Mardi Gras Circles

I have long admired antique quilts with lots of little appliqued circles (berries, cherries, dots) as part of the quilt design.  I wondered if I would ever have the patience and skill to add such an element to one of my quilts.  Since I have been appliqueing circles for Quilty 365, I've gotten fairly proficient at Perfect Circles, using Karen Kay Buckley's templates.  I decided to try making some very small circles for my Quilty 365 block as a way to celebrate Mardi Gras 2016 (February 9th).

 

Beads are a big component of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  Float riders toss thousands of bead necklaces to enthusiastic spectators, allowing everyone to join the celebration by bedecking themselves in purple, green and gold "finery".

 

I decided to make Mardi Gras "beads" for my Quilty 365 block.  I used the smallest Perfect Circles template and chose some vivid purple, green and gold fabrics.   

I discovered there is a thin line between a "just right" and too large seam allowance on these little circles.  A quarter inch seam allowance is way too big, but if you cut the seam allowance too small, the fabric will fray when you gather the circle around the template.  I found a generous 1/8" seam allowance worked best. 

 

The scissors in the picture (also by KKB) were extremely helpful in cutting out the circles - they have finely serrated edges that help hold the fabric steady during cutting.   

Since my seam allowance was so small, I wanted to use a fine gauge thread for the running stitch used to gather the circles around the template.  I use Aurifil 50 wt. thread for all my sewing, and it worked great for the running stitches.  

I used a water-soluble marker to mark the outer "bead" circle and then just eye-balled the inner circle.  I held all the beads in place with a dot of fabric glue.  

I started stitching the beads early Mardi Gras morning, so I needed some New Orleans coffee to get me going!

 

I used matching thread to applique all the beads.  I didn't realize the inner circle was a little wonky until I was almost finished, but Mardi Gras isn't all straight and organized, so I didn't mind.  

I found I did have the skill to make circles this small, but I'm not sure about the patience.  Making lots of circles this size is probably a project one wants to take in small bites - not as part of a marathon!  

PS - no affiliation with Karen Kay Buckley, I just find her products to be very useful!

The Rhythm of Hand Stitching

I find that lately I've been doing a lot more hand-stitching than is typical for me.  It has been very comforting to sit by the fire in the evening and hand-stitch my Quilty 365 block for the day or add some quilting stitches to a wall hanging project.

I've been keeping up with my daily circles for the Quilty 365 project.  Today is my sister's birthday, so I pulled this scrap of fabric in honor of her alma mater.

 

I've already chosen tomorrow's fabric in honor of Martin Luther King Day here in the U.S.  I'm using Karen K. Buckley's Perfect Circles technique for prepping my applique pieces, so I get the benefit of two different types of hand-stitching on each circle!

 

I took a class in back-basting from my LQS earlier this year.  I liked the technique so much, I made one of the projects from our textbook, Back-Basting Applique, Step by Step: By Hand or Machine.  I finished the applique last year, but just recently began hand-quilting the project.  I did simple outline and cross-hatch quilting on the applique panels.  For the border, I plan to just follow the geometric designs in the fabric.  Purple, green & gold are the traditional colors for Mardi Gras here in New Orleans, so I'm trying to finish this in time for that celebration - February 9th.  I haven't done much hand quilting in the past few years, and it has been very soothing to get that stitching rhythm back in my fingers!

Since today will definitely be one of those hand-stitching days, I'm linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.  I'll be checking in there during my stitching breaks to see what hand-stitching everyone else is enjoying.