More About Wool Felt Appliqué...

Many folks fuse the wool pieces to the background with an iron-on fusible product. When I took my first wool felt appliqué class, the instructor just had us baste the pieces in place with sewing thread using big stitches which were easily removed later. This also allowed the felted piece to be a bit puffy, adding a bit more dimension. However, I prefer to staple my larger pieces in place - a tip I picked up from a YouTube video. The staple holes were easily blended back into the felted wool afterward.

For really small pieces, I just use a dab of craft glue to keep them in place for stitching. 

I cannot recommend micro-serrated scissors more highly. The blades 'grab' the wool and pointy blades allow for very precise cutting. I used the bigger scissors for cutting the pieces out and the smaller ones for more detailed cutting. I always have a pin cushion handy to hold the needle when not in use (i.e. when cutting more thread). It saves me the panic of losing the needle somewhere on my work surface or having it stick to my clothing or fall on the ground.

As I may have mentioned in a previous post, I use a freezer paper method to transfer my pattern to the wool pieces. Freezer paper is a thin parchment paper with a thin wax coating on one side. Basically, I iron a piece of freezer paper onto a piece of printer paper, shiny/wax side against the printer paper, using the 'wool' setting on the iron. Then I trim any excess of the freezer paper to the borders of the printer paper. This is done to give the freezer paper some firmness to go through my printer.

Then print the pattern(s) onto the freezer paper, reversing the image in the printer's software settings if necessary. The orientation is particularly necessary if transferring printed messages.

I then cut out the pattern pieces well outside the printed edges and peel the printer paper off the back of the freezer paper piece. Then iron the pattern piece onto the wool making sure the waxy side is on the felt.

Then cut out along the exact printed line. You can keep the freezer paper attached until you need to use that piece, then easily peel it off. That piece of freezer paper should work for multiples of the same piece.

When fully finishing, I use Fray Check around the edges of the thin homespun that the kit provided with the backing. It dries clear. This would also work with a flannel backing. 

I was so pleased with how quickly I was able to stitch and fully finish these three little pillows! 

Now I want to get this nifty kit - Garden Bowl Fillers - by the same designer - Heart to Hand. I have seen models and they are so cute! 

They could be displayed from spring to fall, too!

But before that, I need to finish the embroidery and fully finish the little sunflower quilt I started at the retreat. 

On A Roll...And a Bit of a Digression

I finished the sheep yesterday. I would have preferred a lighter brown wool background which would have made the legs show up a bit better.

Instead of the called-for white dots on the sheep, I opted to do chain-stitch swirls. Am happy with that choice. Colonial knots were again used for the pink flower 'buds'. 

Then we had the photo shoot on the kitchen counter.

and then in their natural habitat (the kitchen table).

I'm happy to display the pysanky - Ukrainian Easter eggs - I drew almost 20 years ago. A couple were autumn-themed, possibly from the Martha Stewart website long, long ago.

We were instructed not to blow the yolk and white out of the eggs - they were raw when drawn. After a few months, they'd just dry up and the yolk would rattle around inside. However stinky gases would also be created. I couldn't put them out when we had Ollie, our last cat, as he liked to bat them around and often would pitch them off the table. They really stunk when they broke - pee you! 

These are most of the ones that survived.

One of my former colleagues, Shelley, did an after-school tutorial on drawing them. We had a local supplier of all the materials, Mrs Salmers, who sold her wares in her husband's barber shop in downtown Oshawa. Of course, I had to have 'all the things' and still possess all the dyes and kiskas. I found several step-by-step patterns on the Internet and still have a couple of books on the subject.

Back in the aughts (2000s) Skip, Scooter, and I visited Vegreville Alberta to see the world's second largest Ukrainian Easter egg.

It's 9m (31ft) long and 3 storeys high, weighing over 2 tons. It is a big attraction 100km due east of Edmonton along the Yellowhead Highway in Alberta. 

According to Wikipedia it is made of aluminum, and composed of  1108 congruent equilateral triangles, 524 concave hexagons (3-pointed stars), 3,512 visible facets, 6,978 nuts and bolts and 177 internal struts. To me, the most remarkable feature is that it is perfectly balanced to work like a wind vane - rotating depending on the direction of the wind. 

I Finished Another Project!

Buoyed by my success finishing the bunny, I was motivated to tackle the chick from the trio of Heart to Hand Bowl Filler Buddies.

 

I thought I'd try doing colonial stitches in the centres of the flowers on the bottom. Mary Corbet had an excellent video on the subject. I liked them so much I also did them on the centres of the bigger flowers and the white bits around the chick's neck.

For the centres of the bigger white flowers I used some DK weight yarn which made them proportionately bigger than the little flower centres on the bottom. A hotfix 'jewel' was used for the eye as I had done for the bunny. 

I totally forgot to use interfacing on the homespun backing before cutting it out and attaching it. Instead, I cut out the backing and ran a line of Fray Check ™ all around the edge so it wouldn't fray when I was using the blanket stitch to attach to the front. It worked out OK. The fabric has more 'give' than the stabilized one.

So two are done. 

Today I will work on the sheep.

I have about 35 'lanterns' completed out of the 158 required for my Mystical Lanterns blanket. I didn't bother taking a photo of my progress. Basically, there is no colour pattern - just grab any colour for any of the 4 rounds. I'm trying to keep the number of colours I do for the 4th round/border balanced, though. I'm also adding some of the leftover yarn from my Persian tiles blanket. I have some decisions to make about how I'll join all the columns of lanterns as I don't really like the look of the whip stitching that was used for the model.

This evening will be the Trillium Guild's debut stitching night at the public library in Newcastle. One of our new members, Lisa, is a librarian there and thought having us stitching there once a month in the evening would attract folks for informal crafty get-togethers. I hadn't planned on attending but only 3 or 4 people from our guild will be there so I thought I'd help fill out the ranks this time. I have informed Scooter he'll be on his own for supper as I'll eat and run earlier than usual.

I Actually Fully Finished a Project!

After getting all the pieces for the Bowl Bunny cut out at the retreat, and starting the stitching after getting home, I finished all the stitching last night. I cut out the homespun backing. It's pretty flimsy so I ironed it onto fusible stabilizer and cut it out again. Today I finished the blanket stitching and stuffing and just finished it a few minutes ago.

Instead of the white French knots in the centre of the flower, I did yellow ones. I also used white DMC Etoile thread for the stem stitch around the flower's centre.

I think I'll start the chick next.

On Sunday I had the girlies here for a craft day and lots of crafty discussions. Marilyn and MaryK were unable to join us due to other commitments.

I cleverly forgot to take my threads to work on this project at stitching yesterday. I did more work on this last night. I'm using DMC Blanc rather than Grits for the snowflakes so they show up better.

I just may get this done by my birthday next month.  Regardless of my progress, I plan to start this on my birthday.

Wool Felt Appliqué

I started attaching the wool felt pieces to the little quilt centre. I had watched a Lori Holt video on the topic and thought her idea of stapling the pieces together was a good one.  Some folks like to use a fusible product on the back of the pieces and iron them in place but I prefer a 'puffier' aspect so some type of removable basting is my choice.

I used my light box to trace the lines with a white pencil. The marks can be removed with water. The staples are easily removed and the little holes don't show.

When selecting a matching thread, I use my DMC thread colour card. The colour card has been so useful for selecting colours and substitutions for projects.

I used the freezer paper method to transfer the patterns onto the felt. My (Karen Kay Buckley) micro-serrated scissors were perfect for cutting out the pieces. 

My buttonhole stitch is a bit wonky but it's a whimsical piece so no big deal.

Then came the embroidery of the stems.  It will need a good pressing before I attach the buttons.

With Easter fast approaching, I thought I'd better start my Heart to Hand 'Bowl Filler Buddies'. I had printed the designs onto freezer paper (which had been ironed onto printer paper), and cut them out at the retreat. 

I decided to do the bunny first. The directions are very sketchy and some of the pieces overlap others. It's important to put the partially-covered pieces in place first, then do the overlapping. For example, the right, back leg of the bunny was attached first. 

The instructions also state to use three strands of floss for the buttonhole stitch. I decided to use two instead. First, because I didn't want the stitches to be so prominent. I had used three strands on the hind leg and wasn't keen on how it looked. Second, because when using two strands, I thread one long strand through my needle, match the two ends and stitch with the doubled thread.

I then crocheted a couple more 'lanterns' while watching TV with Scooter.

Tomorrow most of the girlies will be here for a stitch/craft day. Should be lots of fun.

Anita Retreat 2026

My nieces invited me to their quilting retreat which I attended earlier this week. It was only about a 2h drive via the $$$407$$$.

On the way there I stopped for gas at an ESSO station hoping to use PC points at the pump but I was informed over the speaker that I had to go inside and they wouldn't do the PC points things. They did ask for a deposit so I put $60 on my card, then went out and pumped $38 of gas. The guy came out with my receipts and I drove off (more about this later).

The Anita Retreat house is in a very upscale enclave of homes just inside Wellesley township - and only a few km west of Heidelberg. Counting all the finished areas of the house I would say it's 6000 square feet.

Among the 5 bedrooms there are 12 beds which can accommodate 14 people. I shared the 'master bedroom' (4 twin beds) with my nieces, Ana and Rosa. There was a huge ensuite bath attached which included a big soaker tub. Each bed had a bed warmer. Towels were nice and fluffy. Most amenities were provided. Very chi chi poo poo.

Downstairs was our work area. 14 six-foot tables, three design boards, and a big ironing station.

There was a kitchen down there as well with full-size fridge, dishwasher and microwave.

I got a lot done; finishing most of the ornate border of The Light of Winter. Just need to fill in the centres of the pink flowers.

I got two checkerboard pieces sewn and quilted onto the batting - ready to make them into project bags. 

The two colourways are in the fabric line. I'll use the companion fabric for the lining.

I also started the half square triangles for the little Black Eyed Susan mini quilt. 

One of the attendees, Reg, gave me a strip of the nifty 1/4" guide tape which made sewing 1/4" away from the diagonal MUCH easier. I didn't have to painstakingly draw a line on each of the 72 - 1.5" squares. I just lined up the top tip of the diamond with the left side of my 1/4" presser foot and aligned the bottom of the diamond with the line to the left of the centre red line.

The seam guide tape made chain-piecing was very easy.

I also got all the wool felt bits cut out for the wool felt appliqué Bowl Fillers - a kit I had purchased ages ago at Quilter's Cupboard.

A registered massage therapist was hired to massage any retreaters so desiring. I had a one-hour deep tissue massage yesterday morning before packing up and heading out. Such a luxury...

I then packed up the car and met Rosa, her son, Derek, and Ana at The Cactus Mexican Restaurant for lunch and a nice visit before I headed home. 

This morning, I finished all the pinwheels for the mini quilt.

Those pinwheels only measure 2 1/2" square! The individual squares before making them HSTs were 1 1/2" square. Thank goodness Reg loaned me her nifty Slotted Trimmer ruler. This was the one with 1/2" gradations and there is another with 1" gradations. 

Once the HSTs are cut, they don't need to be opened and pressed. Simply line the seam line on the triangle up with the trimmer and trim, the slots in the sides are for trimming the dog ears. So cool!

I'm really glad I took a photo of the sample at Hobby House.

as the fabric description in the pattern didn't exactly match the fabric in the kit. 

I then cut and labelled the rest of the pieces and sewed everything together. I learned to nest the seams when joining pinwheels which made aligning the seams much easier.

I'm taking a break from this and will read what the next steps are - probably cutting out the felt pieces. I'll use the freezer paper but this time I'll reverse the pattern so my elements face the right way.

I also crocheted a few of the Mystical Lanterns for the blanket project.

Here's a recap of the list of projects I planned to take to the retreat:

This is a partial list of what I planned to take to work on at the retreat:

• amigurumi zebra kit (didn't take it)
• Mystical Lanterns crochet project (15 lanterns completed) √
• light interfacing for drawing 2.5" grid for more checkerboard project bags √
• knitting - helix sock, more little bears (didn't work on them)
• The Light of Winter cross-stitch project √
• my 'stealth' small for the guild's competition in June √
• my birthday start project (I may start it early) (didn't take it)
• 2 wool felt appliqué projects to cut out (probably not do any sewing) √
• Smitten cross-stitch project (didn't work on it)

About my ESSO experience - it's 4 days later and the 'deposit' has been removed from my transactions but the $38 charge of gas I did buy hasn't appeared. Did I get a free fill-up? Time will tell.

You Get What You Pay For

 I've been planning what to take on my crafty retreat tomorrow. We're responsible for our own breakfasts and lunches and divvied up items to share for dinner. I popped into the $1.25 store for a couple of things and saw this cute little amigurumi kit in the craft area.

I figured it could easily be adapted to make a donkey. I checked inside the box to make sure everything was there - including the instructions - as the instructions weren't mentioned in the contents list on the box.

Once I got it home, I removed the contents: white and black yarn, stuffing, eyes, darning needle, crochet hook, and instructions.

The 3.5mm crochet hook looks a bit sketchy but everything else checked out.

The directions are going to take some doing to interpret. I highlighted the first, and very important line:

OK, so the white yarn is in back font, but do you see any red font for the black yarn? 

Not you either?

So I guess I'm going to have to really look at the accompanying photos and count rounds to make the correct colour changes.

The instructions for making the magic loop are with white yarn but the nose of the zebra (where the pattern starts) uses black yarn which should be in a red font. I'll definitely be looking on Ravelry for a legible pattern.

This is a partial list of what I'm taking to work on at the retreat:

• amigurumi zebra kit
• Mystical Lanterns project (I did 5 of the lanterns last night)**
• light interfacing for drawing 2.5" grid for more checkerboard project bags
• knitting - helix sock, more little bears
• The Light of Winter cross-stitch project
• my 'stealth' small for the guild's competition in June
• my birthday start project (I may start it early)
• 2 wool felt appliqué projects to cut out (probably not do any sewing)
• Smitten cross-stitch project

I'll probably throw more stuff in at the last minute. I'm taking my sewing machine in case I get far enough to quilt the checkerboard project bags. Must remember to take the necessary sewing accessories.

I had a nice visit with Skip's niece, Michelle, today. Among Skip's things I found 4 old, gold rings that I assumed had belonged to his mother. I gave Michelle first 'dibs' as she is the eldest granddaughter and she was pleased to receive them. She even recognized one of them as being her grandma's. So nice for her to have something else of her grandma's now.

We got enough wet, heavy snow yesterday to warrant the snow clearing service to make an appearance. And even got a little more overnight. The 2h drive tomorrow shouldn't be treacherous as I'll mostly be sticking to major highways. The Len's Mill pop up store at the St. Jacob's market is en route so I will make a stop there before arriving at the retreat location.