Bow Wow Pincushion for the Dog Days of August

Wow, I barely made it in time for August.  I've been trying all month to get this one done.  But, I kept on changing the design and having to start over.  Well, that's the way it is sometimes.  Here it is at last!!!  Click on the picture above and it will take you to the PDF file.  I not only did a pattern for you but a tutorial.

August is known for being the Dog Days of Summer, at least up here in the northern hemisphere.  So what better way to celebrate August than with a dog pincushion.  I have done two versions.  One with a long snout, short tail and short ears.  The other with a short snout, long tail and long ears.  What fun it would be to mix and match.  I noticed that if I had shortened the long ears just a tad, he would look just like my Chihuahua.  I may have to do another just for her.

Hope you had a happy August!!!

Marjory

Spooky Hallows Continues with Block 5

Spooky Hallows pattern give-a-way continues with block 5, "Spooky Potions."  Please note that the pattern has numerous bubbles that I didn't include in the final block.  I may end up putting them on at embroidery therefore I left them on the pattern.

The eye from the frog is still not on because it may be a button which will be applied after quilting.  The only thing else of note is that I used Cotton Lame for the gold sections of the bottle.  Because cotton lame is very sheer, I decided to interface it.  What better to interface it with than fusible light weight woven interfacing.  This added just the right amount of stability to have the lame act just like quilting cottons.  Here is a small tutorial on how I did this:

I used my freezer paper template and a teflon pressing sheet to accomplish interfacing my fabric applique pieces.  The teflon sheet prevents the fusible to stick, it just peels right off after cooling.  Do not touch while hot because it may cause a burn.  The freezer paper has a plastic shiny side that I use to attach by presssing the template to the wrong side of the fabric.  In this case I used small pieces of fusible light weight woven interfacing.  I placed the teflon ironing sheet down on the top of my ironing board.  With fusible side of interfacing down and shiny side of template  down on top of fusible interfacing light press template in place.  After cooling, cut interfacing to exact size of template.  Press interfacing/template unit to the wrong side of you cotton lame; fusing in place.  Cut lame 1/4" from edge of template.  Continue with applique method to apply to block. 

The eyes and nose of the skull are reverse applique, as is the white bottle top.  I think that's it for special instructions.  Don't forget to increase the pattern by 159%.

Happy Appliqueing!!!!

Marjory

Spooky Hallows Continues with Block 4

Spooky Hallows continues with block 4, "Spooky Flowers".  Not so spooky really just a fun flower to help the quilt have enough yellow but not too much.  Yellow is a strong color in any value and it is very important that it is balanced.  So consider this when choosing your fabrics, these flowers really need to be yellow to balance a yellow moon.  I also used white for the vase to balance the white of the ghosts and the skull.  Quilting is really a balancing act all around.

There are no other special directions for this block.  Just remember to enlarge the pattern by 159%.  I hope everyone is enjoying these patterns and I can't wait to see some of your work.  I will be investigating how to run a Flickr group so we can all post our pictures of our finished blocks and quilts there.  I'll be getting back to you on that soon.  

So happy Applique and I'll be back on the 22nd as promised.

Marjory