When quilters get together, we not only quilt and socialize but usually come away with one or new tips.  At a recent sew-in – it happened again.  Barb was working on some hour-glass blocks and showed me that just by clipping a few threads at the intersection of the joined triangles,  a perfectly flat center results.

I found the directions for just doing that on Debbie Mumm’s general instruction website.

“Twisting Seams

For ease in construction when using quarter-square triangles, we add a twist…. When pressing the last seam, twist the center of the seam so that it fans into a square. Loosen stitches in the “square”. Remove any stitches that prevent the square from laying flat. All seam allowances fan out in the same direction to eliminate excess bulk.”

What could be easier?

We’ll be heading to North Carolina in a couple of hours and are getting a good sendoff from upstate New York – Right now it’s snowing – Go Figure!  It is April 27th after all.

I’ll be visiting my son and his family for the week while Tom attends a photo seminar nearby.  My son says that it will be sunny and in the 70′s or 80′s during the day, cooling down to 50′s at night – Can’t ask for anything better than that!

I have a number of quilt projects to finish while we’re away:

• binding on three table runners
• binding on my second small wall-hanging for the guild’s silent auction
• binding for the ALS quilt
• applique on the Celtic applique table topper and
• applique on the Simply Charming fat quarter quilt

Don’t think I’ll run out of things to do!

The quilter’s knot is a small knot that can easily be hidden within the batting when hand quilting or between the background fabric and applique piece when doing hand applique.   I’ve been looking for directions on  making an end knot for some time now – and one of the tips in the second lesson of the Celtic applique class that I’m taking had just that.  A video can also be found at eHow.com page on Applique End Knot.  It produces a very small knot that can be hidden easily.

I should have searched the web before this to find out how to do it.

Bring the needle through to the back of the background fabric.

Secure the applique stitch near the entry point

Make a loop and then bring the thread through the loop three times

Pull the thread taunt, buring the knot between the background fabric and applique  This means that there will be no tails that might show through to the background fabric.

I’m now working on the second, on-line class for an Celtic applique table runner.

The ‘stained glass’ inserts are basted in place.

'Stained Glass' Inserts

Now to begin the actual applique.

The bias stems are easily sewn into place with invisible needle-turn applique.

Insert needle into background fabric, next to the thread in the fold of the bias strip.  Bring up needle about 1/8″ from the last stitch.  (As in needle-turn applique, catch just one or two threads of applique fabric.)

Whenever I take a class I’m hoping that I’ll pick up one or two new tips in addition to learning or improving on a technique.  I really like the tip in this lesson to insert  pin with a red head where one  strip will cross over another.  By placing the pin a few stitches before the intersection, it is a reminder that space has to be left to insert a bias strip underneath.

Intersection marked with red-headed pin

Thought it was about time to take another quilt class  -haven’t done so in quite some time.  I decided to try an online class on Celtic Applique from Quilt University.    Even thought I’ve done the technique myself on my daughter’s wedding quilt, I thought it would be a good idea to find out if I was doing it right – and possibly pick up some tips.  In addition to the Celtic design, the class will show how to insert fabric into the design, stain glass style.

In the first lesson, we explored different fabrics  and the resulting fabric strips

In addition the instructor suggested that the bias tape maker be held upside down when ironing the bias strip, holding the tape maker at a slight angle to the ironing board and the fabric flat on the ironing board surface.   I think that it really is an easy way to make the bias strips.  The strips are stored on a empty paper towel roll ready to use for the next step of the project.

Now my bias strips are made; pattern has been traced on the background

- I’m ready for session 2, which opens Friday.