Lorena Uriarte

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You are here: Home / Archives for applique

Juggling: my Splendid Sampler block!

8 January, 2017 by admin 43 Comments

Hi there! It’s been a while, I had the best intentions to do a lot more blogging in 2016. Oops. If you have a poke around you’ll see I’m not very good at the writing and documenting part of my creative life. Thanks for visiting me over here in the middle of a warm and sunny Sydney summer. Hope you are having a splendid day!

I assume some of you are here for tips on making Block 90 on The Splendid Sampler adventure. What a wonderful project Pat and Jane have put together, and can you believe we’re just 10 blocks shy of completing? I’ve been making some of the blocks along the way and now that I have a plan for sashing I’m more excited than ever to get cracking with it. I’ve made lots of sampler quilts, I really love them because there’s always something new and those little blocks are fun to make.

I'm setting my Splendid Sampler blocks with a jaunty & spiky sashing.

I’m setting my Splendid Sampler blocks with a jaunty & spiky sashing.

So, back to my little block… I’ve used some of my favourite techniques – applique circles, bias tape applique and wonky crosses. I love layering different techniques in a little block. But it can be a little daunting if you’ve never done something like this before. Working at a small scale also means I need to pay extra attention to extra bulk and staying inside the seam allowance.

As you read the pattern instructions you’ll see there are a few stages. I recommend you chunk it down to manageable parts if its the first time you try one of the techniques. Actually, even if you’re confident, take time to enjoy the process with a couple of cups of tea or a walk around the block…

choose fabric

Firstly, choose all your fabrics and gather your supplies. My suggested fabric quantities are generous so you can trim back your block. You’ll also see I use a metal 1/8″ bias tape maker. It came in a set which I bought online from California, I so wish I could get these easily locally. You may be lucky enough to have them at your local quilt store. But if not, you can carefully cut a strip of Mylar plastic. The metal bias bars get very hot and help form a nice crease, please be careful if you are using one.

I prefer using a metal bias bar and having a closed loop rather than an open bias tape because it is sturdier and I can manipulate it without worrying it will fray and lose the creases. It also stores nicely around a spool or wooden dowelling even in the most humid Sydney weather.

So grab your supplies and lets get started!

Prepare your 3 bias tape loops first. Cut your strips from an 8″ square of fabric. 3/4″ wide strips cut on the diagonal from the square.

cut bias strips

Press strips in half. Wrong sides together, be gentle not to stretch them.

press bias in half

Place bias bar inside the fold and mark where your seam should go. Don’t make it too snug or you won’t be able to slide the bar in and out. I use a generous 1/8″ seam.

stitch with correct seam allowance

Once you have stitched the strip and you are sure you can move the bias bar in and out, trim back the seam allowance to reduce bulk.

trim back seam

We’re nearly there… twist seam to the back and press it down. Remove the bias bar. Repeat for the two other bias tape strips.

press back seam

Wind them around your finger or a pencil to get them to curl a little. This will help you get nice tight loops to applique.

twist around your finger

Make sure you’ve got all your fabric pieces ready to proceed. Background, squares for circles and strips to insert.

bias tape ready

Trace the pattern lightly on to your background square. Trace the outside of the circles and one side of each loop. You will use this as a guide to place your applique. Make sure you leave plenty of room around the outside to centre your block. I also mark the corner points to help with trimming the block later.

trace pattern on background

Using little dots of applique glue, place your loops down on your background fabric. You can also use tiny applique pins or baste them down with thread.

applique glue

Using a colour that camouflages with your applique loop, stitch it down firmly. See the tails of the loops? They will be hidden behind the appliquéd circles. Trim them on the diagonal to make them less bulky.

applique loops

Now it’s time to prepare your juggling balls. This is a two step process. First we make the wonky crosses, then we trim them back to a circle to applique down.

Start with one of the square pieces of fabric and cut it randomly in half. Select which fabric strip you will be inserting.

cut square in half

Sew the strip to one half. Then stitch the other half of the square to it. Always using a 1/4″ seam allowance.

piece in strip

Cut this randomly across the strip you just set in. Choose your next fabric strip.
cut in half again

Stitch one side on first. Sewing the second side is a little trickier. You need to try to align the two sides, which is difficult with that pesky angled seam allowance in the way. I visually line it up as much as possible then fold over the seam allowance to check it. Sliding it up and down till its as good as I can get it.

fold over seam allowance to help align

Because I’m extra cautious I still don’t stitch the whole seam, I just sew the crucial middle of the seam bit first, flip it over and check it before stitching the whole lot. This may seam tedious but it’s not as tedious as having to unpick the whole thing!

stitch centre to check

Flipping over to the back of your wonky cross, trim or grade that top seam allowance. Usually we can press seams open to reduce bulky seams but the open seams stretch too much for these small circles.

grade seams

Grab your circle template and trace around it with a pencil. Check out those graded seams…

trace circle

Trim back your circle to a generous 1/4″ – 1/2″ seam allowance and stitch a running stitch around. Pull on the end of the threads to gather the circle around your template. Don’t cut your threads yet!

gather circle

To get a nice smooth circle ready to applique down I run some starch around the outside edge of the circle with a brush. Or you can put a little pressing liquid in a dish and roll the edge around quickly. Press the circle with a warm iron, be careful not to melt your plastic template!

starch edges

You can wrap a piece of foil around it if you like, that helps protect the plastic and holds the heat for longer to get a crisp edge.

wrap with foil

Repeat that for the two remaining circles and applique them down into place. Choose fine thread that disappears when you place it over your applique shape.

applique circles

When you are finished with all the applique, give it a light press and trim your block down to 6.5″.

trim block

And that’s another block done and ready to join the others! I hope you’ve learnt something new. We all have our favourite techniques and I know fiddly work isn’t for every one. You may want to skip making the bias tape loops and just applique ribbon or use embroidery to create the loops. And instead of those wonky juggling balls you can fussy cut some fun fabric circles…

Whatever you do, thank you for joining me for The Splendid Sampler. I look forward to seeing all your lovely blocks. And I’m eagerly awaiting The Splendid Sampler book that Pat and Jane are publishing with all the patterns so I can continue making more of these great blocks. It’ll be a lovely record of this fun project.

Here’s a photo of my original block that will appear in the book. In fact, I think it’s even on the cover. I can’t wait to see my block together with all the other Designer blocks!

juggling

I’m more of an Instagram girl these days, feel free to tag me if you have any questions. You can find me over there as lorena_in_syd. I know, sew original!

Happy stitching!

Lorena x

Filed Under: Lorena's patterns, The Splendid Sampler, Tutorials Tagged With: 6" Blocks, applique, bias tape applique, Sampler Quilt, techniques, The Splendid Sampler

my cheaty appliqué “thircles”

16 July, 2015 by admin 2 Comments

Yes, you read right. Thircles. You may already know that a squircle is the shape somewhere between a square and a circle but what’s a thircle?

If you’ve seen my Opal Essence quilt you’ll notice that all the circles are made up in thirds. The first quilt was made by appliquéing the third of a circle on to a diamond shape. A simple way to make sure you get a smooth circle is to use a template under your appliqué piece. The great thing about using this technique with a thircle (tee-hee, it still makes me giggle!) is that you can easily remove your template and reuse it.

My template of choice for this technique is a really smooth, bump free freezer paper template. You trace your pattern piece on to freezer paper and cut it out very carefully.

My cheaty applique thircle how to…

1. Press your freezer paper template to the wrong side of your fabric. As you will be folding the fabric over the template to appliqué try to place the curved edge on the diagonal grain. The stretch that lies here on the bias helps to create lovely soft curves with less bumps and folds.

2. If you are fussy cutting and placing the paper on the bias isn’t possible, consider using the fabric in a larger thircle. A larger, gentler curve is more forgiving with stiff fabric.

3. Next, use a ruler with a 1/4″ marking to add your seam allowance to the straight edges of your thircle shape. Cut with a rotary cutter or scissors. I love using an Add-A-Quarter ruler for this step. Using scissors cut a generous 1/4″ seam allowance around the curve.

IMG_0511

4. Use a fabric glue stick to keep the seam allowance tucked under. Use a fine line of glue, about 1/8″ away from the curved edge of the freezer paper. That will help when it comes to sewing the shapes down and will also reduce the chance of your fabric fraying along the raw edge.

IMG_0514.JPG

5. Match the seam allowance of your thircle with the corresponding point of your diamond background. Pin or lightly glue your shape into place. I like to pin along both seam allowances where there’s no freezer paper.

IMG_0516

6. Using a thread colour that disappears appliqué the piece down. Use small stitches and pull the thread a little to hide it.

7. Once the shape is appliquéd down, trim away your background with scissors leaving a generous 1/4″ seam.

8. Finally, whip out your freezer paper template to reuse. The less glue you use, the easier it is to remove and reuse the papers.

 

Now that your thircles are appliquéd down, you can piece your diamonds into a hexagon and fan your centre seam.

 

2013-08-26 14.51.09

I’ve been teaching workshops using this appliqué technique as well as the machine pieced thircles and most students are surprised by how much they enjoy the process. The smaller thircles are definitely less stressful if you appliqué them. The larger thircles can be rotary cut and machine pieced pretty quickly and painlessly. You can even mix both techniques in your quilt, maybe stick to one technique in each block though…

Hope that helps someone out there too afraid to try appliquéd curves. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Front page, Lorena's patterns, Quilts, Tutorials, Uncategorized, Workshops Tagged With: applique, freezer paper appliqué, Opal Essence, tutorial, Workshop

Opal Essence Workshops

18 April, 2015 by admin 3 Comments

It’s so exciting to finally have a pattern and some dates to teach my Opal Essence quilt! Writing instructions and coming up with something semi original is even harder than I had imagined. And very labour intensive. I’ve got some workshop dates booked and I will list them here once they are confirmed. The pattern will be published in a book of Australian quilters soon by Jane Davidson. The lead times for books are so long, but everything happens for a reason, there’s always another typo to correct.

Opal Essence was displayed at last year’s Sydney Quilt Show, since then it’s lead a fairly quiet existence on our sofa. It was in good company and much loved.

What a surprise to then see my quilt on TV as part of a news piece about the quilts hanging at the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne this weekend. What a thrill and honour it was for it to be selected to hang in a curated display showcasing where Australian modern quilting stands today. This was done via the MQG and much work from the Melbourne MQG and Jules McMahon from Canberra MQG. Thanks from those of us who couldn’t be there to help. Kathy Thorncraft also from our GWSMQG has her striking Subdivison quilt hanging too. Lots of great modern quilts, yay!

Opal Essence sofa

A bit about the pattern, my original quilt here was needle turn appliqued and then machine pieced using a y-seam construction. But I have also made this quilt with machine pieced curves. There are acrylic template sets available to help with rotary cutting all the pieces.

Below is a machine pieced version of Opal Essence that I have called Pink Champagne, it is a baby size quilt (41′ x 48″) using just 18 blocks.

Pink Champagne close up

I’ve got many more ideas for my Opal Essence template, stay tuned for the possibilities.

Workshop Dates:

May 30 Patches, Indooroopilly

May 31 Patches, Indooroopilly

June 7  Wandoo Lane, Gold Coast

June 13  & 14 Cotton Factory, Ballarat

September 26 Quiltsmith, Annandale

October 10 Fairholme Quilters at Cottage Quiltworks, Warriewood

October 24  Material Obsession, Drummoyne

I’m also happy to travel to your quilting retreat or guild to teach a workshop.

Please contact me for fees and available dates.

Lorena 🙂

Filed Under: Front page, Lorena's patterns, Quilts, Workshops Tagged With: applique, Machine pieced curves, Modern Quilts, Opal Essence, Quilt Pattern, Tumbling Block Quilts, y-seams

Classes update

29 January, 2015 by admin 1 Comment

I’m so excited about the Chuck Nohara classes I’ll be teaching at Material Obsession this year.

There are twice monthly classes scheduled, the Saturday class is full but there are two spots still available in the Friday class which starts 13th Feb. Contact classes@materialobsession.com.au for further information.

The classes are loosely structured to accommodate the students’ needs. We will be working from Chuck Nohara’s book 2001 New Patchwork Patterns. This fabulous book is bulging with inspiration and ideas. Most block patterns are  2.25″ line drawings that leave the sizing and fabric selection up to the maker.

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It really is a great quilt to explore your style and colour sense. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the beautiful projects ahead.

Below is my interpretation of Block #74. I’ve used several techniques to make this block, applique, reverse applique and machine piecing. How would you have approached it?

 

(null)

Filed Under: Chuck Nohara, Front page, Quilts, Uncategorized, Workshops Tagged With: applique, Chuck Nohara, Teaching

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Lorena Uriarte

Lorena Uriarte

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Vaccines are here! Yay! 💉 It’s the first st Vaccines are here!
Yay!

💉

It’s the first step out of this pandemic and maybe back to normal? There’s still a way to go so no doubt we’ll need masks again: for uni, for commuting, for shopping.

💝

To celebrate Australia’s vaccine roll out I ordered some cute little pins to give away to you lovely people who ordered masks and helped everyone to stay safe.

I’ve got 5 THANKS SCIENCE pins to give away with a free mask. Comment below if you’d like one. Must be a follower. If more than 5 comment I’ll have to use a random generator thingy. That’s it. 

Thank you for believing in science 🙏
All creatures great and small, cute order heading All creatures great and small, cute order heading to Melbourne!

🐇 🐢 🐈 

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A small flurry of face masks heading over to Perth A small flurry of face masks heading over to Perth. Hopefully they arrive quickly. Must be a bolt from the blue after 10 months without any Covid around. Sneaky little virus. Stay safe!

❣️

{order online - link in bio} 

#handmade
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I ordered the cutest Pokémon fabric from Japan fo I ordered the cutest Pokémon fabric from Japan for a special order and now I have some to spare. Let me know if the little (or big) kid in your life would like one!

ϞϞ(๑⚈ ․̫ ⚈๑)∩

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Good to see everyone is getting on board! Lots of Good to see everyone is getting on board! Lots of black and corporate masks going out today. For commuting and moving around the city as many people return to their workplaces.

Stay safe and wear a mask 🙏

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I reckon the kids are going get a good giggle from I reckon the kids are going get a good giggle from Daddy’s new face mask!

🧻

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Hey, I’m back from my break. We wore our masks i Hey, I’m back from my break. We wore our masks indoors, even when we were the only ones. Better to be safe than sorry! My hands have recovered and I’m ready to fill those custom mask orders that you’ve sent me since last Friday.

✂️

First up will be a couple of these gorgeous fussy cut Tula Pink Elizabeth masks. I need to count how many more motifs are left in this piece of fabric cause, once it’s gone, it’s gone!

💐

A big Thank You to my Crafty Panda who contacted customers and sent out parcels whilst I was away. What a superstar ✨

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Hey lovely peeps, hope you’re all well! Thought Hey lovely peeps, hope you’re all well!

Thought I’d pop in to remind you that there is a right way to wear your masks.

🌸

You’ll notice that the top has a slight peaked edge. That’s designed to sit over your nose. The scooped edges dip down and help fit around your nose. 

The straight side is the bottom, and that should fit snuggly under your chin. 

🥽

A well fitted mask should feel comfortable, have flat sides against your cheeks and cause minimal fogging of glasses. If you struggle to get a good fit, consider a different size or use something like Hollywood Tape on the inside of your mask. 

🤓

If the fogging is a persistent issue and drives you nuts, you can order the added nose bridge. These are removable for washing and extra pieces are included with your order in case they break. They need to be added before the mask is constructed though. I can’t retro fit them, sorry!

I’m happy to answer your questions here or via DM.

In the meantime, as you were! Keep physically distancing, washing your hands and MASK UP!
😘
Just a friendly reminder that I’m taking a week Just a friendly reminder that I’m taking a week off custom orders. Any custom orders placed now won’t be made till after the 16th January.

💖

There are still 100+ masks Ready To Ship. But it’s a lucky dip situation. My Crafty Panda will do her best to fill your requests if you leave a note with your online order 🙏

Stay safe and relaxed everyone. We’re going to be ok as long as we look after each other xx
Lots of you have ordered 5 masks. One for each day Lots of you have ordered 5 masks. One for each day of the work week! That’s very clever really. 

🧼

Do you know how to look after your masks? They need to be washed and dried completely. I recommend a warm wash with detergent, by hand is ok as long as you get it nice and sudsy. Then rinse well and hang them to dry, in the sun if you can. Finally, press them with a hot iron to make them crisp and flat. This helps repel water droplets on the outside and the boxed shape keeps the mask off your lips. 

🧺

Washing, drying and ironing your masks is crucial if you wear them often. It will help prevent skin blemishes and infection. 

📛 Do not iron the plastic beads on the ties!

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Covid is deadly serious but your masks don’t nee Covid is deadly serious but your masks don’t need to be! Love the fun that people are having when they place their orders online.

🎉 

Winding down on the custom orders for a week as I take a break from the intense workload... the shipping elves will be available to answer queries and send stock on hand.

👾

First photo are masks that have gone out. I can make more in a week.

🐕 

Second photo is of Ready To Ship masks available online. These are all size L - fits most older teens and women. If you want to order these leave a note for: Doggies; Kawaii pink or blue; Magpie Cameo. 

🧼 
Take care out there, practice physical distancing, wash your hands and wear a mask when indoors in recommended areas xx

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Thank you for all your lovely messages when you re Thank you for all your lovely messages when you receive your masks. That’s really what keeps me going 🤗

Meanwhile... I’m still working hard to finish all your orders. Wish I could clone myself.

I’m going to take a break from mask making next week. I think the initial rush has slowed down. There are still plenty of masks ready to ship. But I won’t be making custom from this Friday for a week. 

If you have your heart set on a custom mask, order today or tomorrow please.

I’ll be uploading photos of ready to ship masks to help you choose. The shipping department (aka my kids) will still be processing orders. 

💖✨💖✨💖

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I think it’s crazy that the Sydney Test is going I think it’s crazy that the Sydney Test is going ahead with a 10,000 capacity during a Covid outbreak. But I understand the importance of it as a fundraising event for the McGrath Foundation.
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Fingers crossed for us Sydney. Please * Mask Up * if you’re going to the SCG for the Test. 

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Keeping things interesting... a black machine to s Keeping things interesting... a black machine to sew the black masks!
Such a sweet machine, though don’t be fooled, she’s powerful and determined.

🖤

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It’s a grey old day in Sydney. Lucky I’ve got It’s a grey old day in Sydney. Lucky I’ve got some nice colourful masks to finish!

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We at @mask_up_sydney like to match our sewing mac We at @mask_up_sydney like to match our sewing machine colours with the masks we are sewing...

💚

Not really, but it does speed things up using all three machines at once, each one set up with a different colour thread. Then I get to play musical chairs .
Why didn’t I think of that earlier?

🌿🌿🌿

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Due to popular demand: I caved, I made plain black Due to popular demand:
I caved, I made plain black masks. I tried to bring everyone along on the bright and cheery journey but some people are just too stubborn.

They are not my favourites but I’ll do whatever it takes if it means you will wear a mask!

🖤🖤🖤

Order via my website. Choose the B&W option and leave a note that you’d like a plain black mask! Or be dazzled by all the gorgeous colourful options and revive your cold dark heart! 

#facemask
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Is it #wineoclock yet? 🍷 I’ve only got 12 o Is it #wineoclock yet?

🍷

I’ve only got 12 of these custom printed masks available at the moment, in L and XL. They are $25. 
Find them on my website at: 

https://lorenauriarte.com/product/3d-face-mask-will-remove-for-wine/
Colourful, cheery masks for every body. These XL & Colourful, cheery masks for every body. These XL & XXL face coverings will hopefully let people know that you’ve got a lovely smile, even if we can’t see it!

🌈

Don’t forget to leave specific fabric requests with your order, I’ll do my best to match your personality with something fabulous. I’ve got loads of treasures cause I’ve been hoarding fabric for over 20 years. Gulp!
Wow, it’s been a busy day! I’ve been slammed w Wow, it’s been a busy day! I’ve been slammed with orders. I’ll be sewing till late tonight to have everything ready for the courier in the morning. 

💟

Custom orders take a little longer as I have to locate your fabric, cut out the three layers and piece each mask. Orders from now on are a 48hr turnaround. Unless I have what you want in stock. Feel free to send me a DM to check.

🙏

Thanks for your patience. If you’re in a great hurry, get in touch. I’ll do my best to help out.
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