Alice99 wrote:
You were right to check the written size of the blocks in Sue's directions! Good job!

Margo, thanks for the fast response. I feel better now. I'm not a very confident computer user so that 1" reference square was my security blanket.

Thanks again,

Alice

Alice99 wrote:
Alice, if your squares measure 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" they will be just right. The month 2 directions do NOT have the 1" test square. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I just printed Month 2 pages and I am missing the 1" reference square for the paper pieces. I measured my printed out paper-piece squares and they measured 2 1/2" each on the papers, but I wanted to be sure about my printer so I looked and looked for the 1" reference square and I can't find it. Is it there? Will it be included for each paper piece part of our printing process? It appeared to be there for Block 5 as shown in the tips.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Alice

dorfymid wrote:
You GO, girl!! If you try either the glue or starch method for next month's appliquéd swags, I'll bet you would be willing to tackle the smaller vines in the corners!

And your 2009 Stars for a New Day is fabulous!

Dorothy, what kind of trouble are you having with the Stable Stuff technique?[/quote


Well where do I start, you name it I had it, I was all fingers and thumbs and gloooood all over i just so admire hand turned appliqué and i so wanted the puffy look. Margo your instructions for the machine turned appliqué were wonderful and perhaps I did not persevere long enough, I too did not want to get behind and I was still trying to get it to look half way decent when February arrived, so I chickened out.
It was the vine that did it for me I could have coped with the leaves and flowers but the pesky VINE would not go right.

Do not fear though I have a small hand turned project on the go now that I have finished my 2009 BOM Yippee and I am determined to crack this and then on to machine turned appliqué complete with PUFFY flowers & leaves. Dorothy UK

I will admit that turning all of the edges under on the main vine can be tedious with the Stable Stuff. Maybe you would want to use a fusible web of some kind for that part of the design until you are more comfortable with the technique. I think you will find that the leaves and the flowers and berries are very do-able with the Stable Stuff foundation and glued edges.
You will notice that I always use glue on the edges of my Stable Stuff for machine applique. That does make the edges a little stiff for hand sewing. It's do-able, but it's definitely more stiff than doing needle turn.
Alex uses liquid starch on her edges and irons them over. If you use liquid starch with the Stable Stuff, it will dissolve and become too soft to give you a crisp edge. I only use starch on templates that are cut out of manila folders (my personal favorite!) or templates made with several layers of freezer paper fused together. They will remain crisp with the addition of liquid starch. The Stable Stuff won't. You will need glue sticks for that technique.

Dorothy, I'm glad you decided to use JoJo's suggestion of Mystique for your quilt -- it's perfect! And I'm interested in hearing yours and Pam's experiences with Stable Stuff because I bought some with a plan to use it in my RR, but it sounds like I might run into some of the same problems you two are. Margo, I'm eager to hear your advice!

Dorothy and Margo, I watched Alex's classes on Freezer paper applique and read Margo's instruction, all of which were very clear and straight forward. THey were excellent. However as I had not done hand applique before both method were fiddley, and would take abit of getting used to and take longer that an experienced appliquer. I found that as the stable stuff is so soft that I was pressing part of the SS over along with the seam allowance. I also found the vine rather daunting with all the v shapes of the stems coming off of the vine. By this stage it was half way through January and I was frightened that I would either just chicken out of doing it at all or end up with a block that I wasn't happy with. I therefore decided to take what seemed like the easier the option which I hoped would get me a result that I was happy with and used the fusing method. I hope to make a small piece of work using the hand applique methods that I can do in my own time. I really dont want to get too behind on the monthly schedule or I can see the quilt not getting finished. Also if I get behind there will be so much more on the forum to read. My block isn't finished yet but I can see how it will look and an pleased with it.

dorfymid wrote:
Dorothy, what kind of trouble are you having with the Stable Stuff technique?

Thank you Margo and Pam, I did go to Quilters Haven yesterday it's just 1/2 an hour away from me because I thought I had bought the fabric from there,but it was a time ago and they had none of that range left. i did buy a similar yard from the new range and I think it will fit in later on though it's not quite the same. Dorothy UK

ps Pam How you doing with that stable stuff ? I did so want that puffy effect but I am having a hard time to get it to look right, might stick with bonda web (wonder under).

Dorothy, Quilters Haven in UK have just a few if you want some more of that range. http://www.quilters-haven.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=stonehenge&x=0&y=0

dorfymid wrote:

Here are some Stonehenge fabrics: http://www.fatquartershop.com/Stonehenge-Fabric-Northcott-Fabrics.asp

No all I can remember is that it was called Stonehenge.