painted apron ~ from my heart to yours

while offering this class at prickly pear quilts in the city of helena on october 4th, i’m excited to also be offering several new classes here locally in great falls, at the bernina silver thimble quilt store very soon.  {call bernina to let them know you want to be put on the class list}.  i’m very excited to be teaching, showing all the different samples, ideas, and experimental design fun you can have, too!

definitely from my heart to yours!  these aprons make inexpensive and practical gifts to give, whether it is to a homemaker, cook/baker, or artist!  they are meant to be used, and enJOYed!  

i always like to use a stabilizer as it makes free motion so much more fun, and well… stable!  all of these are listed, as all are easily applied.  there isn’t a wrong one… just different choices.  i do always choose a heavyweight as the weight is important.  a fusible is convenient, unless you don’t have it! in that case, 505 spray is handy and a simple alternative for using any type of embroidery stabilizer product.

i chose the heavyweight cut-a-way type.  depending on the density of your quilting… a tear-a-way type would have worked good… {if it was just the heart shape}, but i knew i wanted to put a sketchy border around the heart, and one thing about tear-a-way, is that when you go to tear it away, it can also pull the stitches, and because i didn’t want to do it that way, since a sketchy border, is… well, “loose n’ sketchy” … i chose cut-a-way. that’s not to say it’s the only way to do it… it’s just what i chose.  and that’s what i did after the quilting was finished, i cut it away.  while it keeps the quilting stitches stable while quilting, eliminating puckering {very annoying}, it will soften with washing, and on the apron, since one is wearing it over clothing {hopefully!} ahhem… it’s not a problem like it might be on the inside of a t-shirt.   {just sayin’}

notice i put two layers of cut-a-way on the  backside of the apron.  one would have worked.  i was just experimenting! but it was good n stabilized!

 free motion.  chose your feet wisely!  both of these two are good choices.  the “c” foot gives a bit more visibility.  the #29 clear one on the right, also has good visiblity, and i think it helps to stabilize the needle and fabric because it has more “foot on the surface” when quilting.

of course, as you’ve read so many times before here on the blog, i love using masterpiece in the bobbin, and magnifico on the top.  i’m using my favorite needle of all time, the 90/14 topstitch with titanium coating, and an extra long-lasting, very sharp needle point.  i usually adjust my top tension downward, 1 full number.

get yourself into position, relax {drop those shoulders} and add some texture, and color action!  relax.  this is not perfection… it’s just “coloring with your needle and thread” and it is not {i repeat NOT} meant to be stressful!  feel free to go outside the lines!

 as you can see above, i auditioned the position of the writing i wanted to add, using the frixion pen, in which the ink disappears when an iron touches it.  {my most favorite new notion!} this little sketchy phraise is not meant to “fence me in” ~~~ it’s just meant to give me confidence on placement {feel free to erase it with the iron and begin again}… and so i decide where i want to go, and i also have the freedom to change it as i’m quilting, if i feel i want to!  

 yes… the paint ran a bit on me.  but i don’t think that’s a big deal, and in fact, i rather like the artistic feel of it. i like to quilt over the words twice.  this means i go backwards once i hit the last letter on the last word.  it takes practice to go backwards!  {and frontwards as far as that goes}, but i like the look.  it’s meant to be “sketchy” and freely done… {not perfectly!} 

i did forget to add my quilted signature… will have to do that later.  

it’s a sweet, simple bit of practical art.  and anyone can do this…  just come willing to see, and come put your own style onto a bit of an apron and make it uniquely yours.

blessings on your day!
xo
leslie