8/31/13

August NewFO Linky Party and Giveaway


It's been another busy month here at the Three Cats Ranch. We've spent a lot more time processing fresh fruits and vegetables than sewing up new projects in the sewing room. Next month will be even busier since we'll be taking off for Colorado on the first Saturday in September, and not returning until the last Sunday. And please note: because of our travel plans, I'll be closing this linky party off on Wednesday, September 4th at one minute before midnight, so no dawdling!

But we're not here to talk about September. We're here to see what's new for August! Everyone who links up for this month's challenge will be entered to win the August llama needle nanny.


Pretty cute, huh? So here's what's new in my sewing room for August:

Earlier in the month a dear friend from high school came up to spend the weekend, and she wanted to learn to quilt. I figured the best way to cram a quilting lesson into a weekend project was for each of us to make a doll quilt. Mine was going to be unspoken for, so I made a quilt to order for a special little girl in Colorado. I was informed that she liked pink, blue, and Hello Kitty, and this is what I came up with:


 This was a start *and* a finish, but finishes are never required for the NewFO Challenge. All you need to do is start something new!

Then, last weekend, I made this Wine Waiter from a pattern I found at Sew Happy Me.



Yeah, sorry. That's a finish too. It's a housewarming gift for a good friend. The party is tonight!

But here's my official NewFO project for August: Block 1 (Laundry Day) for the Wind in the Whiskers BOM. Each block in the quilt can be made individually, but since I'm making the whole quilt, I cropped the borders off for purposes of this image so that you can see how far I'll be taking the block before it's finished. This next image is from the pattern cover. I'm a long way from this point.


This is turning out to be a challenging project, and I spent several hours just studying the pattern and organizing the fabrics to be sure I had put the right fabric with the right applique piece. There seemed to be two background pieces for the sky and the grass, but eventually, I decided that the sky was the actual background for the whole block. I hope I'm right because I gulped hard and cut out the background.


The fabrics included with the kit are lovely. Because some of the appliques span more than one block, it's been a bit of a challenge trying to decide what I can fuse and what I can't. For example, I can't finish off these dogwood blossoms until I make the leaves and the branches in the top left corner. And I can't do that until I make the block above the one I'm currently working on. Still, I fused the flowers to the fusing medium, and I could fuse the flower centers to the flower. I just left the paper backing on the backs of the flowers until I'm ready to use them.


When I'm ready, I'll use wax paper templates to help me with the placement.


That was fine and dandy for the flowers, but this would prove to be more complicated yet. The little chickadee below is made up of eight pieces, three of which are teeny tiny. When I read the pattern originally, I recall reading that a product called The Applique Pressing Sheet was recommended. This product is new to me, and so I wasn't really sure why I needed it until I tried working with all the pieces of the chickadee.


If you look again at the image above, you can see that the bird is perched on a branch. Even so, I couldn't see how I could just partially fuse the bird. Then, I remembered the recommended product. Supposedly, I can fuse the overlapping pieces to one another so that the whole bird and branch become one unit. With the pressing sheet, the overlapping pieces will fuse to one another, but not to the pressing sheet. I can just peel the whole thing of the pressing sheet and set it aside until I'm ready for it, as I did with the flowers. I asked for expedited delivery so that I can have it by Tuesday of next week, and I can continue on with my block. For now, I have the pieces safely stored in a little envelope. I'll let you know how the product works when it arrives.

So that's as far as I got with my new project.  Now, I'm ready to see what's new at your end.  Here are my easy-to-follow, friendly guidelines.

1.  Please link-up with your newly started projects from August, finished or not.  If you feel like it, show us the progress you've made on any other previously posted NewFO projects.

2.  Please link back to this post from your blog.  Also, please link to your blog post, not your blog.  Links to entire blogs will be edited or deleted entirely.  Also, this is not a place to advertise your Etsy shop or some other event.  To be clear, you may include references to other events in your post, but there should be something related to your NewFO's as well.  Links provided for the sole purpose of promoting other events or shopping experiences will be deleted without apology.  (Sorry, but some folks can't seem to resist crashing the party.)

3.  Don't have a blog?  Upload an image to this FlickR group and link to that.  If you have questions about how to do that or about how to link up, please email me.  If you're having trouble posting your image, email it as an attachment, and I will be happy to post it for you.  Also know that it takes a bit for your thumbnail to appear, so don't despair.  It will appear eventually.  You might need to "refresh".

4.  Obviously, I need some way to contact you no matter how you link up.  No email address and no other way to contact you equals no entry in the giveaway.  Email me separately if you need to.

Because of our travel plans, I'll need to shut this one down a little earlier than usual on Wednesday, September 4, 2013.  Winner of the needle nanny will be announced on Thursday, September 5, 2013!  We will ship anywhere in the universe, so international and interplanetary participants are always welcome!

Let's see it then. What's new?

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27 comments:

quiltzyx said...

Good luck with the new project - her designs are so beautiful, but I think tweezers might be helpful, along with the pressing sheet. I do have one of those & it's the only thing that has saved my iron from fusible web!! I used it on my 'Golden Gate Fly-by' quilt, especially when I made my seagull. It's a sort of teflon sort of sheet.
I have to take a picture tomorrow of the latest project, then I can do my post. Yay!

Lynne said...

That new project is cute but loos so complicated.

I couldn't get an image to appear -- I tied to upload one from my computer and even that didn't work! Sorry!

Diane Wild said...

The Pressing Sheet is wonderful. I can't believe you've been without this remarkable product for so long.

Debbie said...

Love your projects.
In a pinch you can use the release paper (off of the fusible web---I saved a few large pieces) in place of the pressing sheet. I figured this out when I lost/misplaced mine for a while.

WoolenSails said...

I love that design but it is a lot of work with all the fusing and thinking, lol. I got lost just trying to figure out some simple appliques so I gave up and went with wool, my brain doesn't work to well lately.

Debbie

Dana Gaffney said...

I'm fascinated with this one, I have a couple of her patterns but can't wrap my mind around how hard they look, please give me hope.

Ray and Jeanne said...

Hello Kitty is so cute! I love Laundry Day - can't wait to see yours finished! Have a great time in Colorado. We are in Estes Park for a number of weeks. Will leave mid-September. Enjoy! ~Jeanne

Lynette said...

She is sure to *love* that doll quilt. :) Perfect Hello Kitty fabric. And yes - I use that applique pressing sheet a LOT when I'm working on McKenna Ryan blocks. I would be lost without it. So many times I have allllmost bought the Wind in the Whiskers kit, and you're sorely tempting me again. heh! Who are you doing yours through?

Lynette said...

P.S. - Barbara, I don't know why the linky thing put me in two times (5 an 6) - letting you know so you can delete one of them.

Harriett said...

Love your NewFO. Your Wind in the Whiskers is going to be darling.

Anonymous said...

Hi Barb,Love your mini kitty quilt!
My linky is #9.
Starting on my Christmas gifts!
Happy Stitching,Linda

msstitcher1948@yahoo.com

Pieced Brain Quilt Designs said...

Wow, it looks wonderful! I hear your pain... the applique pieces will make you feel like pulling your hair... I can't wait to see the completed quilt. I think I would make wall hangings of each block so we could admire every single one in detail. Oh, I joined the linky party but must have messed up when trying to add the picture. Oh, well... :-)

Claire said...

I love that new project! Don't know as I'd ever tackle it, but I don't mind when quilting is sometimes a spectator sport. :-)

Quilting Babcia said...

I picked up one of the Fons and Porter applique pressing sheets with a coupon from JoAnn's a while back and really loved it when I did the Angel quilt a while back. Your new project looks really challenging but will be worth it in the end.

Becky said...

I have two pressing sheets (they're great). One below lets you fuse to it then peel, the one above saves the iron! I love all your projects!

Elizabeth said...

Looks like your new applique project is coming along! Yes, applique pressing sheets are a wonderful thing to have around. I have two and use them often! Thanks for hosting this fun gathering each month! Already looking to September to add more fun starts!

Lyndsey said...

I love your August NewFO but it looks a little complicated. The dogwood blossoms are cute. The wine waiter is fun. I must have a look at that pattern as older daughter has just moved and a house warming present is needed.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Cute little Hello Kittie! The bottle covers just crack me up. Now that is way too serious applique for me.

Diane Wild said...

Still hot so I had time to link up today. Yay!

Kate said...

I'm in awe of your Laundry Day project, there is no way I could keep up with all those little pieces. I actually have one of those applique pressing sheets, I needed one for an applique class. After the class I decided applique wasn't for me.

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

Love your new project! So cute! Looking forward to see your progress!

c said...

I wanted to do your new project, but despite the need to do it, the price turned me back. Now I can live doing it thru you-thanks.
It is going to be so wonderful step by step

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

That applique quilt is cute, but looks pretty hard. That stuff moves too much for me. I'm just not that good at tiny details. We'll both be gone in Sept, so, enjoy your trip.

Denise :) said...

Cute, cute! I love your laundry day block -- very sweet!! :)

Aileen said...

So many Projects. You are Awesome...but you know that! LOL
Aileen in FL

Junebug613 said...

I have seen that pattern in the catalogs, but it looked like it was more complicated than my level of quilting. Now that I see all the pieces, I'm sure it's above my skill level!! Can't wait to see how yours comes along.

Mary said...

Linked up just before the deadline. I'm glad I found the Linky Party before it closed. Thanks for the Fun eye candy this month.