merry

Does anyone know where I can find an applique pattern for Dianthus / aka Sweet William :?:

LoriEl

Will this work?

http://internet.willowberry-lane.com...ns/wbl-307.jpg

or a book-http://www.softexpressions.com/softw.../PrairFlow.php

KastleKitty

This is not a pattern but take a look!

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...51172392gHrvVJ

merry

Thanks so much for the links. Will probably spend a lot of time on Willowberry Lane! Love their patterns & panels. Never heard of it before.

merry

Thanks for the link. It's the closest I've come to finding anything like the real Dianthus. Took close-up pix of them in my garden & wanted to be able to applique one.

KastleKitty

I've come up with a process that I use to make my own applique patterns. I hope I can explain it so you can understand it clearly. If you have a paint program on your computer, you can use the solid line tool that makes a continuous line to draw the outline of your close up photo from your garden. Copy your picture first to save the original in case you make an error.

I use Picasa (free download) to make it B&W. Next I open it in Paint, temporarily enlarge it to 6 or 8 times while I am working on it. Use one of the thicker continuous lines and draw around the outline of the flower boldly in black. You may want to make the picture square and eliminate any blank area outside the drawing. Erase some of the non-essential stuff so you don't waste ink, then print it.

Sometimes I will use tracing paper on top of my print to clean it up, but many times I will just cut it out and then paste it onto a saved cereal box to make a template, especially if you are only making it once. If you think you need 1/4" in some areas for underlayment you can mark it before you cut. Once you have pasted it to cardboard you can add your 1/4" if you want to turn it under. It takes some work, but you get an original pattern. I do this for most of my applique.

I love all quilting, but applique is probably my favorite because I love to embellish it. If you decide to make your own pattern this way, and need a little more technical help, let me know!

merry

Thanks KasleKitty. Sounds like a great idea. Really appreciate your help. Have printed your directions & will go to paint & try it. May have to take you up on the additional help. Have only done 3 appliques & haven't tried embellishing yet. Have embellished a landscape with embroidery. what do you use to embellish?

KastleKitty

I love to do hand embroidery on my appliques. I add glass beads, shells, pearls, stone, and sometimes sequins. I have taken apart old costume jewelry and beaded belts and used both on my work. I go to the clearance rack in Walmart and look at their belts all the time, hoping to find something that can be sewn to the front of a purse. Sometimes Goodwill and the like will have costume jewelry or belts that can be taken apart. I am working on making some "inchies" to use. I have painted and crayoned, stenciled also. You name it! I kind of like the mixed media work they are doing now, but I want my work to remain washable. Sometimes they add paper and glue and whatnot that can't make it through the washer. I stay away from that unless I want to do something that would just hang on the wall. I have made bags and pillow fronts. The pillows are really for show and not to be used to lay on. They are washable but you can't lay on them when there is all kinds of stuff sewn to it! lol It would leave an impression on your face and not be very comfortable! lol

I have pieced smaller items but never done a bed quilt. That is why I decided to join the board. A quilt is a large endeavor for me. My sewing machine is nearing its 35th birthday and does not have all the fancy embroidery stitches on it. It does not do nice freehand quilting. And I really don't think I could manage to hand quilt a top once I have it done. I like the idea of the quilt as you go method. I saw it in a magazine years ago done on a log cabin quilt. I want to try it with a pineapple pattern. I have to get my sewing room in some kind of order first. I have not really used the machine for almost 3 years and my work table has accumulated a lot of stuff. I have 10 pizza boxes that have all kinds of stuff started in them. And I need to get to work!

I was wondering if you have Picasa already downloaded? What a change in my life when I discovered it! And the Picasa website has a lot of quilt, applique, embroidery, crochet, and knitting patterns if you know how to find them. I download all kinds of pictures there for decoupage too. I use the Picasa program to make all kinds of patterns, along with Paint. I guess there are already some programs out there that will do what I do with much more speed and ease. But the ones I use are free. I understand EQ7 is really good to buy if you like applique.

merry

Have seen some beautiful examples of bead work & sequins embellishments here on the board. Definitely on my learn-to list! Would like to see pix of your work; it sounds beautiful!
Have been quilting 3 years & made 3 bed quilts in classes from my LQS. Make mostly table runners & wall hangings. on my own. Have a lot of fun with panels. A QB friend Who does gorgeous quilting is helping me make different blocks for a friendship sampler.
Have the EQ6, never thought about using it for applique :oops: Wonder if it will do as well as EQ7.
Don't have the software you're talking about - will download it if Norton Security doesn't keep me from it. DH does all the computer stuff, so we should be able to get it.
Am doing a hand cross-stitch & embroidery Wedding Ring Quilt (18" blocks) & will machine join them. LQS will do the LAQ for me. I can do very basic quilting of lap-quilt size. Also working on a quillow for youngest son who's in the Marine Corp.
Really appreciate your help.

KastleKitty

Merry, I am new to the lingo. What is LQS? And I want to do a search on the board. I would like to find some of the beadwork you are talking about. I don't know if a search is something that can be done or not. It is difficult for me to find my way around the board right now because I am not familiar with this format. This is my first board and I usually don't do any communication over the net, only do searches and look at sales sites and some sewing blogs. Never join them. You hear so much bad stuff on the news about the internet! I have never seen any of the EQ programs at all. I have no idea how they work. It is on my wish list though. I just saw it written somewhere on an applique site that EQ7 was good for making up applique patterns.

Cross stitch is something I can't seem to be able to do very well. I have done very small pieces and grasp how to do it, but the counting and keeping everything straight mentally is difficult and I am very slow at it. I can't imagine trying to do 18" blocks! You must have an intricate mind!

I have a digital camera, but don't have much experience using it yet. I will try to take some pictures and upload them. You have been on the board for a while. How do I find pictures you have uploaded? I would like to see some of your work. I am also curious if you turn under your applique or use the WonderUnder method. I use WonderUnder and blanket stitch around most of my applique and it has a folksy kind of look to it. I found a circle quilt I want to play around with and I think it needs under turning. But it is embellished with lots of embroidery floss! That will keep me happy! (I love buying that stuff! Standing there and looking at all the colors! LOL !) Needleworkers are funny people! LOL

I sent you a private email because I wanted to send you a PDF I got free with some applique patterns in it. I don't know if it is possible. I see the file attachment just below, but is it wasted effort? I have no idea how you could retrieve it. I don't even know if it will go through email, do you?