How To Make A Modern Sunbonnet Sue - My May 2013 Bee Block

My NYC Mod Quilt Guild  Bee has entered a new year and E gets to be Queen Bee again - you might remember that last year she had us create blocks for her Bible Quilt.

This year E has come up with another wonderful challenge - a modern take on the traditional Sunbonnet Sue/Sam.
Here're the fabric and instructions that she sent out to us

This was a great chance for me to do something a bit more artsy so here's photos I took along the way so you can see a bit of my planning and design and how I created the block

Outline sketch of Sunbonnet Sue on freezer paper.

Fabric detail added to sketch.

12.5" square drawn onto yellow fabric with a blue water erasable marker, if you squint you can just about see the blue lines drawn on the fabric.  Don't cut the block to size yet as the fabric may 'shrink' when you satin stitch the applique onto it.

Sections of sketch cut out and ironed onto fabric (freezer paper adheres to fabric but not permanently).  The fabric is ironed onto the top side of light weight double sided fusible.

Hang on to all the small cut out bits of the sketch that don't need to be ironed onto fabric, you'll need them later to create an outline on the fabric.

Iron the freezer paper sketch outline onto the background fabric in the exact position that you want Sunbonnet Sue to be and draw around the outline as a template - I again used water erasable marker at this stage. 

Remove outline template and place cut out fabric sections of the sketch on background fabric to check placement.

Now I used a fabric pencil to draw over the sections of the outline that I wanted to create with a stitched line on the finished block and then I used water to erase all the blue lines from the fabric

I removed the backing paper from the double-sided fusible and ironed the fabric pieces into their final position on the background fabric and then I removed the sketched freezer paper from the top of each piece.

I used a straight stitch to sew over all the pencil lines on the background fabric and once this was done the pencil lines were no longer visible beneath the stitches.  Next, I used a satin stitch to outline the edge of each fabric piece and to hold it securely in place.  I changed the colour of the thread in different areas to add detail.

I knotted and sewed all the threads through the stitches on the back of the block and then cut the block to size (12.5")

 I'm in love with my finished block - is that okay to say out loud?  I love her so much I'd like to keep her for myself.  I'm very reluctantly going to pop her in the post to E over the weekend and can only hope that she loves her as much as I do. 

I really can't wait to see other blocks for this quilt being posted, it'll be fun to see what everyone else's take is on a modern Sunbonnet Sue/Sam.

You can see my NYC Metro Mod Guild post about the Bee Block here.

Related Posts:

All Done And Here It Is ...

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Quilty - Sun Bonnet Sue/Sam

Quilty - My Bee Blocks

Click these buttons to see more of my NYC Mod Guild blocks and my tutorials

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

All Done And Here It Is ...

Amazing experience at the dentist this morning, had a crown made and fitted using Cerec CAD - they took digital images of my teeth then designed me a new tooth, the CAD machine carved the tooth from ceramic material (took 13 minutes) the tooth was then fired to 800°C (25 minutes), allowed to cool (2 minutes) and then fitted in my mouth - as a Ceramicist I was very excited and asked lots of questions, just brilliant!  Didn't need anaesthetic as I had a root canal in the same tooth 4 weeks ago so no nerves = no pain. Left the dental office after 2 hours feeling fantastic - highly recommended :)

So no excuses, I was feeling good and had plenty time to crack on with the 'Children of Israel' block and here it is finished ...

Finished 'Children of Israel' Block

I joined a Quilting Bee so I'd have to make blocks that weren't within my comfort zone and to use fabrics that wouldn't necessarily be my own choice - I think the experience will push my boundaries and expand my quilting experience and that's just what's happened!  I've never used applique or free motion sewing on a quilt block before but it's something I'll be very open to doing in the future on my own quilts.  I found it a little stressful cutting up someone else's fabric and wondering what their expectations might be but maybe that'll get easier as I make more Bee Blocks over the coming months.

So all that's left now is to pop the block in the post back to my May Queen Bee, Earamichia.  Hope she loves it as much as I do!

Other related posts about my 'Children of Israel' block:
My First Quilting Bee
Children of Israel 12" Quilting Block
A Very Wet Tuesday
Creating and Adding Applique to the Children of Israel Block

And you can click this link to see all of my NYC Mod Quilt Guild Bee Blocks and Challenge Blocks/Quilts.

 

 

A Very Wet Tuesday

Coming from England a girl is quite used to a fair bit of rain but I have to say that this American wet stuff is something else, when it decides to rain boy does it rain and boy do you get wet.

It's rained off and on all day even so, I've had a really good day, managing finally to find a coat suitable for my Dad's funeral (do you have any idea how difficult it is to get hold of a coat at this time of year in Manhattan?  Quite incredible really, lots of suit jackets and North Face coats but nothing that bit longer, suitably smart and dressy! My husband, S, suggested that I wait till we get to England and buy one there - you can buy a coat all year round in England, maybe it's down to the constantly changeable weather?  Anyway, I didn't fancy doing that, I want to travel with everything already sorted and ready and now it is so that's a huge relief.

This evening S and I went to our monthly Film Club meetup, a year looking at some of Stanley Kubrick's movies - so far we've watched and discussed Paths of Glory (1957) and tonight we looked at Lolita (1962).  

"She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks.  She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always - Lolita." - Vladimir Nabokov

We've pretty much all heard of the movie and at least know something of the term 'Lolita' but I'd never seen it or read the book.  Well now I've read the book written by Vladimir Nabokov in 1955, (previously I'd only heard of him in the line from The Police song 'Don't Stand So Close To Me'), I've seen Kubrick's 1962 film version starring James Mason, Shelley Winters and Peter Sellers and also Adrian Lyne's 1997 film version starring Jeremy Irons and Melanie Griffith.  Have to say I'm crazy about the book, I thought it was amazingly well written, I loved the character and story development and constantly struggled with just how much I was enjoying a book about what is still a taboo subject.  For me the Kubrick movie was incredibly disappointing, probably down to constraints due to the period when it was made, but it failed to deliver on many levels.  However, the more recent Lyne's movie was, in my opinion, a joy.  It stayed faithful to the book and managed to take every image I'd conjured in my head while reading the book and reproduce them accurately on screen - quite a rare feat.  So tonight's discussion was, as always, very lively with varied opinions, much chat and even more laughter.

I did manage to get in a bit of sewing today.  I'm a bit further on with the 'Children of Israel' block and here's the proof.

'Children of Israel' block - progress on the sewing front!

If tomorrow's visit to the dentist to have a crown fitted isn't too traumatic I may try to get it completed, but don't hold your breath!

Other related posts about my 'Children of Israel' block:
My First Quilting Bee
Children of Israel 12" Quilting Block
Creating and Adding Applique to the Children of Israel Block

There's Still Time To Say "Happy Mother's Day"

Wow, what a wonderful day!

Back in March we celebrated our English 'Mother's Day' and my children told me that there was no way we'd be celebrating the American 'Mother's Day' as well, even though I live here now.  So I was really surprised and delighted this morning when I received more gifts and Skype messages to celebrate today also.  Also got to have dinner out this evening at Azucar - our local Cuban restaurant - lovely.  I guess that makes me a doubly special Mum ;)

Didn't have a chance to sew my 'Children of Israel' block, spent the day shopping for clothes for my Father's funeral and the only action my sewing machine saw today was altering everything to fit correctly when we got back home.

A very busy week in store - starting with green card biometrics (fingerprinting) tomorrow morning but then a night in alone and the opportunity to crack on with the quilt block as S and F are off to 'The Birth and Death of Stars' ' at the Natural History Museum, NYC.

Creating and Adding Applique to the Children of Israel Block

Using iron-on adhesive transfer web to attach applique to block

To follow on with my idea to include an image of Moses as part of the block, I quickly sketched out a basket and bullrush design slightly smaller than the central square of the block.  Next I selected my fabric, obviously something to represent basketweave would be good and in my stash I found this wonderful Quilter's Linen by Robert Kaufman.  I used two shades, beige and taupe - the darker shade will create depth and shadow for inside the basket.

Basket pieces cut out and ready to attach to block

Using an English product called Bondaweb (I think it's called Wonder Under in America) I ironed the adhesive transfer web to the two fabrics.  Next I cut out my basket design and drew around it onto the Bondaweb paper backing.  I cut the basket sections out of the fabric, removed the backing paper and ironed them onto the central square block.

Appliqued basket with free machine stitched outline

Using a zigzag stitch I appliqued the basket onto the central fabric square.  Once this was done I sketched bullrushes onto the fabric using an air erasing pen - as long as I don't iron over my sketched lines before they disappear then the pen will be gone from the fabric over the next couple of hours.

Close up detail of central square

I lowered the feed dogs on my machine and free motion stitched over the sketched lines using different coloured threads.  I used a different colour bobbin thread to add more textural detail as this lifts through from the back of the fabric depending on the tension used.  Finally I filled in the outline of the bullrushes again using a different colour to add more detail.






TIP: I haven't appliqued within a block before and what I've learnt from this is that it would be better to do the sewing and applique onto the fabric before cutting it to size for the block.  The heavy stitching pulls the fabric in slightly and, as we all know, every 1/8" counts when you're patchworking so now I'll have to do scant 1/4" seams to make up the difference.  Cutting the square after appliqueing would mean you could cut the square accurately to size.

And here's the finished square within its block

Finished applique and free motion stitching

Well it's time to walk the dog now, she's been quite neglected today as I've been so engrossed in creating this block so I'll sew it together tomorrow.


Other related posts about my 'Children of Israel' block:
My First Quilting Bee
Children of Israel 12" Quilting Block
A Very Wet Tuesday

Children of Israel 12" quilting block

'Children of Israel' quilting block - cut out and ready to sew

Wow, that was exhausting - no-one warned me how nervous I'd feel cutting into someone else's fabric and terrified of making a mistake as there's only a small amount of it!!!

Well here it is my 'Children of Israel' block, all cut out and ready to sew - thinking though that I might applique something really simple onto the central square - a basket in the bullrushes, or something like that, to represent the Bible's story of Moses.  Might be best to do the applique before I sew the block together so I guess that's my next task.  I'll keep you posted.


Other related posts about my 'Children of Israel' block:
My First Quilting Bee
Creating and Adding Applique to the Children of Israel Block
A Very Wet Tuesday

My First Quilting Bee

I'm a member of The New York City Metro Area Modern Quilt Guild and I've just got a place on a Quilting Bee.

For those of you not in the know (I wasn't myself until about 3 months ago ;) ) there are 12 of us in the Bee and we're each allocated a month of one year to be Queen Bee - my month is December.  When it's your turn to be Queen Bee you send 'how to' instructions and, if you wish fabric, to your bees and they each make a quilt block and return it to you so you can make a quilt.  When you're Queen Bee you can give your bees as much or as little freedom as you want - to change fabrics, colourways, improvise on design, etc.  It's fab, you get to work with designs and fabrics that you wouldn't necessarily ever choose for yourself and the payback is that when it's your month to be Queen Bee you'll get your own beautiful and unique quilt.

So I was very excited when I returned to America earlier this week and my first Quilting Bee package had arrived.

My first ever Quilting Bee package (May) from Earamichia - just look at those fab colours and prints!

My Queen Bee, Earamichia, has asked us to make her a Bible Quilt and my block is 'Children of Israel'.  My instructions are a 12.5" block, use the fabric provided but feel free to add from stash.  It can be wonky, literally interpreted, my own interpretation or an applique. Here's a link explaining more about this type of quilt: http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/bible_quilt/bible_bom.htm

So my task for today is to crack on with it, I'm a very busy Quilting Bee!

Other related posts about my 'Children of Israel' block:
Children of Israel 12" Quilting Block
Creating and Adding Applique to the Children of Israel Block
A Very Wet Tuesday