Matching Pegs

Long time readers will have seen this flower, or ones like it, lots before.  It is somewhat of a signature motif.

With the other half of the world hurtling towards the end of the school year, I thought it would be a perfect time to offer the design as a free pdf download.  It makes a nice little gift for a teacher, coach, carer or similar special person.  Much of it is worked in back-stitch, which is pretty easy for kids to attempt, so perhaps your child can do some themselves, (you can see my childrens’ early sewing endeavors here).

To download the pdf of the design, click on this link…. ThankYouFlower.

It is designed to fit within a frame for a standard 4″ x 6″ photo, with or without the glass.

To create one for yourself you will need:

• Thanks You Flower.pdf.
• Approx. 7″x9″ of Background fabric – Quilters cotton, Homespun or Calico (known as Muslin in the US).
• 4 – 6 colours of stranded embroidery floss (the specific ones I have used are listed on the pdf.  You can work the background french-knots in 1 or 3 colours).
• Embroidery needle
• Marking pen (I use a very fine Pigma or Zig Millennium in brown, which is fine enough to cover with the 2 strands of thread)
• 4″ x 6″ photo frame
• Embroidery hoop (optional)
• Approx. 4 1/2″ x  6 1/2″ of thin, iron on Pellon, or  woven iron-on interfacing (optional),
• Slightly waxy pencils, or twist up style crayons (optional – I use Derwent Artists or Crayola “Twistables” Crayons).
• Iron
• Paper Towel (optional)

Trace the design onto fabric, using your favorite marking pen and a light box (or window, glass table, etc.).  If you are going to colour the flower, place it on top of a pad of paper, so the surface under it is slightly soft, otherwise your colouring lines will be too sharp and defined.  I also add little blobs of colour around the background spots surrounding the flower.

Heat-set the colour with a hot, dry iron, and a sheet of paper-towel between the iron and the stitchery.  This removes the wax in the crayon or pencil (the Artist Derwents or crayons I use are a little waxy). The colouring is set fast enough to handle hanging on a wall, but not on an item that requires repeat laundering.

At this point, I also like to adhere thin, iron-on Pellon to the back of my stitchery to hide the threads, and create a slight loft, because I like the look it gives to the finished work.  A stabilizer with no loft (such as Weaveline) is an alternative, but you don’t need to use anything if you don’t want to.  All stitching is done with 2 strands of floss.

After stitching the design, press it (from the wrong side) and trim the backing to 4″ x 6″.  Slip it into the frame, and stand back to admire your work.  I like to leave the glass in, so the stitchery does not get dusty.  You may prefer to be able to see the texture more closely, and leave the glass out of the frame.  If you decide to remove the glass, take care to dispose of it carefully.

I would love to see a photo of your finished “Thank You Flower”, so drop me a line, if you have finished one…claire(at)matchingpegs(dot)com.

Please use this for personal use only, and do not reproduce it for sale.  Please seek my permission before using this design in any way, other than as a hand-sewn stitchery.

*Note there are two different versions of this stitchery in the photos.  The close-up image (2nd in the post) shows the exact thread colours specified on the pdf.

Happy Stitching.

I have been obsessed with this image since I saw it on Design Sponge back in February.  More specifically, I am in love with the multi-coloured, multi-petal flower, on the cushion on the right.  For a while I tried to find out more about it from my stitchy friends…”Is this a traditional pattern?”….”Have you seen this before?”…to no avail.  About a month later, Anna Maria Horner had one peeking out, in one of her photos, and I emailed and asked if it was one of her patterns.

“Purchased at Anthropologie last year”, was the reply.  I have been thinking of a way to do something different, with a similar feel and multicoloured effect ever since.

I am working on a concept involving my art-deco-inspired, swirly flowers,

that pop up all over my work.

Other exciting news, that will no doubt result in inspiration, is that I won a giveaway over at murtle and eunice, which means I have a golden green ticket to go to The Stitches and Craft Show in Melbourne.  Thanks so much Tania! As an aside, I just wanted to point out that I was the first commenter on that giveaway, so contrary to popular opinion, the first person to comment does occasionally win!

I am currently studying the timetable for this and that at the show, and consulting the husband on the best day for me to go.  Are you going?

This is it………….. my Sunset Quilt!  Actually it’s Michaela’s Sunset Quilt.

The weather has not been kind, it has been overcast for days, but I couldn’t wait any longer to share this photo of it in it’s entirety, even if the lighting is not perfect.

Here is the initial sketch, drawn on Boxing Day 2008 – this project has taken quite a while to get from conception to completion.  The applique is all needle-turned, which is my favourite method of applique.  The clouds are all hand dyed fabric, but I didn’t dye them myself, I was lucky enough to come across just the right fabrics the February before last.  In fact I felt pretty lucky to find the background fabrics, purples can be tricky and I really wanted dusky ones, rather than stronger, clearer purples.

I could not have realised my vision without Anita, who long-arm quilted it.

We worked as quite a team, especially collaborating on the quilting for the clouds, and the brick details on the tower.

Anita was very patient with the precision of my vision – quilting all the crazy rays of light with no complaints.

Michaela is pretty pleased with the end result too, and now it is neatly hung on her wall.

Well I have Michaela’s quilt back from my talented friend, Anita, from Hillside Quilting.  It was a wonderful collaboration, and I am thrilled with it, but I don’t want to reveal it, in it’s entirety, until I have bound it.  This peek will have to suffice,…………well OK……..one more peek.

I am spending Easter working on my deadline – another project for Australian Homespun Magazine, which I am very excited about.  The project has been bubbling along for quite some time, but all of us being sick, and all the emotional trauma of my brother’s situation has meant that I have not done as much as I had wanted to by now.  The project is due in Sydney, Friday Week, but I will not be able to reveal it until October, when it will feature in the Kids Issue.

Here is a frustrating glimpse of that project, which is all I can give you – make it last for 6 months .  I promise I will reveal Michaela’s Quilt long before that.  Are you working on any secret projects – presents perhaps?  Wanna spill the beans here?  No one will ever find out, promise!

Well that was a much longer blogging break than I expected.  I am still here, and slowly getting back to being creative, which is the best tonic there is for me.

I have finished my “Tea in the Garden” Block (completed with traditional needle turn applique) and the general consensus (especially at my quilting guild) is to turn this into a medallion quilt.

While I was finishing this, I thought I would take some photos to illustrate the method of “Off the Block” applique construction.  This is a technique where 2 or more layers of the applique are joined, prior to joining the applique unit to the background (or Block).

In this case, the wing-spots on the Butterfly are appliqued to the upper-wings, before the wings are cut out of the chosen upper-wing fabric.  First the wing-spots and the upper-wings are marked on their respective fabrics, but only the wing-spots are cut out, with a scant 1/4 seam allowance (a seam allowance which is a smidgen shy of 1/4 “).

A Positioning Overlay is used to position the wing-spots in just the right place on the upper-wings.  A positioning overlay is a tracing of all the elements in a design, onto something clear – in this case a sheet of Overhead Transparency.

The wing-spots are pinned in place and appliqued on, along the two inner edges.  Next the whole upper-wing unit is cut out, with a scant 1/4″ seam allowance.

To remove bulk from the final applique, you can cut away behind the top layer.

I never cut away the background fabric behind appliques, (as some people do) I think it weakens the finished product – but this does no damage.  The “Off the Block” sewing is now complete.

The whole upper-wing unit is positioned onto the block, with the help of the positioning overlay, and the unit is appliqued into place, as if it were a single piece.  The only difference is that there is a change of thread during the stitching, in order to keep the thread colour the same as the applique pieces.

I hope this all made sense – feel free to ask questions if you need me to clarify anything.

If you are interested in Needle turn applique, the best resourse I have come accross is called “The New Applique Sampler” by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins (the Piece ‘O Cake Ladies) Published by C & T Publishing.

Last night I bundled up a very special project, with some backing fabric and gave it to my lovely friend Anita, who is a talented Long Arm quilter.  That’s a sneek peek of it up there – a quilt for my youngest, Michaela.

In the spirit of craftspeople everywhere, Anita and I have done a bit of a barter.  I taught her a little bit about blogging and photography for the web (and helped her set up her blog), and she is going to custom quilt this treasure for me (yipee).

Above is the quilt I made for Amelia (The lovely Rosalie Quinlan’s pattern, “Rebekah Amy’s Quilt“) which Anita quilted for me.   This one is an edge to edge design, rather than custom quilting.

I think I am probably driving Anita crazy with my specific directions for the custom quilting (I have a very clear picture of what I would like), but I know she is going to make it look incredible.  It is a real collaboration.

Anita’s quilting business is based in Warrandyte, Melbourne, and her work is lovely.  She recently took the plunge to quit her day job and dedicate herself to quilting.  I am so excited for her, what an enjoyable career change.  Go and check out her fabulous work on her new blog, you might even have a quilt top of two you could give her to finish.  Anita’s business is called Hillside Quilting.

Hello also to all the people visiting my blog via links referring to my Star Fruit Cushion Tutorial. Ever since I sent it in to Whip Up on Tuesday, I have been enjoying following my stats to see where people are coming from.  People from 62 countries have looked at it, and links to it have been posted on several American sites, as well as Turkish, Portuguese and Italian.  I am finding it all very exciting, and a lovely reward for putting in so much time on the tutorial.  I hope some of my new visitors will enjoy my site enough to visit again, or send me a photo if they make a cushion of their own.

Jennifer, a friend from North of the Yarra Quilters Guild, has made the first couple of cushions out there, that I have seen, a medium sized one you can see on her blog, and a larger one for her young daughters to sit on, that is still to be photographed.

What are you excited about at the moment?

This is a project I designed ages ago, but have never got around to finishing.  In fact I was a little surprised to see that it was actually January 2009 when I started.

I have had the whole design drawn up on Illustrator for over a year, but am only now nearing the finish line, as it has been put away in a box for ages.

Initially it was going to be a cushion, but I am leaning towards the idea of turning it into the centre of a medallion quilt.  Once I finish the applique I will reassess my plan.  The design is called “Tea in the Garden”, you can see it here on my ironing board.  I only have three more butterflies to work, before I have completed the whole block.

So what do you think?  Can you imagine this better as a quilt centre, or as a cushion?

Would you buy this, if it was a pattern for sale?

For the last two weekends we have had nothing but childrens parties, all of which have been lovely.  I have made several different gifts, but finished them all at the last minute, so I don’t have much to show you.  For the lovely Miss Elena, I embellished a lavender coloured tee with the letter “e” similar to Michaela’s one above, which I have made since.  I think Michaela must have just slept in it when I took this photo, I really should have ironed it for the blog shot.  I simply needle-turned the M in place on a tee from Target.

I did actually manage to get a photo of Master Mason’s Robot Apron, before it was wrapped.  It was the second present I have made featuring the lovely Robot fabric I picked up at Candleberry Country in Yarragon, on our trip to Loch for the quilt hanging, a few weekends back.

I have been on the lookout for a feature fabric for boys presents, so I bought a whole metre of it.  I rarely buy that much of anything.  I wish I knew more about this fabric, it looks Japanese, but there is no information on the selvage, and I could not find it online in my rudimentary search for “robot fabric”.

Speaking of boys………………….

I never thought I would be a party to this.  Not only did I allow it – I cut it!

This was for a “silly hair day” at school, and we cut the mohawk on the condition that it was temporary.  Funny part is that we had the date for the “silly hair day” wrong – it’s next month!  Rory is going to keep it until Friday, which is school photo day – there is no way he is having it in his school photo.  He wants to keep it until he can show his mate Hayden, who is away in Queensland.

I am sitting here bubbling with excitement, listening to Ben Lee sing “Catch My Disease” and today my disease is pure fabric-love.  I have finished putting together the string quilt top, “New House Quilt” that I started at the quilt retreat back in August, when we had just signed the paperwork on our new house.  I am extremely happy with how it looks.

I was trying to capture the full width of it, and so I laid it on the lounge room floor.  Sadly the light is a little grey today, so it is a pretty ordinary photo, but it did make me stop and think – what an awesome rug this would make!

I changed the planned format a little, it is 10 blocks by 6 blocks, (instead of the planned 8 x 8 ) because I am going to hang it on this wall.

Early this morning (7:30am – which is early, because it is still the school holidays) there was a ring on the door bell.  It was delivery of a lovely box of fabric happiness, which was ordered weeks ago from the States.

Initially I was just going to order these Kona Cotton packs, ( 44  x 2 1/2″ strips in the Dusty colour-way, and 21 fat quarters in the Greener Pastures colour-way) but then I found some more delights to tempt me – it was all 35% off.

Some Kaffe – Roman Glass in Leafy, Pastel, Gold and Jewel (actually my first purchase of Kaffe fabric).

and finally, some beautiful “Wildwood”by Erin McMorris – Sophie’s Garden in orange, Forest in lime, Pressed Leaves in fuchsia and Forest in green.  Don’t they all look wonderful together.

Looking at them I realised that the Wildwood and my previously purchased Far Far Away and Meadowsweet were going to play really nicely together (they look more harmonious in better light – it is very overcast today).

I think I have bought enough fabric to last me all year.  What prompted it all was Elizabeth of Oh Fransson!’s “Paintbox Quilt Along” ( for which I bought the Kona Cotton Roll Up) which I plan to get to eventually – go and check it out, it looks fantastic.

So, have you caught my fabric-love “disease”?

So here is the next canvas, that you only had a peek of at the end of the last post.

This is a present that was gifted last night.  It was actually the last of all the Christmas gatherings I have been to – almost a whole month after the event!  The group of ladies from North of The Yarra Quilters Guild, who I sit with, do an annual Kris Kringle gift swap, and this was the earliest that we could assemble to do a big exchange.

This “Welcome” canvas was for Christine, who has a new blog called MacDonalds Patch (I must update my blog-roll over there).  I was really pleased with the fabric I used, as Christine is a lover of all things country and romantic, and has a home decorated in maroons and greens.  I thought this was perfect.  I believe the fabric is from a French General (Moda) range, but the fat quarter I bought did not have the selvage with information on it.  Unlike the “Eight” – I got the fabric stretched nice and taut on this canvas, using slightly damp fabric as described in the last post.

This is a little more sewing I have been doing to set up my studio/sewing room.  I had this old, very narrow, fold-up table, to sit my computer on.

As it sits close to the lounge room end of the room (in other words the part of the room that is for other members of the family as well) I wanted to make it look a little nicer.  3 metres of homespun from Lincraft later, and I have a lovely skirt/tablecloth for the table, to hide the horror of this view from the casual observer…

This just happens to be the same fabric that I used in the centre of my string blocks, and co-ordinates nicely with the cutting table and the little desk draws on wheels that Luke and I painted black and pale green way back before the millennium.

Speaking of the Millennium, I have read through the first two of the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson, and am waiting for my Mum to finish “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest”  The books are very hard to put down, and I had to discipline myself to get some sleep.  It is just as well I don’t have the next one yet.  What are you reading – anything gripping?