Pat Sloan's QuiltersHome: 2010 Meadow Breeze BOM

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July Part#6

First I have to say that I'm REALLY excited about the project photos that are coming in! It's motivating to share each stage! Put your photos at our flickr file
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1366594@N23/

And we are in the "Dog Days" of summer across much of North America.. and I dream of being somewhere warm, but not as 'sticky' as home is right now!

Our Aurifil thread is made in Italy! Have you been to Italy? I really think I'd like to go.. like now... although they tell me it is very hot there right now....Let me check the weather channel

mmm...I think I can brave these temps to be in Italy... what about you????
http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Milan+Italy+ITXX0042

Part 6 are two more of the appliqué on the pieced blocks. I'm having a blast drawing all the fun flowers for this quilt!

Be Frugal, draw the little dots inside the petals! CLICK HERE TO GET HEAT n BOND lite if you need more!

Cut out 'donut style'. CLICK HERE if you'd like the same scissors I use.. they are FABULOUS Darling!

Yes. I do cut out the centers of the little ones! And see how I 'fussy' cut the little dots... fun fun! And on the stems I pack them, on this fabric the design placement does not matter.

Here is how I laid out the petals.

I'm still stitching the whole quilt with my 40wt thread art kit. The dark green is done with 40wt 2887, all the rest in this block is done with 40wt 2210. I stitched the small petals first.

Switching from the blanket stitch to a straight stitch to travel to the next spot. When I get to the next blanket stitch spot I change the stitch back.

TIP – if your needle position moves when you convert from the straight to the blanket, adjust your straight stitch needle position to be the same starting spot as the blanket stitch.

Finishing up!

To end I do several stitches in place with my locking stitch. Then I trim close to the surface. You can also pull the threads to the back and tie a knot. CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR OWN GREAT SNIPS LIKE I USE!!

All the blocks up on the design wall!

***************************THE PATTERN****************************

CLICK HERE to Download AURIfil BOM by Pat Sloan Part 6

***************************THE PATTERN****************************

If you are not familiar with this fusible method, see my book 'Learn to applique' for how I do fusible and keep the shapes as soft as possible by cutting away.. plus it's economical as you don't waste fusible!
My book - http://patsloan.biz/learntoappliquewithpatsloan.aspx

Chat with me at my forum we make my quilt, I love seeing you work!
http://quiltmashup.com/index.php/topic,537.msg6460.html#msg6460

And Share photos at our Flickr Folder
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1366594@N23/

Be sure you are signed up for my newsletter, top right sidebar at Http://www.patsloan.biz.

Become a member of the AURlfil fan page on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pat-Sloan/59964830850?ref=ts#/aurifil.quilt.thread?ref=ts

and join MY facebook FUN PAGE http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pat-Sloan/59964830850?ref=ts

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June Part#5

click here to Download AURIfil BOM Meadow Breeze 2010 Part 5

FOLLOW below for all the good tips and info I post with each part!

JUNE Part#5

This Part 5 of Meadow Breeze, a 9 part Mystery Quilt!! The quilt is both appliqué and pieced and finished to a 36" square.

I LOVE Dragon flys so put in a sweet little guy this month... afterall it is summer here in Virginia!

Get out your stuff!

Here is how I cut the 'donuts' for all these shapes. The stems and dragon fly parts i did not cut out the center.. but you could if you like!

I decided to lay out just this much and then stitch. This way I was sure the circle flowers were well inside the seam line. The bottom stem will be stitched into the seam.

I'm still stiching the whole quilt with my 40wt thread art kit. The dark green is done with 40wt 2887.

Here is a tip on how I stitch all the green with out stopping. I 'travel' by changing from a blanket stitch to a straight stitch in certain areas. I also started this project right where the leaf meet the stem.

When I got the whole stem stitched I changed to a straight stitch. Be sure you watch where the needle position is when you change stitches. You may need to set it so they are in the same spot as often a blanket stitch is shifted off the straight stitch position.

Once I went to straight stitch I swivled the work so i could straight stitch on the edge of the blanket stitching I just did. I will go to the 'v'.

When i hit the 'v' I will change back to a blanket stitch and do the next stem.

Each time I want to 'travel' to a new spot I change stitches.. easy!

TIP - I went very slow when stitching around the tight curve. This gives me more control

Let's stitch the leaf and the dragonfly body with light green 40 wt 1147

All the peach and orange are done in 40wt 2210.. my peachy tone! The centers of the big dots are done with a different color... check it out!

40wt 2460 is a super burgundy shade.

I think it looks great for the small dots.. which I fussy cut by the way!!

I took a double strand of the same burgundy to stem stitch the atenna.

Here it is stitched. You could also use 28wt or 12wt thread for the antenna.

If you are not familiar with this fusible method, see my book 'Learn to appliqué' for how I do fusible and keep the shapes as soft as possible by cutting away.. plus it's economical as you don't waste fusible!

My book - http://patsloan.biz/learntoappliquewithpatsloan.aspx

Chat with me at my forum we make my quilt, I love seeing your work!

http://quiltmashup.com/index.php/topic,537.msg6460.html#msg6460

And Share photos at our Flickr Folder

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1366594@N23/

Be sure you are signed up for my newsletter, top right sidebar at Http://www.patsloan.biz.

And be sure you are a member of the AURlfil fan page on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pat-Sloan/59964830850?ref=ts#/aurifil.quilt.thread?ref=ts

and join MY facebook FUN PAGE http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pat-Sloan/59964830850?ref=ts

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May Part#4

This Part 4 of Meadow Breeze, a 9 part Mystery Quilt!! The quilt is both appliqué and pieced and finished to a 36" square.

Part 4 is "All about Berries", a very full border of berries and flowers.. so excited about this! I want this quilt to feel 'full' of appliqué.. I think this does it! It is also the largest part so you have plenty of time to finish it!

The Meadow Breeze Part 4 unit, a Basket of Berries and flowers!

Get out your stuff!

Cut your borders.....

Looking good in the neighborhood!

Full fusible stems... they are thin.

I'm always asked how I do my layouts as I often am working fusbile in large areas instead of a block. Usually I lay out everything then fuse it. But this time I decided to do the stem work and stitch it before adding the flowers. This DOES leave stitching under flowers and berries, but I think it's worth it since I found it easier to zip around the stems all at once.

First center the basket and add the bottom stems

next set of stems, fuse

And the top sets

here are the stems fused

I used a smaller blanket stitch, a 2" for the zig zag and about a 2.1 for the straight. Blanket stitched with 40wt 2887.. the best olive green ever!

You can see the small stitch allows you room on the other side. It's good to check this before you have stitched a lot.. just saying!

I want to share a bit about how I design. Sometime I know something is not 100% but I'm not sure what I need when I'm doing the drawing. So I do as much as I'm happy with, then I put the quilt on the design wall. Here is the border without leaves..

I forgot the leaves! That was what was bugging me but I couldn't figure it out until I had it on the wall.

Flowers added, leaves added.....

Put some 40 wt 2210 on the machine...

and stitch some berries! Remember to use your knee lift and turn every stitch to make the nicest berries in the Meadow!

Ok.... as of posting this I'm STILL stitching... this is REAL life baby!

My book - http://patsloan.biz/learntoappliquewithpatsloan.aspx

Chat with me at my forum we make my quilt, I love seeing you work!

http://quiltmashup.com/index.php/topic,537.msg6460.html#msg6460

And Share photos at our Flickr Folder

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1366594@N23/

Be sure you are signed up for my newsletter, top right sidebar at Http://www.patsloan.biz.

And be sure you are a member of the AURlfil fan page on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pat-Sloan/59964830850?ref=ts#/aurifil.quilt.thread?ref=ts

and join MY facebook FUN PAGE http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pat-Sloan/59964830850?ref=ts

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April Part#3

Part 3 is the 'Birds in the Air' pieced block with appliqué... your making 2 identical units for Part 3. Here is the first colorway that I'm making my quilt in

The Meadow Breeze Part 3 unit

And how it looks in the layout!

And a 2nd colorway! I mocked up the 2nd colorway as I'm not making 2 quilts.

The floral fabric unit

the layout is also a mock up

Following the directions.. cut some squares ... let the fun begin!

Sew four "Birds in the Air Blocks". I highly recommend you make one first to be sure of your seam allowance.

That was fun!

Trim the block to 6.5" x 6.5". Use a square ruler.. if you do not own one, now IS THE TIME to correct this horrible situation.. all quilters should own the following squares at a BARE minimum!

6.5"
12.5"
20.5"

Sew 2 blocks together.. this makes one unit.. Sew the other 2 blocks together for Part 3 assignment,

My friend Betty highly recommends ironing open the seam so you reduce bulk unde the appliqué that goes on this unit. Betty is very smart.. and does excellent appliqué.. beliver her.. I do!

Now Fuse your appliqué

put some green thread on the machine for stems

Voila.. your done with part 3!!

***************************THE PATTERN****************************

CLICK HERE to Download AURIfil BOM by Pat Sloan Part 3

****************************** KITS ****************************

CLICK HERE for kits!

****************************** THE REST ****************************

My book - http://patsloan.biz/learntoappliquewithpatsloan.aspx

Chat with me at my forum we make my quilt, I love seeing you work!
http://quiltmashup.com/index.php/topic,537.msg6460.html#msg6460

And Share photos at our Flickr Folder
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1366594@N23/

Be sure you are signed up for my newsletter, top right sidebar at Http://www.patsloan.biz.
And be sure you are a member of the AURlfil fan page on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pat-Sloan/59964830850?ref=ts#/aurifil.quilt.thread?ref=ts

and join MY facebook FUN PAGE http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pat-Sloan/59964830850?ref=ts

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March Part #2

I know you’ve been waiting for Part 2 of Meadow Breeze!!

“Meadow Breeze” is a 9 part Mystery Block of the month. The quilt is both appliqué and pieced and finished to a 36″ square.. perfect to hang on the wall or use as an accent on a nice big table!

Part 2 is the inner border. Here is the first colorway... I’m making my quilt in this one

The finishing kit - for this version

http://patsloan.biz/finishingkitformeadowbreezegreenblackversion-onlypiecingandbinding.aspx

And a 2^nd colorway! I mocked up the 2^nd colorway, the border is not pieced to the center.

The finishing kit - for this version

http://patsloan.biz/finishingkitformeadowbreezegreenlightfloralversion-onlypiecingandbinding.aspx

And here is our appliqué block for this part. See the pattern for the placement Diagram.

I’m offering kits for both of these pieced options… see my kit page at http://www.patsloan.biz

For my project I’m using all my 40 wt Thread Art kit colors for the appliqué and the piecing… let’s take a look!

Get all your goodies ready to go… the appliqué shapes are reversed since I’m doing fusible appliqué.

People always ask what product I use for my fusible. I use heat n bond light, and I cut out the center of the shape whenever possible. This means my fusible is mostly ‘basting’ the shape to the background and my center is always soft.

And it’s also very economical!! You do not waste product by making full fusible shapes

This butterfly wing is a combo cutout! You can put a dot in the part that you cutout of this wing... it's WAY GOOD to be able to use those small bits of fusible up!

I blanket stitch to appliqué the pieces. If you cut out the center fairly close to the line, then your stitches cover the fusible.

If you are not familiar with this method, see my book ‘Learn to appliqué’ for how I do fusible and keep the shapes as soft as possible by cutting away.. plus it’s economical as you don’t waste fusible!

My book – http://patsloan.biz/learntoappliquewithpatsloan.aspx

All ready to stitch!

Thread Kit HERE http://patsloan.biz/aurifil40wtthreadkitbypatsloan.aspx

Here is a HUGE tip..

do you use your knee-lift? Here is WHY you should….. yes I KNOW some machine don’t have one. Some DO have automatic options that raise the presser foot when you are in needle down position. Check your owner manual.. or … buy a new machine!

When you need to turn on a piece….

Keeping needle down position at all times, push the knee-lift to raise the presser foot

now you can keep your hands ON your fabric and turn , turn turn! Which you need to do about every 2 stitches on those berries!

On to piecing! 40 weight thread, using the ‘make 2 squares at a time’ method. This makes them a tiny bit oversized. I trim them down so they are all perfect!

A great piecing color for medium shades of fabric. Time to get to work!

CLICK HERE To download the PDF pattern http://www.aurifil.com/AURIfil_BOM_2.pdf Preview

My Learn to applique book

http://patsloan.biz/learntoappliquewithpatsloan.aspx

Thread Kit HERE http://patsloan.biz/aurifil40wtthreadkitbypatsloan.aspx

Chat with me at my forum we make my quilt, I love seeing you work!

http://quiltmashup.com/index.php/topic,537.msg6460.html#msg6460

And Share photos at our Flickr Folder

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1366594@N23/

Be sure you are signed up for my newsletter, top right sidebar at Http://www.patsloan.biz.

And be sure you are a member of the AURlfil fan page on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/aurifil.quilt.thread

and join MY facebook FUN PAGE http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pat-Sloan/59964830850?ref=ts

There is no set date for when I release the next part... it will be towards the end of the month.

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February Part #1

I have a fabulous new Block of the Month for you!

This is our first block, the heart. I really love asymmetrical appliqué and the organic twiggy shape of this block.

For my project I’m using all my 40 wt Thread Art kit colors for the appliqué and the piecing… let’s take a look!

I selected 3 colors (my names for them!)

Olive Green – 5013
Caramel – 2210
Pear Green – 1147

Caramel is my ‘go to’ color for the lights in this project… see how it works on the pieces above.. either blends in or is a nice light accent.

I’m using heat n bond light with the center cut out and then the blanket stitch to appliqué down the pieces. If you are not familiar with this method, see my book ‘Learn to appliqué’ for how I do fusible and keep the shapes as soft as possible by cutting away.. plus it’s economical as you don’t waste fusible!

GET THE FREE BOM BLOCK

CLICK HERE to Download AURIfil BOM by Pat Sloan Part 1