The Joyful Stitcher – Part 2

Today I’m going to continue with my preview of my newest book, “The Joyful Stitcher”.  (To see part 1 of the preview, click here.)  I will share 4 more projects from the book today and in Part 3, I will share the last 7 projects.

Before I start, I want to say thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented on Part 1 of the preview!  Everyone had lots of questions about the projects and working with wool, so after I finish within preview,  I will do a blog post answering all of those questions.  You will just have to be patient with me, as it is crunch time for Spring Quilt Market, and I am scrambling to get my booth ready.  I am excited to answer all of those questions, as soon as all that prep is done.

 

First up is Mandala.   I love the symmetry and repeating patterns that you see in all the Mandala designs on Pinterest, etc.  For this one, I off set two of the designs so that the quilt has a balanced asymmetry that makes it more interesting.  The quilt is worked in 4 sections so the applique can be stitched in smaller sections that are easier to handle as you do the hand stitching.

 

My idea for this one started out with the thought of using a low-volume print background.  I have never bought low -volume prints (or so I thought), but I was thinking about all the cream prints that I usually kick out of the Charm Packs that I am so fond of.  After going through my 5″ charm square bin, I collected quite a few cream prints, then I cut a few more from my stash. Turns out I had enough 5″ squares to make 2 of these quilts!

 

If you look closely, you will again see that I mixed in some cotton with my wool – see the large blue and yellow circle.  In this case, it helps to reduce the bulk that can occur When layering pieces of wool.

 

As I said in my last post, I love how the wool puffs up with the quilting.  I used a wool batting in this one and it has wonderful weight and dimension.

 

 

I enjoyed making this design so much, that I also added a runner option.  If you’ve been visiting this blog for a while, you know I love runners!  I use them in lots of places around my house and I currently have this one hanging in my hallway.

 

For this one, I mixed in a few simple embroidery stitches that I didn’t do in some of the bigger projects in the book.

 

It doesn’t take much time to do on a smaller project like this, but it adds so much more interest.

 

On this one, I wanted to mention that I did use some blanket stitch.  In Part 1 of the preview I talked about mainly using a whip stitch because it is much faster and much easier to get even.  In this case, I wanted to use a blanket stitch in a contrasting thread around the large circles.  Because I was using contrasting thread I wanted a stitch line around the outside edge of the circle and with a whip stitch, this would be missing.

 

Next up is Boho Charm.  I have been loving all the Bohemian style things I have been seeing lately – with their eclectic mix of colors and prints.  This quilt represents that style, but with some large blocks of grey background so your eye has a place to rest.

 

I want to show some close-ups of the details on the applique.  As you can see, I used some reverse applique with some cotton behind the wool.  I think this helps add more interest to the wool with the added print and color.

 

 

 

 

This quilt only has 4 small blocks to applique, so it is a good one to start with if you want to give this technique a try.  In addition to the applique, I also love the scrappy binding.

 

Lastly, I had a little fun using some of the designs from this quilt to make a hoop.  Have you noticed how popular hoops ae lately?  They are everywhere!  I painted mine blue to cover up the boring wood color that they come with.  This is an 18″ hoop – so it’s pretty large.  Combined with the wool and bright colors, it adds a fun pop to your wall.

 

Again, I will be giving away a copy of the book to anyone who leaves a comment (one from each blog post in the preview).  So, let me know if you have any more questions about the wool or which design you like best.

If you are interested in purchasing the book, check at your local quilt shop or click here to order online from us.