Applique onto already quilted background?

Cheryl has often said that she does this now, as she is not able to do
her own quilting.
I am asking this question on the group, rather than e-mailing Cheryl,
because I thought others might be interested in 'her' answer - and any
other comments that might be generated.

I am about to do this myself, because I need the background quilting to
be a regular grid (of an unusual type, but a grid nevertheless!). So, I
am going to quilt it first and appliqué the centrepiece on afterwards.
It is all ready, with its edges turned under.
I'm looking for any tips on the doing of it.

Thanks very much for any wisdom or light that can be shed in my
direction g
--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

FWIW - here's what I do.

If the overall piece is small I sew all the components
together before attaching it to the quilted surface (eg one
single flower). If the pieces are bigger (like the tree
quilt I have just started) I baste them together and then
pin onto the quilt so that when I sew them together I can
catch the background fabric and "anchor" it in place.

If you add a thin batt at that stage you get some very
interesting trapunto-type effects too, but you need to
stitch more than just the edge to be sure that the batt
doesn't clump up when washed. Just a few lines through the
piece should be enough. Large flowers and character figures
look particularly good done this way.

This is a great way to make one block at a time, and also
gives the option of putting a completely different design on
the back because the quilting is not "interupted" by the
applique design. It also gives the option of changing the
placement of applique right up until the whole design can be
laid out and checked. I can make lots of flowers and
arrange them as I would a vase of real flowers.

I started experimenting with this because I could never get
a perfect grid around a design ( LOL ) when I was making
Rosemary Makhan's Rose Sampler Supreme.
http://tinyurl.com/ofkbn
This was my first attempt and a bit experimental, and I had
my machine stitch set far too short. I now use a longer
stitch, esp for gridwork. It looks much nicer.

The background fabric for the Tree of Life quilt is 110"
wide and has been stipple quilted with no seams. Some of
the applique stitching in the centre of such a large piece
will be a bit awkward, but I find this method quite fast
once you get used to it. And as I prepare all the applique
separately, that part of the project will still be very
portable.

http://tinyurl.com/fkmza
The OZ Cats are appliqued onto a piece of prequilted black
fabric. What looks like sashings is really just 1/2" strips
of appliqued striped fabric used as a frame for each cat.
The background to the Mardi Gras quilt is a diamond grid
that was also pre-quilted.

I am interested in seeing if and how others do this type of
work.


Good luck Pat - I look forward to hearing what you think of
this method.
--

Cheryl & the Cats
_ _ _ _ _ _
( Y ) ( Y ) ( Y )
~ ~ ~
Enness Boofhead Donut
Now in hibernation with a wake-up call for Spring!
http://community.webshots.com/user/witchofthewest
catsatararatATyahooDOTcomDOTau



"Patti" wrote in message
...
: Cheryl has often said that she does this now, as she is
not able to do
: her own quilting.
: I am asking this question on the group, rather than
e-mailing Cheryl,
: because I thought others might be interested in 'her'
answer - and any
: other comments that might be generated.
:
: I am about to do this myself, because I need the
background quilting to
: be a regular grid (of an unusual type, but a grid
nevertheless!). So, I
: am going to quilt it first and appliqué the centrepiece on
afterwards.
: It is all ready, with its edges turned under.
: I'm looking for any tips on the doing of it.
:
: Thanks very much for any wisdom or light that can be shed
in my
: direction g
: --
: Best Regards
: pat on the hill

I had planned to write . . . . . . but rapidly failing
eyesight will catch up with me I'm afraid LOL

--

Cheryl & the Cats
_ _ _ _ _ _
( Y ) ( Y ) ( Y )
~ ~ ~
Enness Boofhead Donut
Now in hibernation with a wake-up call for Spring!
http://community.webshots.com/user/witchofthewest
catsatararatATyahooDOTcomDOTau



"Vikki In WA State" palnpartneratsawdotnet wrote in
message
news:9rqdnZDJybziXknZnZ2dnUVZ_sKdnZ2d@scnresearch. com...
: That looks great. Have you written the book? You know
someone will now.
::~}
:
: --
: Vikki in WA State
:
:

That looks great. Have you written the book? You know someone will now.
:~}

--
Vikki in WA State

Thanks ever so much, Cheryl.
I have two which will be employing this method. I think it's going to
become a favourite of mine - well, I haven't tried it yet, but it seems
so sensible. I hate it when I 'bump into' bits of applique, when I
start quilting the whole thing after applique g
I'll print out your answer - I like to have these things to hand, on
paper!
..
In message , Cats
writes
FWIW - here's what I do.

If the overall piece is small I sew all the components
together before attaching it to the quilted surface (eg one
single flower). If the pieces are bigger (like the tree
quilt I have just started) I baste them together and then
pin onto the quilt so that when I sew them together I can
catch the background fabric and "anchor" it in place.

If you add a thin batt at that stage you get some very
interesting trapunto-type effects too, but you need to
stitch more than just the edge to be sure that the batt
doesn't clump up when washed. Just a few lines through the
piece should be enough. Large flowers and character figures
look particularly good done this way.

This is a great way to make one block at a time, and also
gives the option of putting a completely different design on
the back because the quilting is not "interupted" by the
applique design. It also gives the option of changing the
placement of applique right up until the whole design can be
laid out and checked. I can make lots of flowers and
arrange them as I would a vase of real flowers.

I started experimenting with this because I could never get
a perfect grid around a design ( LOL ) when I was making
Rosemary Makhan's Rose Sampler Supreme.
http://tinyurl.com/ofkbn
This was my first attempt and a bit experimental, and I had
my machine stitch set far too short. I now use a longer
stitch, esp for gridwork. It looks much nicer.

The background fabric for the Tree of Life quilt is 110"
wide and has been stipple quilted with no seams. Some of
the applique stitching in the centre of such a large piece
will be a bit awkward, but I find this method quite fast
once you get used to it. And as I prepare all the applique
separately, that part of the project will still be very
portable.

http://tinyurl.com/fkmza
The OZ Cats are appliqued onto a piece of prequilted black
fabric. What looks like sashings is really just 1/2" strips
of appliqued striped fabric used as a frame for each cat.
The background to the Mardi Gras quilt is a diamond grid
that was also pre-quilted.

I am interested in seeing if and how others do this type of
work.


Good luck Pat - I look forward to hearing what you think of
this method.

--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Oh that's sad, Cheryl.
Dictate onto tape, or employ an amanuensis. If you've got enough
examples of your work, you won't need terrific eyesight.
Or, write a magazine article - shorter term, and then you will have
passed on your knowledge.

In message , Cats
writes
I had planned to write . . . . . . but rapidly failing
eyesight will catch up with me I'm afraid LOL


--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Pat- I do this all the time with my 3D applique, but most of that is
glued down rather than stitched since it usually has many layers,
Wonder Under, etc. I tried it with regular applique and had some
troubles with stitching the applique across the quilt stitching because
there was the small "dent" there. Also, it doesn't always lay as flat
as you might like since the stitching over the "dents" tends to
misalign the other areas. Best of luck and I tuly hope YMMV! ;-)

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.- where Hoover is getting over his upset
tummy from gnawing on a few houseplants. The little rascal! (Yes, he
saw our vet and, no, the houseplants weren't poisonous... we
puppy-proofed the house before he came home with us)

Patti wrote:
Cheryl has often said that she does this now, as she is not able to do
her own quilting.
I am asking this question on the group, rather than e-mailing Cheryl,
because I thought others might be interested in 'her' answer - and any
other comments that might be generated.

I am about to do this myself, because I need the background quilting to
be a regular grid (of an unusual type, but a grid nevertheless!). So, I
am going to quilt it first and appliqué the centrepiece on afterwards.
It is all ready, with its edges turned under.
I'm looking for any tips on the doing of it.

Thanks very much for any wisdom or light that can be shed in my
direction g
--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Thanks for this, Leslie.
I will have such a very irregular piece to sew on (well, three,
really!), that hopefully most of the pieces will touch the background
where the quilting isn't!! I'll watch for it now I know it can be a
problem.
..
In message .com,
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. writes
Pat- I do this all the time with my 3D applique, but most of that is
glued down rather than stitched since it usually has many layers,
Wonder Under, etc. I tried it with regular applique and had some
troubles with stitching the applique across the quilt stitching because
there was the small "dent" there. Also, it doesn't always lay as flat
as you might like since the stitching over the "dents" tends to
misalign the other areas. Best of luck and I tuly hope YMMV! ;-)

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.- where Hoover is getting over his upset
tummy from gnawing on a few houseplants. The little rascal! (Yes, he
saw our vet and, no, the houseplants weren't poisonous... we
puppy-proofed the house before he came home with us)
--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." wrote in message
oups.com...
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.- where Hoover is getting over his upset
tummy from gnawing on a few houseplants. The little rascal! (Yes, he
saw our vet and, no, the houseplants weren't poisonous... we
puppy-proofed the house before he came home with us)

Yeah, and this heat isn't helping their digestive systems either!

Cindy I can't get my 3 to stop eating old black walnuts that litter the
back yard! How can that stuff taste good???

Leslie

I used to worry about this before I tried it, but it never
seemed to be a problem once I got into it. I wonder what we
do that is different. Could it be the iron-on interfacing I
use on the back of my applique pieces? I'm not sure what
difference that would make but . . . . . . if you add a thin
batt for a trapunto effect the problem cannot arise anyway.
I don't do much 3D applique (or at least not more 3D than
trapunto depth).

I had always worried about using this method with an iron-on
applique because I thought the quilt lines would be
impressed into the applique pieces. Does that happen?

I am about to try using buttonhole/blanket stitch applique
on prequilted fabric using the iron-on interfacing as a
fabric stabiliser and just stitching around the edges. I'm
not sure how it will stand up to washing without being
"glued" down to the background, but I guess I'll find out
LOL. Maybe I could just spot glue the pieces in place
before stitching. I am not a big fan of buttonhole/blanket
stitch anyway (just personal taste, I think it looks
gorgeous done well) so I am doing this test for some of my
stitchers who asked about the possibility.

--

Cheryl & the Cats
_ _ _ _ _ _
( Y ) ( Y ) ( Y )
~ ~ ~
Enness Boofhead Donut
Now in hibernation with a wake-up call for Spring!
http://community.webshots.com/user/witchofthewest
catsatararatATyahooDOTcomDOTau



"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO."
wrote in message
oups.com...
Pat- I do this all the time with my 3D applique, but most
of that is
glued down rather than stitched since it usually has many
layers,
Wonder Under, etc. I tried it with regular applique and had
some
troubles with stitching the applique across the quilt
stitching because
there was the small "dent" there. Also, it doesn't always
lay as flat
as you might like since the stitching over the "dents" tends
to
misalign the other areas. Best of luck and I tuly hope
YMMV! ;-)

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.- where Hoover is getting over
his upset
tummy from gnawing on a few houseplants. The little rascal!
(Yes, he
saw our vet and, no, the houseplants weren't poisonous... we
puppy-proofed the house before he came home with us)

Patti wrote:
Cheryl has often said that she does this now, as she is
not able to do
her own quilting.
I am asking this question on the group, rather than
e-mailing Cheryl,
because I thought others might be interested in 'her'
answer - and any
other comments that might be generated.

I am about to do this myself, because I need the
background quilting to
be a regular grid (of an unusual type, but a grid
nevertheless!). So, I
am going to quilt it first and appliqué the centrepiece on
afterwards.
It is all ready, with its edges turned under.
I'm looking for any tips on the doing of it.

Thanks very much for any wisdom or light that can be shed
in my
direction g
--
Best Regards
pat on the hill