October 2016 Meeting: Applique

The October meeting is less than a week away!  The topic will be applique, but before we get to that, let's get a few reminders out of the way.

~The FMQ workshop is October 22nd.  See you there!

~The QuiltCon Charity Quilt sew day was a success!  As of today, Zsofia is ready to hand off the top for the next step of the construction.

Ok, writing about myself in the third person feels weird, so I am just going to write normally.

I wanted to do something different with applique.  I am also going to be going over quilt-as-you-go methods in November, and I wanted to get back to doing a project during the meetings.  I came up with this plan.  In October, I have created a pattern that I will share with you and the several ways I think you can use it for holiday, or geometric-inspired blocks.  (You can use these blocks or your own orphan blocks in the QAYG meeting in November.)  I am going to cover applique methods, what has worked for me and what has not.  I am also going to go over the tools specific to applique, like interfacing, threads and templates.  Because applique is not limited to quilting, we will also go over combining different weight fabrics.  You can use this information in the many handbag and wallet patterns that are out there, or to enhance your inspiration challenge blocks!  Because I have really been enjoying the way we all share our own experiences in the icebreakers, PLEASE feel free to bring questions and stories about what has and has not worked for you.  Finally, I will show you some examples from social media of creative examples of applique methods.  I have a few photos that we will discuss and how to approach turning them into applique designs.  To be clear, you will work on the applique between the October and November meetings.   

At the end of the class, you will receive guidelines to prep and quilt your applique blocks (or an orphan block) to be ready to use in the quilt-as-you-go meeting in November.  We WILL be sewing in November.  If you are going to be at the FMQ workshop, this would be a perfect chance to get those stray blocks, or your applique design block, all quilted up for November.  If you aren't going to the workshop, that's cool, too!  You'll be able to easily get it done between the meetings.  You do not have to do any blocks before hand to do the QAYG.  We will cover 4 methods, and you will still be able to participate.  Stay tuned!                  -Cheralee