals/aquatic/whale/Humpback_whale_breaching.png

I have lots of pictures of the big splash ...after the whale has breached!!  It is very tough to catch a picture like this!! 

Another favourite activity is snorkelling off the beach.The water is generally clear, and there are lots of very pretty colourful fish.  (I dont have an underwater camera, so these pictures are from Maui travel sites)

http://www.hawaiidiscountblog.com/hawaii-honeymoon-maui-activities/

and the highlight is seeing a green turtle..

http://www.123rf.com/photo_1788604_green-sea-turtle-in-maui-tropical-waters.html

They are very large, and just seem to glide through the water! 

Another amazing thing about snorkelling is you can hear the whales "singing" under water!! 

I am not sure if this will work..but I found this Utube that is recording a whale song..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xo2bVbDtiX8

Anyway, hope you enjoyed spending some time on Maui with me!! We are enjoying it..especially since it is about -30C  (22 below F) at home right now!! and snowing !! 

applique update

I have posted before about my attempt at needle turn appliqué....the Webster's Tulips..from the book "Four Seasons of Quilts"
It was designed by Blue Meadows Designs, which I am sad to hear have closed their blog and online store.

                                    
 Anyway, she said that this pattern was inspired and named in honour of  Marie Webster, an American quilt designer who had a quilt pattern business at the beginning of the 1900's.  You can see some of the original quilts here.  The original Webster tulip pattern was called Wind Blown Tulips
                                           


















                                                image from::  https://www.practicalpatchwork.com/gardenpatterns.html


I am still working away at this sporadically..and some of the time, it is easier!! I still have some problems with the points though.

I thought I was doing well, getting several of these blocks finished..but when I laid them out, it looks like I have a long way to go !!

Guess I can post this as a WIP for a very, very long time !!

Linking up to The Needle and Thread Network..

and WIP Wed..