Here's the acorn wreath scoop

I have had several inquiries about where I found the pattern for this little acorn wreath table runner. It is from a book called Pumpkin Patch Threads by Need'l Love. I picked it up at Quilter's Station in Lee's Summit, Missouri where they also had a fabric kit for this table runner featuring Jo Morton fabrics.

This top finishes at 22 inches square with the cute little log cabins finishing at two inches each! I paper pieced these and have a nifty paper piecing graphic I designed to print these out in bulk instead of having to trace each of the 48 blocks. Contact me if you would like more information about this. I hand-appliqued the acorns and leaves using the freezer paper and spray starch method. Along the way, I discovered a sweet method for applique piece placement that can be found here.

Now I need to get serious so I can have this little guy quilted by fall. I am so looking forward to that and the milder weather that comes with it. Bring on the cool breezes and rustling leaves!

A scientific experiment & the acorn wreath top is complete!

Last month I went to a trunk show for longarm quilter Sheryl Schleicher. When she was speaking about where she begins the quilting on a quilt, she shared a bit of scientific information: most people, when viewing anything -- art, a building, a photograph, or a quilt -- scan it in a specific pattern. So I am conducting an official scientific poll of my own to test this theory. The photo below is of the little acorn wreath quilt I have been working on lately. It is comprised of four main blocks. When you view the photo, be conscious of which block your eye moves to first and which you go to last. Leave a comment and let me know your findings.

I'm going

to leave

a little

space here

so you

are not

tempted to

look at

the photo

quite yet.

Now, view.

Sheryl gave us a little diagram showing that most people scan from the center to the upper right, to upper left, to lower left, back to center and on the upper right, to lower right, then back to center. Is this what you did?

In Sheryl's talk, she said she would start quilting in the lower right near the center because that is the last place most people look. This gives her a little time to get in the groove of the motif she is using and if there are any less than perfect elements, they are not as readily noticed.

When I set my four acorn blocks together, there was method to my madness. The first block I did ended up being slightly different than the other three. I struggled with appliqueing those deep valleys on the leaves, as you might remember here. And my placement of the applique pieces on the background fabric was a little too free-style. I sent out a cry for help and got some terrific advice, shown here. One of the tidbits that really came in handy was an easy method for accurately placing the pieces on the background fabric. You can check that our here.

I toyed with the idea of remaking that first block. Then my sister reminded me of the Amish rule of quilting: only God can create perfection, so mistakes are okay. This was just the advice this recovering perfectionist needed to hear! So I set these four blocks together with Sheryl's diagram in mind and put that "slightly different" block in the lower right corner where hopefully its uniqueness didn't scream out so loud. I know it is there, so it is the first thing I see. Let me know if you noticed it, or if you had to go back and look at it again.

Applique piece placement tip

I have been working on a little fall table runner with four identical appliqued blocks in the center. It had these very small oak leaves that had deep valleys that were quite a challenge to do. You can see my issues here and some of the suggestions I received for said issues here.

I finally managed to conquer those leaves, but in the process found that it was very difficult to get each block to look the same. I had traced the design on not-so-transparent tracing paper, laid it over the background fabric, placed the applique pieces, then hand basted them down. I thought I did pretty good on the first one, but once I compared it to the original (after all 16 pieces were sewn down), it was noticeably off.

One of the responses I got when I cried out for applique help was from Irene who shared that Piece O' Cake designs had a great method for accurately placing applique pieces. This was an "ah-ha" moment in my applique world. I tried it, and this method made all the difference in the world.

You need a piece of medium weight clear upholstery vinyl. I found this at Hancock Fabric & Crafts. It is used to make covers for furniture, table cloths or even shower curtain liners. A 60-inch piece was $3.99 a yard. I bought a whole yard and will have vinyl for life! Cut a piece the size of your block and trace the design on the vinyl with a permanent marker*.

Then place the vinyl overlay (with design drawn on it) right side up over your background fabric. I used a water-soluble marker to make an X on the fabric and the same in permanent marker on the overlay so that it would land in the same position each time I used it.

Now slide your ready-to-sew-down applique pieces under the vinyl into their position.

Now, instead of hand basting or pinning the pieces down, I used basting glue. This stuff was a lifesaver! I found it at Joann's with the quilting notions.

The key is to use a gluestick that is water-based** and acid free. I used a toothpick to pickup a tiny amount of glue then slightly lifted one edge of the applique piece and placed the glue just under the edge, far enough back to not be in the stitching line. I did this in several areas around the piece. I let it dry for about 30 minutes then hand appliqued these pieces down. Not having to baste each piece down was a huge time saver, not to mention, I think handling the pieces while basting was part of my placement problem as the pieces tended to move around on me.

The end result was blocks that all matched! I'll show you the finished top in the next post -- Yay, it's done!

Thank you, Irene, for directing me to such a handy tip and Piece O' Cake for such a brilliant idea. I will be using this from now on.


* When my project was completed, I tried using Goo Gone to remove the permanent marker from the vinyl. I did not have much success with this, so this piece of vinyl will not be able to be reused for another project. It took off the black marker, but left a purple stain permanently in the vinyl.

** To completely remove all traces of the glue, you should soak the fabric in water for 30 minutes then use a mild detergent to hand wash. Rinse thoroughly.

Ask and ye shall receive applique help

Several days ago, as I was having trouble with these leaves, I posted a question on my Dear Jane email group asking for suggestions for my applique dilemma. This is definitely a group willing to help! I came home to an inbox full of tips, suggestions and resources. Here is some of what they had to offer:

• I have successfully used a non acid glue stick. Rub a toothpick over the glue stick and use to tuck in frayed ends. Another technique I have used is a very, very thin coat of clear nail polish over the edge of the fabric. Believe it or not this doesn't leave the fabric stiff like fray check does. I try to use a very high thread count fabric when I am doing applique with lots of detail. Also I cut out my pieces with a fine serrated scissors like the ones Karen Kaye Buckley has. The serrations act like microscopic pinking shears and cut down on fraying. Hope this helps.

• I use a slightly different applique method. I draw my applique pattern onto masking tape and cut it out. Then I stick this tape pattern on the right side of the fabric I want to applique. I clip seam allowences(both convex and concave curves) and use needle turn applique. I use a glue stick on inside points if necessary. I also use glue stick on seam allowences before clipping. Allow it to dry before clipping. This tames most of the fraying. Masking tape on top means you don't have extra stress on edges of fabric that can cause more fraying. And as a last emergency measure on fabric you really love but seems determined to fray, I find nail polish works better for me than fray check. Check in the nail polish section of Walmart. They make pens filled with nail polish for "nail art". You can get greater "precision" and accuracy of where you place the polish and less wicking into areas where you don't want the polish. Any "wet look" should be limited to areas you have appliqued into the "seam allowence".

• An additional idea is to cut the leaf on the bias; it seems to help keep the curves smooth and easier to fit around the freezer paper. • Becky Goldsmith at Piece o Cake has some clever tips for doing those 'innies'.

• Yes, these leaves are small. Your seam allowance is very narrow it appears. I would not use fray check, it makes the fabric very stiff. Here are my thoughts:
1. When you are positioning your leaf on the fabric is it on the straight of grain or slightly turned so it is on the bias? I couldn't tell from the photo. Having it on the bias helps.
2. For something so small I would use the cut away method. If you are not familiar with that it means you draw your design on the fabric and rough cut it out leaving about a 1/2" all around. Position your leaf on the background and then trim your seam allowance as you stitch. Trim just a little ahead of where you are stitching. This helps keep the fabric stable.
3. Are you turning with the needle or a toothpick? If you haven't tried a toothpick you want a cheap one, and then you moisten it. The moistened wood will grab the fibers and make the turning easier. You are handling it less and therefore there is less fraying.

• As others have already mentioned, sometimes its better to switch to a more tightly woven fabric. I have seen that some folks use Fray Check to solve this problem. However, Dritz says, "Fray Check is a nylon plastic in an alcohol base." And, "Because Fray Check is a plastic, it may yellow over time." They also say that alcohol will remove Fray Check. I've used Fray Check for non-applique purposes and found that after it is applied, Fray Check felt like a plastic to me and that it also made the fabric look darker. However, that may just have been the fabric that I was using.

• Pearl Pereira, of P3 Designs, recommends using just a tiny bit of "Aleen's OK to Wash-It" permanent glue on the tip of a needle in those situations. It is supposed to dry clear and flexible, is non-yellowing and holds through repeated washings. I have never used this product. I found the following caveat on I Love to Create: "Glue dries clear but is visible with a darker appearance on some colors and fabrics," which is probably why Pearl says to use just the tiniest amount. I also found that the following products can remove this "permanent" glue from fabric: Goo Gone, Spot Shot, and Tough Stuff. I've seen "Aleen's OK to Wash-It" at my local Jo-Anns Fabrics. If you have any questions about it, you could try asking Pearl Pereira; she has a "Click Here to Email Me!" link near the bottom for the following web page: http://www.p3designs.com/. If you do want to use one of these products, then I highly recommend reading the label carefully and testing on a scrap of your fabric, before using in your applique.

• My suggestion would be to change fabrics. Some of them are so loosely woven that they fray no matter what you do. They aren't worth the aggravation. Look for fabrics with a tight weave, i.e. at least 70 threads per inch. I like using the freezer paper under method and spray starching the edges then turning under with a small iron. The problem with putting a lot of stitches in a valley is that sometimes that makes the fabric fray even worse. My experience with Fray Check has varied depending on the fabric. It left a bit of a dark mark on some and not others.

• I use the freezer paper method and do not use any starch - when stitching the seam allowance down onto the freezer paper, i avoid a lot of stitches in those little tight spots. When appliqueing the piece down, I take two tiny stitches before the inside point, and then at the point I take two tiny buttonhole stitches on the curve/point and then two tiny stitches on the left side of that point. This works quite well. And I use only YLI silk thread - usually taupe but sometimes black or white - no other colors.

• Admittedly this will vary by fabric - some work very well, others don't. At the point of losing my patience, I switch fabrics. It's always a good idea to buy a tiny piece of fabric first, rehearse a few of your app pieces and see how it works!

• I think the issue of the fabric is really important here. You have to be willing to change the fabric if what you start out with just won't work.

• Have you tried a wet toothpick to sweep the fabric under? That usually works for me. I would just put extra stitches in the valleys also.

• When you lay out your oak leaf on your applique fabric make sure that it's on the bias. That will make it easier to turn. Also I sometimes use a glue stick. If it's fraying slightly I stick the needle into the glue stick, then 'sweep' the seam allowance under. The bit of glue will hold the threads as you stitch.

• Yes fray check leaves a stiff/hard wet look. Use liquid starch instead. It may slightly discolor when dry, or not, so test, but it WILL wash out.

• Before you cut out the leaf, use a very small amount of clear nail polish in the seam allowance of the caves. Now cut it out and clip through the polish and use a wet toothpick to get the turn just right.

• Tina, I have used several of the "stop fraying" products on the market and found they can react different on types dyes in the fabric. I would suggest testing on a scrap before using, wait at least 24 hours before checking to see what effect if any it has on the fabric.

I opted not to use Fray Check based on the suggestions and advice from above. I did try the fingernail polish. At first I used a little too much and it wicked into the surrounding fabric and did become stiff. I gave it another try, though, this time with a much lighter hand and trying to keep it only on the edge of the fabric. This worked much better but did leave a "wet look" in a few spots.

Because the fabric for this table runner came in a kit and was so nicely coordinated, I didn't want to go searching for tighter weave fabric. Instead, my ultimate solution was to modify the shape of the leaf so that the concave areas were not so deep or narrow. This made them work much better.

block with the original leaves

second block with modified leaves

I can live with the leaves being slightly different. But on my second block, I discovered a nifty method for piece placement on the block. Can you tell on the first, I just kind of winged it? I'll show you that little trick on a future post. I'll wait until I have all four blocks finished before I decide if block number one is going to stand out as being too different.

And finally, a BIG THANK YOU! to my Dear Jane email group. I really appreciate all the help and support -- even on non-Jane related projects.

Big pain leaves to go with the cute log cabins

I've started on the applique blocks that go with the cute little log cabin blocks I posted about last time. The acorns went rather smoothly, but those little oak leaves were/are a big pain in the tushy. Only three more to go on this block. Thank goodness there are only four of these blocks!

I've tried tracing them then appliqueing, freezer paper on the back, freezer paper on the front, spray starch, and even gave reverse applique serious consideration. The problem is, they are so small that when you clip the valleys, there isn't much fabric to get turned under. Then I'm left with fraying threads. I have not tried Fray Check, but I wonder if it would leave the fabric with a wet look even when its dry.

I think the freezer paper on the back with the edges ironed to the wax is working the best. On the first leaf I stitched down, I put lots of little stitches in the valleys to hopefully keep the fraying at bay. I'm hoping the Applique Fairy will visit me in my sleep and give me a simple solution.

Cute always gets me in trouble

One of my local quilt stores has had a little table runner on display for probably the past year. They keep it out because they know about my battle with cute. They are mean that way. Every time I am there I have to drool over it, pet it, and admire its cute little log cabin blocks. And while log cabin blocks are generally not associated with cute, if you make them teeny tiny, they have the same effect as fuzzy kittens or squishy babies: I just can't resist.

Well, cute finally won. The little pattern and little fabric bundle recently came home with me. About a week ago I dove in, thinking this would be a quick little project. I don't know why my mind equates small with quick, but it never seems to work out that way. These little log cabin blocks finish at two inches square. YIKES! That means quarter-inch logs. YIKES, again! I paper pieced these little guys. I timed it. It took me approximately one minute to pick fabric, sew each log, trim, and press. Not bad. Until you consider there are 15 logs per little block and 48 little blocks. You do the math. That's right, that equals FOREVER!

But I was determined to not let cute take me down. I kept at it, and now I have all 48 of these little guys done. Now I only have four applique blocks to go. Hopefully they will not be as cute, and can get them done a little quicker.