Another foundation pieced card …

I made more patchwork cards - this one is based on a flying geese pattern and the two below are half of a garden path pattern (from this book)

It’s an easy process - a bit time consuming, but I do get to use up tiny bits of left over fabric. I’m happy to share the machine embroidery patterns (just leave a comment).

We have two birthdays coming up, so I decided it was time to design a new card. This one is foundation pieced using my embroidery machine.

I digitise the design in Thred, convert it to the right format and resize it in Embird and then stitch it out. The cards are from Officeworks (you can get them in a range of colours).

I could just do traditional foundation piecing, but I find this much easier and way more accurate.

The instructions and design (in pes, jef and hus) are now available here or check out my sidebar (Machine Embroidery Designs).

I’ve been working on my Snail’s Trail block.

It is working better now that I stitch the entire foundation first and then the seams (before I was doing a bit of the foundation and then the seam and it took much longer).  As the final block is 13cm by 13cm, you can see the ‘trail’ is quite detailed.

Once the instructions are finished, I’ll upload it.

This is the block I made using my embroidery machine (a janome mc350e). The block is 13.8cm by 13.8cm. If you would like a copy of the design, check my sidebar or go here.

I’ve always enjoyed the accuracy of foundation piecing, but I don’t have the time to make the foundations. I decided to try to digitise an embroidery that I could use instead.

I do all of my digitising in Thred (it’s free!) and use Embird for converting and resizing.

The first colour stitches the foundation and then it is a matter of placing the fabric, stitching the next colour, flipping the fabric, placing the next piece of fabric, etc.

The final colour stitches the cutting line around the edge.

This design will stitch out a block 13.8 cm square (including 6mm seam allowances). I know this is a strange size, but it was the biggest I could fit into my hoop!

Here is what it looks like in fabric …

I’m in the process of writing instructions and converting to different sewing machine formats. Leave a comment if you’re interested in a copy (free!).

I tried making the ‘logs’ on my log cabin block bigger…

I like it. I’m not sure about the arrangement of fabrics. The red in the middle is my favourite and I don’t think there is enough of it in the block.

I’ve been using my PCQuilt software to audition different arrangements…

or …

I like the above option the best, so I might sew a block and then see.

I’ve taken my sewing machine to the sewing machine hospital. We think it might need a new computer, but it’s still in warranty so that’s OK. It does mean I can’t sew out the above blocks for a while (I use my embroidery machine to do foundation piecing), but I have two other sewing machines, so I still be crafting.

I’m thinking about using my 20 fat quarters of Heather Bailey Freshcut fabric to make a turning twenty quilt.

My sewing machine woes continues - it appears I’m the only person in the world with this problem. Luckily it’s still under warranty. I’m waiting for the people at Janome to do some testing to determine (I think) if the upgrade is a bit dodgy.

So I’ve been think about some of my unfinished projects - like this one. As it was very time consuming to piece this block, I decided to make each of the strips wider.

Some of the stitching lines are showing - maybe I could use ‘rinse away’ thread because they’re just placement lines. Also I really need to press as I go, but this was just a quick one to get an idea of the design.

As it was a busy day today, not much work happened. I worked on my third version of the log cabin block.

I’ve swapped the red fabric and the green floral. At this stage this is the one I’m going to use.

I also started a little hand bag for my eldest daughter. I made one for my youngest daughter out of embroidery trials and of course what you do for one you have to do for the other one. She chose a water melon design from Bunnycup Embroidery . I’d post a picture, but the one on the website is much nicer than mine. For starters, I didn’t do it as an applique just embroidery on calico and it looks a bit bland.  Now I just need to make it into a little bag.