Beach Dreams Block 1: Leaping Dolphins

Excitement is building as we get closer to the release of the first block in the NEW BEACH DREAMS block of the month for 2021.

Block 1 will be released on January 15, 2021.

These adorable leaping dolphin are cut out using fusible web and machine appliqued to the simple 2 part background.  And their tails leave an extra fun splash behind them as they leap. 

I saw these two leaping on a bird sight-seeing trip off the Texas shore last winter.  I was so excited to see them out in front of our boat, showing off and playing in the surf.  It is a special memory I will always remember about my time at the beach at Rockport, TX.

Two-piece sea and sky background for the dolphins.

I hope you will take the time between now and the 15th to comb through your stash and pick out just the right fabrics for your quilt. 

If you plan to go out and purchase fabric, you can take along the Fabric Requirements Guide I prepared. 

CLICK HERE to download the Fabric Requirements.

CLICK HERE to sign up for a monthly Pattern subscription or the Pre-Pay Option.

With the Pre-pay Option you get 2 months free!

What about Kits?  

Of Course we are offering fabulous batik kits for each block, at the same price as lasts year's BOM!  It is a fabulous value.  You receive all the fabric to make the entire quilt top, including the background, all the applique, and the paper pieced blocks.  You also get the complete pattern printed in full color with complete instructions, illustrations, along with tips and tricks to help you be successful.    

CLICK HERE to order Kits.

In addition we will be posting monthly videos showing you how to do each block, and a dedicated Facebook Group just for this quilt.

So come along and quilt with us and make your Beach Dreams come true.

Fusible Web Tutorial

Time for another mini tutorial. This one is on fusible web.

Fusible web is essentially fabric glue. It has fine strands of cloth or paper embedded in it to hold the glue together in a sheet and a piece of paper on one or both sides of the glue sheet.

Pretty much its only purpose is to hold your applique in place while you stitch it down. It is not meant to replace stitching! HOW you stitch it down is the topic for a later tutorial.
(1) There are several variables to consider: THICKNESS. Thick sheets have a LOT of glue and work great to hold big things, like patches on the knees of jeans. Most quilt projects don't need thick sheets. Medium or light fusible is great for quilting. If a product has a "Lite" version that will be the best choice for most quilt projects.
(2) Another variable is the MELTING TEMPERATURE of the glue sheet. Some products require a moderate (wool setting) temperature to melt the glue. Heat N Bond is a brand that requires a moderate heat setting. If you use a HOT iron with Heat N Bond the adhesive properties of the product are gone and you are left with "falling applique".Some products require a hot (cotton setting) temperature to melt the glue. Products like Steam A Seam and Soft Fuse are in this category. Steam A Seam requires a very hot iron and moisture from a steam iron or wet pressing cloth. Soft Fuse (by Shades) and Misty Fuse work best with a dry iron.
(3) The third variable is TIME. Some glues are melted more slowly and require the use of a pressing cloth to avoid scorching (burning) your fused applique or background fabric. Slow melting glue will need to be pressed from both side of your piece before a complete bonding has occurred. Some glues bond quickly because they melt fast, and a quick touch of a hot iron is all that is necessary to hold them in place.Here is the bottom line: READ THE DIRECTIONS! I know, you sound just like the hubs who never wants to read the directions and takes twice as long to put stuff together as needed. But all fusible web products are different and you need to know the TIME and TEMP for the product you are using.
(4) Yup there is another variable you may not have considered. STICKINESS. Most products don't have it. They don't stick to your fabric or background until they are heated. But Steam A Seam 2 is different. It has a slight sticky surface, like what you would see on a sticky note. It will stick to the applique pieces and the background fabric with a light press of your fingers. It is repositionable which makes it a perfect choice for applique pieces that would otherwise slide around while you positioning them on your block. This is the reason my favorite product for this block of the month is Steam A Seam 2 Lite. All those little applique pieces are a booger and this product keeps them in place until you are ready to fuse them down. It uses a hot iron with steam, which I am already using, and does not add bulk to the applique.
My second favorite product is Soft Fuse (available on my website). It is NOT sticky, but when I am layering applique this is the product I want. It is so thin that it is perfect when you have 2 or more layers on top of each other. I love the way it feels under my applique. It is a bit expensive, so don't get sticker shock when you go to buy some.
Now, a few words about how to use fusible web. Buy a roll or yardage off a bolt of fusible if you can afford it. It will be way cheaper compared to buying it by the sheet. However, if you buy fusible sheets you can run them through your ink jet printer to trace your applique pieces. NO you cannot use a laser printer. I you buy yardage you can cut pages to size for your printer. Load them one page at a time for best results. Make sure you are printing on the PAPER side of the fusible sheet. Let the ink dry before trying to use the printed templates. Don't get it wet. Ask me how I know this. The ink runs and will ruin your fabric.
You don't need a light box to trace applique patterns, but if you have one, it is nice. You don't need a fancy expensive one. Home made works just fine. I have a piece of plexiglass I got at the lumber yard glued to 2 cut pieces of 2 x 4 pine. I can set it on my desk and put my Ott Lite under it to make a great improvised lite box. Use blue tape to tape the template page to the lite box. Move the fusible sheet around as needed to make the most of your fusible sheet.
Save the big leftover chunks in a zip bag for those times when you lose a piece and need to retrace it. Trace in pencil, not ink. And work from left to right on the sheet if you are right handed. If you are left handed, work right to left so you don't drag your drawing hand in the pencil lead you just deposited on the fusible backing paper. Keep an eraser handy for those lines that need redrawn.
Don't use a heavy hand when tracing. A light line is all you need.
LABEL each piece after you have traced it. Trust me on this. You will NOT remember where each piece goes after you have cut them out. Label each piece with letter or number from the template page and the fabric color.

Leave space between each tracing. You need to cut out your traced applique templates AROUND the traced line, NOT ON the traced line.

Windowing is a technique where you cut the middle out of the fusible web of large pieces and leave about 1/4" of fusible around the outer edges of the shape. Do this to keep your fabric soft and flexible.

Once they are cut out, sort the pieces into zip top bags by fabric color. This way you can fuse all traced web pieces of one color at the same time. Position all the Color A templates on the BACK of the Color A fabric and fuse them down. Leave a little room between each template so you have room to get your scissors in there without damaging nearby pieces. Sort the cut pieces into new bags by flower or motif, so all the parts for flower A are all in the same bag.

Ok, that's enough for now. Next time I will show you how to use an applique placement guide to perfectly position your applique on the background fabric.

EQ7 Seasons Row Along Blog Hop -- Week 3

I hope you have been following the incredible blog hop the last two weeks.

Not only are there a lot of totally amazing rows with seasonal themes, there are some really crazy good prizes (sweepstakes, give-aways, gifties – there has been some discussion about the proper word for this).

For information on how to enter the contests and to see all the rows click HERE.

Here is the schedule for new rows this week.

15-Sep Reeze Morning Glory 

15-Sep Marian Seams To Be Sew 

15-Sep Jennifer Sew Hooked 

15-Sep Carol Just Let Me Quilt

15-Sep Anneke Stof Genoeg 

 

 Well anyway, my row is summer and I designed a fun camping row with campers, a tent and cute critters atop the signs pointing their way to camp.
You can download the PDF pattern HERE or the EQ7 file HERE.

This is block 1 in the row.

Owl Block 1

There are 5 blocks which finished at 8” x 12”.  They are all applique blocks done with large easy pieces (mostly) which are done with fusible web and machine applique.  I have reversed all the templates for you already so when you download the PDF you will be ready to trace or print the templates onto the fusible web.

Camper Block 2

Tent Block 3

Camper Block 4

Racoon Block 5

Super thanks goes to Northcott fabric for supplying some of the fabric used in this block and for supplying one of the HUGE prizes we will be giving away.
So what prizes am I offering?  I have a boatload. . . .or maybe I should say a trailer full of stuff to give away.

First you have to enter the totally amazing Aurifil Thread give away.  This stuff is made in Italy and it is amazing stuff.  No lint, very strong, and fabulous colors.  Here is the set you will win if your name is chosen.  We are using Rafflecopter for the give-aways so be sure you enter in the box below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

But I also have a totally cute Andover Fat Quarter Pack to give away, an Aurifil sampler pack of thread, and an Andover batik strip pack.  Yea, this is good stuff!!!  Oh, and I will be tossing in a few free patterns just to keep things fun.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now for the other goodies:

Northcott Fabrics, 1 entry per entrant per week, all featured blogs today have same giveaway. 6-8 yards of fabric in 1 yard lengths $60-80.00 Value based on $10.00 per yard cost of fabric.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fat Quarter Shop: Every blog has a different opportunity to win. Each entrant may enter at each blog's featured day. 1 $25.00 gift certificate.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Morning Glory Design Facebook Page:  Click HERE

Sulky: 1 six-pack Cotton thread contains 6 spools at 500 yards per spool
Each packs value is $36.00

Connecting Threads: 1 $25.00 gift certificate

Sew Fresh Quilts: 3 Fox and Friends Patterns

Craftsy and Nancy’s Notions Giveaways, You must stitch out one unique block from any of the rows offered today or any featured day of this Row-Along. Filler Rows are excluded. Filler Row Designers are Be A Quilter, Stof Goeneg, and Linda Franz. You may enter this giveaway every day from September 01, 2015 to October 13, 2015. You must upload a picture of your block to the Flickr Group prior to entering. Then go back to the blog of your choice and enter the Giveaway for the Craftsy or Nancy’s Notions Giveaways. All entries will be double checked. The Flickr group is here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Craftsy: 1 class of your choice – 3 total classes Average Value $40.00 each

Nancy’s Notions: 1 $10.00 of gift certificate – 2 total certificates Total Value $20.00 each.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By entering any of these giveaways, it is assumed that you agree with the following rules and guidelines.

Guidelines and Rules of the Gifts Offered by Our Sponsors:

• No purchase whatsoever is necessary.
• You must be 18+ in order to win a gift.
• You are responsible for claiming and paying any tax owed on the value of any gift that you win.
• All gifts will be given between September 01, 2015 and October 13, 2015. Winners will receive notification via email. Winners have approximately 7 days to claim their gift, if 7 days passes, the gift will be offered to another eligible entrant. Winners who will receive a shipped item, will need to provide, name, address, city, state/province and country along with a phone number. All international winners will be responsible for any fees customs chooses to assess. Winners where prizes can be delivered via email, must provide a name, country and a valid email address. All prizes will be awarded.
  All winners will be announced on the blogs where they won and here at Seams To Be Sew. Winners agree to allow their name, city, state and/or country to be publicized.
  While we hope you will comment on the posts of the day and we love comments, we want no reply bloggers to have a chance at winning also, all bloggers will use Rafflecopter to give their gifts away. You will be asked for your name, email, city, state, and country. (City, State, Country will be asked to identify any winner where the same name may per chance happen)
• Some restrictions on gifts will apply based on shipping policies.
• The Electric Quilt software giveaway will be held at DoYOUEQ.com’s blog and will be given away the week of October 6, 2015
• Odds of Winning a prize are based on total number of rafflecopter entries during each week and in total for all giveaways.
• This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.
• Participating bloggers may enter any of the giveaways as long as they don’t participate on their own blogs giveaway.
• The word giveaways in the rules and guidelines are also known as sweepstakes.

All giveaways will be given away within 24-48 hours of the expiration of the giveaway. You have 7 days to reply to the email sent to you. If you don’t answer, we will give your gift to another entrant.