my last pillow

As the year comes to a close so does the Pillow Swap Four Seasons. This swap started two years ago as an idea shared by Sandra at Hohenbrunnquilterin (Munich, Germany) and myself to bring a little bit of seasonal cheer into our homes and the quilting/swapping community. We envisioned the group as a forum to share creativity and help with the sewing/pillow-making process.

We met a lot of really great ladies who participated in the group, shared their design-making process, and delivered amazing, excellent quality decorative pillows. It was a wonderful experience! I know I am repeating myself from my previous post, but I am going to miss this group!

I wanted to share the last pillow that I made in the group for my partner, Andrea.

Sneak Peek of Last Pillow

A lot of time and thought usually goes into my pillows, quilts and designs. I generally design specifically for my partners or recipients, because I want them to be happy and enjoy what I have made for them. Sometimes, I get it right, and sometimes I totally miss it. That can happen. : ) For my last Pillow Swap Partner, I decided to go with her inspiration mosaic completely and picked one pillow in particular which she had also posted on a previous mosaic for another swap. Can you guess which one it is?

Since my partner loved traditional red and green for Christmas, I knew my direction and wanted to complete the design with a scrappy look.

Starting Fabric Palette

I still had some lovely Kate Spain Charms as well as "Evergreen" leftover from last year's pillow that I made for Rosemarie in our swap.

Double Cathedral Window Pillow for Rosemarie - PS4S 2015

I analyzed the design from Andrea's mosaic and recreated it with EQ7 - my great program to design quilts and print paper piecing patterns. I have the full-blown designer version, but there is a new, mini program on the market which costs half as much and is great for beginners and newbies wanting to design quilts - EQ Mini. The Electric Quilt Company is always having sales, so you can usually find great deals too. If you live in Europe/Germany, I am thinking about providing training classes to those of you who have the program and want to learn how to use it. : )

Here is the design recreated by me. I do not know who to credit for this design; there was no credit information on Andrea's collage. If you know who originally designed it, please tell me, so I can give credit where credit is due.It reminds me very much of the first pillow I made in our pillow swap in 2015.

Framed Kaleidoscope - Recreated in EQ7

I didn't want to use white fabric in this pillow, but decided on a shimmering, metallic Essex Yarn Dyed Linen that I bought from the Fat Quarter in the summer instead. Please be careful when ironing any RK linen fabrics; they have a tenancy to shrink if your iron is too hot. Some of you know I don't like to iron my fabric too much....I like a warm iron without steam when pressing my patchwork. For straightening my fabrics and getting rid of creases, I use steam but I still use a warm iron. I actually have a non-steam iron that I use when creating patchwork.

I don't normally pre-cut fabric templates when foundation piecing, but when you try to make those scraps work one more time, you get a little creative.

My Chaotic Mess when Creating

The sixteen 4 1/2" FPP (foundation paper-pieced) blocks were made in a couple of days. I was extremely early making the pillow, but I knew I had a lot of appointments in November. I felt really good about the way it was coming together.

16 - Four and One-Half Inch FPP Blocks

Although the design is scrappy, I decided to keep a unity in the middle with two green triangles and two white/silver triangles. It created a slight challenge in the end to balance the entire pillow top and still maintaining the unity of the center squares.

Keeping in mind, I only had one FQ of Robert Kaufman Essex Yarn Dyed Linen, I had to precut my strips to make sure I had enough in the end. This is probably one of the first times, it actually worked too.

As for most pillows, I love the look of piping especially in a contrasting color. I thought this pillow would look lovely with piping as well. I always have a bit of trouble when making piping. I know I should make 1 3/4 inch piping from bias strips, but I am too frugal. I make straight 1 1/4 inch piping and always get myself in a pickle when trying to apply it to the pillow top. I know there is a tool out there too for cutting your piping to exact size after it is made, but again, I am too frugal.

On to the quilting...I used a clear mono filament top thread and polyester white bottom thread and stitched in the ditch. Usually before quilting, I sandwich my top, batting (fusible Pellon 987F thin) and a white inexpensive (IKEA) cotton fabric. I increase my stitch length to 3.0 from 2.5 standard on my Pfaff 2046 Quilt Expressions.I opted to quilt in the ditch to really let the design come out.. That lovely "hand-stitching" is a special quilting stitch on my machine. I have tried numerous times to get it to work for me, but it never would.

**Stitch #27 is a traditional hand quilting stitch.**
To achieve this look correctly, you will need to use clear mono filament on the top and a thicker thread on the bottom. Decrease the tension on your spool about 1/16 to 1/8 of a rotation or five degrees counterclockwise if you can do so on your bobbin spooler of your machine. The red thread you see is actually the bottom bobbin thread....not the top thread. The top thread is clear and becomes invisible on the linen.

Machine Stitching all the Way

For the back of the pillow, I decided to go with a cute pin-striped fabric with traditional red/green. I love striped fabrics and usually save them for binding or piping, but this looks terrific too.

Back of Pillow with Covered Zipper

The stripes got a little wonky in the end when putting in the zipper, but still matches (for the most part).

Covered Zipper and Matching Pin-Stripes

So there she is ladies and gentlemen. You can start to see just a bit of the shimmering fabric from the front in the previous photograph, but it sparkles so much more in natural lighting. Sorry I couldn't capture it better.

The Full Monty - Christmas Framed Kaleidoscope Pillow for Andrea

It was really a pleasure sewing for Andrea. I didn't put myself under pressure when sewing this pillow and allowed ample time to finish. It takes time to make beautiful, quality items. It makes me happy to sew for others and to warm their hearts. I think Andrea enjoyed the pillow as well.

Happy and Safe Holidays everyone! May your days with family, friends, or quality time for yourself bring you peace and joy. We'll see each other next year!

Hugs,
Karen

bavarian apron tutorial for a Dirndlschürze

My, oh my! Where have I been?? Once again Instagram has taken over me, and I have neglected to post here on my blog. I've been such a bad girl. ;-) The truth is...the end of school madness has taken over. We have lots of birthdays filled with end of school parties, and there is just no more time to get the sewing done!

We recently celebrated the 198th Sommerfest in Leipheim where both my of my kids participated. What is the Leipheimer Kinderfest? It is a celebration of ending the Hunger in Leipheim after a three-year struggle of bad weather an not crops two hundred years ago. I guess you could also call it the Hunger Games. It starts out as a huge parade beginning at the town center and leads to the Sportheim (Sports Field) where Grades 1-7 participated in a group dance/performances.

198th Leipheimer Kinderfest Parade - the Beginning

Surprisingly, not all boy were not required to wear Lederhosen...just the boys from my daughter's class and the 7th Graders who were required to wear the pre-made costumes that are worn every year for the past uh...50 years!? They are not very attractive, and they must hate it with a total passion that they have to wear them!!

Costumed Seventh Graders ready for their "Hunger Games"

The girls from my daugther's class were asked to wear Dirndls which is a Bavarian style of dress with a "corset-style" top and an apron. The rest of the girls were asked to wear their best dress. I didn't want to buy a new Dirndl for this one event, and kids grow so fast don't they?! Instead, we had a new all-white dress for my daughter that could be "pimped" to make look Bavarian. All I had to do was make an apron or Schürtze!

My daughter in the 198th Leipheimer Kinderfest Parade

Two days before the big parade, I took it upon myself to get to it and start sewing my daugther's apron! I looked high and low for a good tutorial on a Dirndl. I found this video on YouTube which was a good start, but there was no free pattern. This pattern helped me out even more. But, if you can't understand German, then you might be lost. I will walk you through the process if you would like to make one.

A Dirndlschürze or apron should be

1. Slightly shorter than the dress or Dirndl,
2. Cover the entire front of dress from side seam to side seam,
3. Tie in the front of the dress,
4. and have a button tab to hold it to the center of the dress.

I used a 3/8th inch seam allowance instead of 1.5 cm.

Materials Needed:

• 2/3 yard fabric (My daughter's choice - Kate Spain's Honey Honey by Moda)
• 3 x 13 inch interfacing
• 3" long elastic band for button tab
• matching thread
• sewing notions
• dressmaker's ruler (tape measure)

First, you need to write down all of your measurements. Measure the width from side seam to side seam of dress yoke (A - 12 inches). I wanted the apron to go slightly higher than waist level to drop right below the lace on my daughter's dress yoke but end higher than the lace at the bottom. Most Dirndls stop one inch above the length - mine about five inches. Measure the length of dress front (B - 15 inches). My measurements are 12 x 15 inches
 
Apron Front:
Cut one rectangle 16 x 25 inches

Formula for your custom  measurement:
Length + one inch x Width * 2 + one inch seam allowance on each side

You are going to fold the shorter sides in twice to get a finished hem. Mark with at 3/8th of an inch with a ruler and Frixion pen. Mark again at 3/8 of an inch parallel to the first line.

Fold over the fabric to the first seam and finger press.

Fold over to the second line and pin in place.

Sew hem using a scant 3/8" seam allowance.

Repeat for the Bottom Hem using a 1/2" seam allowance. Mark your two lines at 1/2 inch intervals.

Fold over using your drawn line as a guide. Finger press. Fold over again to next line. Pin in place. Press if desired. Sew hem using a scant 1/2" seam allowance.

Now you have an APRON FRONT without ruffles.

Now you will need to put some stay stitching in the top of the apron to make all those pretty ruffles. Sew along the top about 3/8" using an extremely large stitch or hem stitch. [Please ignore the black elastic band. I didn't use it.]

Take the bottom thread and pull to get some puckers or ruffles.

Pull from each end and smooth them out the ruffles along the entire length of front apron yoke.

Tie a knot in one end of the the thread to hold the ruffles in place.

Lay along a ruler to get a width of the starting measurement. Mine was 12 inches.

Tie a second knot in the opposite side and use pins to keep ruffles in place. Yes, there is a tiny knot in there. ;-) Set aside the APRON FRONT for now.

On to the APRON YOKE and TIE.

Take your original measurement (A). Add one inch to the length. Mine was 12".

From Fabric - cut a rectangle 3 x 13 inches.
From Stabilizer - cut a rectangle about 1/2 smaller than the fabric.

Apply stabilizer to wrong side of fabric.

Fold fabric inward along all edges. Press.

Fold in half lengthwise and steam press.

Dirndl Specialty: Make the button tab by cutting a piece of elastic 3" long. Sew to the top inside of the Apron Yoke.

Baste the front of the YOKE to the APRON FRONT using large hand stitches. Set aside for now.

Make the TIES by cutting 2 1/2" fabric strips. Your length should be 3 * (A) the yoke front for each side tie. Mine should have been 36". (Mine are actually shorter, because I was using up a smaller piece of fabric.)


Cut 2 - 2 1/2" x 36" from your main fabric

Sew along the length right sides together (RST) using a 1/4" seam allowance. Flip right side out. Flip one end in 1/4 inch; leave one end open - this end will be enclosed in the yoke. Stay stitch along all the three finished sides.

Insert the finished TIE into the YOKE. Pin in place.

Pin the back of the APRON YOKE in place enclosing the TIES and APRON FRONT.

Carefully sew along the YOKE making sure you catch the TIES, APRON FRONT and BACK of APRON YOKE.

Remove your basting stitches!

Now look at this glam Dirndlschürze! What a gorgeous apron for any dress! Attach a button to the dress you sewed the apron for. Finished! Remember, my ties are a little shorter than they should be. You should be able to tie a bow in the front.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my quick tutorial on how to make an apron for a Bavarian Dirndl. Are wondering if I have a Dirndl? Yes, I do! But it was just too hot for my winter Dirndl and I have yet to buy a summer one. I thought I would leave you a picture of my dear husband in his Lederhosen. ;-)

Father-Daughter

And a picture of my sweet daughter. I am so terrible at braiding hair, but I partly managed this french braid.

Daughter watching the Show

The kids rocked with their version of "Rock You," by the way! It was totally awesome and hilarious - Bavarian style!

2nd Grade Class Rocking to a Bavarian Beat

Weißwurst und Bretzeln!

Thank you for stopping by! If you find a mistake, please share with all of us. Hope you enjoyed the coffee and the tutorial.

finally a finish?

A good week has passed since I posted last. I've been busy!! We had a couple of holidays the last few weeks. We actually have three long weekends in May...my oh my, how do we ever get anything done with so many holidays?? ;-) I hope to post the whole week what I have been up to. Today I am sharing my advanced sampler with you.

My quilt top and backing are now finally at the Quilt-Oase. I wanted to get this finished up last year, and it was on my last year's To-Do List. Do you remember? It was the very first one on the list!!

I finished up my last block and laid out my sashing. I was showing my blocks and sashing to other quilters, and they were steering me in a direction I didn't want to go. I understand that my XL sashing and borders take away from the sampler blocks, but that is exactly what I was going for.I wanted the blocks to become a complete design on its own collectively as if they were printed on another piece of fabric. I am proud of myself for standing my ground, by the way!

I made my backing panel...and boy with this a monster; it measures about 95 x 115 inches! Fortunately, I had enough fabric in my stash to make it. I bought this gorgeous pink and orange fabric at a very quaint fabric/quilt shop somewhere in North Carolina on a trip three years ago that matching quite well with Kate Spain's Fandango. It was at a killer price and bought five or six yards of it. (I am not going to calculate the amount, seriously I could be wrong...it could be seven). It was almost enough for the entire backing too! I made some quick large pluses to add some extra backing surface. I could have left the size as is for home quilting, but I want this one to be long arm quilted, since it it huge and will be time consuming! I went the extra mile to add ten inches to the height and width to accommodate the long arm machine. To do this, I first pieced the backing and then carefully slice it twice, once horizontally and once vertically where I eventually placed the white plus.

 

I even matched up the print in the backing when I sewed the WOFs together. I first sewed them using a 1/2" then realized I should have sewn using 1/4" to allow the pattern to repeat. I frogged it (ripped the seam) and sewed it again ;-)

So I bet you are a little curious to see how this is supposed to look in the end. This was my original design layout. It changed just a little, but the idea is still there! I reduced my border width by five inches each side to make better use of the white fabric. I used strips 11 inches unfinished for each side; therefore, I could get four strips from my fabric. You can see more pictures in my flickr album.

What did I learn this week? When you run into a problem, don't stress about it. Allow it to become a challenge and solve it with enthusiasm. Your new idea will be brilliant!

Thank you for dropping by! Time for me to go grab another cup of coffee and move on to another project. And no more samplers...well, I still have to finish up my patchwork group sampler, but that's it!!! How do you feel about samplers? Do you like to make them?

the casually pieced Rückseite - FREE PATTERN

Hello everyone! Here it is...the long awaited free pattern for the BACKING of prairie Traditions. This very simple pattern can also be used for the the front of a quilt, of course. It goes together in less than one morning.

I made the backing from scrap pieces and just improvised the whole thing until it was large enough. I need to do a little more improv in the future. It does the soul good!

You can download a PDF version on my pattern download page. Remember to please leave some thanks if you decide to use the pattern for your own personal use.

I made my original quilt backing from "HONEY HONEY" fabrics from Kate Spain for Moda. The colorway is so trendy with color popping & blocking everywhere in oranges and blues.

I hope you enjoy.