Further Adventures with Freehand Applique

Back in May I wrote a post all about the Freehand Rainbow Applique class I had taught at the Making Zen Retreat and the cushions I’d made with my class samples. You can read that post here.

I’d already became a little obsessed with the rainbow applique and had completed two cushions and a coaster.

But I didn’t stop there, I had one more rainbow cushion in my head that I needed to make, this time with fabric from my recycled cloth bag. These are all old clothes or curtain remnants/bed linen and I love mixing up the different textures. One of the items was a cloth bag that a duvet set had come in and it still had it’s button fastening. So I left it in place as an extra detail (above right).

Here are the first three rainbow cushions together. I may keep one of these but at least two will be going in my next sample sale de-stash (mid November).

The actual process of freehand needle-turn applique is so soothing and and pleasing to me that I needed to keep going, but maybe I should try a new shape…

So I began to make Freehand Halos! Friends on Instagram have been very helpful with name suggestions for some of my new shapes;)

One of the things I love about these projects is the immediacy of starting. I simply choose 9 background fabrics and cut a out 6″ square of each, and 9 shape fabrics and cut out roughly 5″ squares from these. Everything else can be achieved from the sofa with some scissors, pins and needle and of course Aurifil 80wt thread.

As far as fabrics are concerned I have been enjoying using linens or woven fabrics for these projects. I am getting addicted to the woven texture and it’s so lovely to hand sew with. I mainly use Essex or Manchester Linen (by Robert Kaufman) but have been adding new linens when I’ve found them, from stores like Beyond Measure and Cool Crafting (in UK). I’ve also been enjoying the Alison Glass woven fabrics I bought from my old store myBearpaw earlier this year.

Once the applique is complete I always add hand quilting using Aurifil 12wt wool (I have a huge stock of shades on my website plus my two collections, check them all out here).

For the Halos I even added colonial knot detailing that add that extra yummy texture! Again this cushion was a real success and may or may not end up on my future sofa or in the sample sale (TBD)!

So what shape came next?

I decided to go for something a little more abstract and experimented with a three pronged upside down rainbow that I decided to call a Jelly! Thank you again Instagram Friends!

The Freehand Jellies were very fun to make but are probably the least successful experiment as far as the overall finished cushion.

Maybe it was the colours? Or maybe it was the fact that once my friend Dolores had pointed out that the negative space looked like droopy boobies I just couldn’t unsee them!!

So I moved onto something a little different. Stone Sculptures! Inspired by the natural sculptures that I find on my walks through the woods (created by a mystery artist).

Another experiment, I made just 4 of these squares before deciding that was enough and turning them into a wee 12″ mini quilt. I really enjoyed playing with the hand quilting on this one.

I have to say that the actual process of experimenting and allowing myself time to play and make mistakes is absolutely crucial to me and my progress as an artist. It’s also very exciting and good for my brain!

And so we reach our final project (so far!) with the Vetch cushion. Vetch is a wild flower, with many varieties and different coloured flowers, that grows all over our field. In the autumn the flowers are gone but the leaves remain and I really adore their shape.

Somehow I needed to recreate these shapes in freehand applique but it wouldn’t work in the usual nine block layout.

Instead the vetch tendrils needed space to move across a canvas. So I made this striking improv pieced panel, using the same linens and woven fabrics as previously, as a background to the leaf applique.

I think I got the colours spot on with this one, at least as far as my personal taste goes.

I then chose to quilt it using my favourite Random Plaid grid, the first time I have ever used this with hand quilting! I chose about 8 different complimentary shades of Aurifil 12wt wool for this.

I’m going to guarantee for sure that this one WON’T be going in to the next sample sale as I just adore it! And it’s given my further adventures in freehand applique a new lease of life for future experimentation.

Meanwhile me and my Thread House pals, Karen and Lynne, are slowly planning something new for next year which may involve a way for me to teach you all my freehand applique methods in more detail. So watch this space!