Ok, I am pulling your leg when I say it is private and super personal... but come on, if you have a blog, don't tell me you don't check out how many followers you have? Like daily, or even hourly? And are you totally elated when you get another one, and then crushed when one 'unfollows' you. K, if this is none of you, then I just sound crazy, so please stop reading... but don't 'unfollow' me=)
Us bloggers are a funny group. When we only have 100 followers we dream of 200, then we have a couple hundred and look at the blogs that have thousands and think, 'Oh, if I could just have 1,000, I would be so happy.' Come on... you know you do it=)
Then we all offer these giveaways that we hope will bring in 100, instead it got us four, and in the meantime, 2 others dropped our blog like a hot potato. I did a guest blog with an awesome friend of mine, I won't say her name so I totally don't embarrass her, (mostly so you don't go and follow her blog and unfollow mine). Anyway, we both were guests on each others blogs, I think she got all of you to follow her and I believe I got 1, and I am pretty sure she made her mother sign up to mine). I think there should be a 27 page form that has to be filled out before someone can unfollow a blog. Hoping that will discourage them from bothering to dismiss our blog. Or at the very least, tell us why you are unfollowing. Are we not funny anymore? Do we not produce enough? Pictures no good? Give us something to work on... please!
Ok, all in all, I am just having fun with you... and yes I do dream about having 1,000 followers. In the meantime am honestly super happy that I have you guys! I do think you are awesome!
And for that, tomorrow I will be announcing a blog tour our super creative design team has dreamt up. Of course we will all have giveaways!
Now, onto my quilt topic. Leaves. I have decided to add leaves to my circle/ric rac quilt. It didn't have enough embellishments yet. LOL! Now if you know me at all, my method of applique is by fusing. But this time, I didn't want to fuse and have raw edges or satin stitched edges.
Don't laugh, but I actually had to go to the internet and google different ways of hand applique. I was considering calling a few ladies from my guild, but was so dang embarrassed to say that I had no idea what to do, that I refrained.
Hold onto your socks, because I even tried a few to see what worked and what wouldn't send me off to the loony farm. So I ruled out the freezer paper method and the needle turn thing. And got rid of that reverse applique method. So here is what I am doing... and I know, it probably isn't even a real applique method.
I am putting fabric right sides together, tracing a leaf shape, sewing on the line, making a slit in the back, turning it, and going to hand tack that down to the quilt. Can we just pretend it is hand applique? And that I am really growing as a quilter?
What do you think? Fake applique?
20 comments:
I say whatever works for you is cool! My favorite method is using no-melt template plastic and starch. A good description of this technique was recently posted on Erin Russek's blog. Now there's a girl who does gorgeous applique! ps. I follow your blog!
sewing a front and back together and turning them for applique is a good method! it helps to clip or notch curves and use a stylus to smooth the edges once they're turned. they're fun!
don't worry about other bloggers! blogging is supposed to be for yourself, about yourself and what you do and how you do it; followers are incidental, probably accidental, and certainly capricious. so just enjoy!
Here we call that applique and I love it when I do tiny things.Happy applique!!
I`m a happy follower.
Oh, I love your leaves! It seems like a fine applique method; I have done machine applique - satin stitch, then blanket stitch - for decades, but I just cannot make myself do hand applique. At the same time, I am feeling a little dissatisfied with the "old" methods!
Actually that is the only method that works perfectly for every shape there is :) I love using it for tiny circles and please don't tell me I wasn't appliqueing!
As for the follower thing: too true! I was bummed the other day to see that someone had unsubscribed but what are they supposed to do? Wait for the biannual posts? :)
Since applique really is "applying something on top of another", then your method fits the bill! I believe the reason most folks do not do it that way is because of the change in thickness (ie - you now have an extra layer of fabric), but that can actually be a good thing on an art quilt. It adds even more dimension!
I have a very small follower list on my blog, but I follow a lot of blogs. The reason I usually un-follow (not that I do it often, mind you) is that I can't keep up with everything. I like your blog in particular because you keep us up to date on dimensional elements - you're kind of a mold-breaker, you know! And as I like to introduce new elements to my sewing, you give me a push toward the outer limits. Ha! Didn't know you were so inspiring, right? :)
Hi Jackie I have actually used that method years ago except I kept my dryer sheets and used then for the backing. They were lighter and you didn't use good fabric. But I believe that what ever works best for you do it. Know one will even know unless you tell them (whoops you already told them)LOL I love your blog keep up the good work. Blessings Sandra
I have done the applique with a lightweight webbing and water soluble thread in either the top or bobbin. Then when you turn it right side out and iron it you can spritz it with water. The stitches dissolve and yet the seam is still turned under for the applique.
I don't see why you call it fake applique...very nice! I'm not a follower but you just persuaded me. I'm not sure how the "following!" works because I use Google reader for my blogs and pop my blogs that I like into that and you are probably in there ;)...under my Needle and Thread Network category. Catch you later!
Whoops, you got my school blog....
I don't see why you call it fake applique...very nice! I'm not a follower but you just persuaded me. I'm not sure how the "following!" works because I use Google reader for my blogs and pop my blogs that I like into that and you are probably in there ;)...under my Needle and Thread Network category. Catch you later!
I am so with you on the followers thing. I have had two "unfollow" in the past month. Yes it hurts my feelings. I want to know WHY? Can I do something better? Don't you like me anymore???
I really wish you had to answer a simple "Why are you leaving?" Question. At least I could potentially learn from it.
BTW - I am staying!
yup on the follower issue,you got me. Although I don't really dream of having 1000's of followers as that would give me "performance anxiety".
Re your leaves - they are 3D applique, and if it was me, I'd stitch them down by machine, using it to make a vein on them - I'm not much of a by hand person!
I'm a happy follower--but not with that stupid plus sign--with bloglovin'. I add blogs to my google thingie, and then can never find them again, or forget to read them! Bloglovin' notifies me IRT, and I never miss a post now! Don't know how anyone else likes it, but it works great for me. (Don't forget to check there for followers too.)
I find that even though I have several hundred followers there are only about twenty that I hear from regularly. The rest I only hear from when I do a giveaway. And I would like my giveaways to be for my followers but then all these other people join in. And I don't want to make following a criteria for joining the giveaway because I really don't care about followers - I would just like to make some friends. And I follow a gazillion blogs, including yours, but most of those people don't follow me or even visit. So I have myself convinced that my blog is for me and anyone who joins me is gravy.
Hi Jackie - I've used that same method of applique, but using single sided fusible interfacing for the reverse, that way once you turn it through you can position it and then press and it sticks! (And then you can machine stitch as desired) The "perfect" lazy girl's mock needle turn applique :)
Jackie, what you are doing is a early type of applique, it is how I first learned and with some slight refinements you can use it in many different ways.
As to the Friend Connect thing, I do have one on my blog with only 47 followers, but it is not a true 'read' of who visits my blog, because I also have the email sign up and it does not show number on the blog, but I have many more readers who get my blog direct to their email... There is also the RSS feed, which is the way I subscribe to your blog, so just cause it says I have 47 followers, I do know that by my statistics counter I usually have more that 350 visits per week and generally about 80 + per post.
I think they look wonderful and anything I sew to the front of my quilts I call applique.
I recently went through the blogs I follow and unfollowed quite a few, I felt terrible, but it was out of control. Most of them were people who said you had to follow to win something. I don't enter anymore if that's a requirement.
yay, Jackie! You got lots of chit chat from this post - which is what I try to aim for now instead of followers. Comments tell me that people are responding to what I'm putting out there - and it only takes one comment to make my day!
I've seen this method of applique praised for making circles. I think you need some Misty Fuse! just use that awesome creative brain of yours and get the ideas into fiber!
I will unfollow sometimes just because I don't have enough time to read them all and need to just read my closest friends....like you.
I do that kind of applique for circles! :-)
I agree with most of the others - if it's sewn down on the front, it's applique! I also like the comment about making them like you did and then sewing down the middle as a vein - that would really make it 3D.
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