Day 5 - the process of an Elefantz design...

Day 5 - the last steps for you to see!

 Yesterday my post ended by showing you the heart fabric I intended using for the border. I chose to cut the fabric so that the sweet button hearts design on it would run horizontally...

This is because I have chosen the grey stripe fabric as the binding fabric, and I wanted the two to contrast with each other - horizontal hearts and vertical stripes...

But before we get to the actual binding, I needed to sandwich the top of the table runner with fusible wadding and some backing fabric.

As table runners get a lot of use, and therefore regular machine washing, I have used a medium weight fusible Pellon as the wadding. I only use cotton wadding for quilts.

With only fat quarters of this fabric line (Nice People, Nice Things) I didn't have a long enough piece to back the table runner. Rather than sewing two different fat quarters together, creating a seam in the back, I chose to use some pink floral fabric I had on hand which worked well with the colours in the pieced top.

I spray basted the backing fabric behind the Pellon. I love spray baste! It's a dream, but remember you only need a light spray over the back of your wadding, and after laying the backing fabric over it a quick press with a warm dry iron will seal it enough for the next step - quilting!

I did a fairly simple quilting of the table runner; outlining around the blocks and pieced sections..

 

I've used two different thread colours across the top of my quilted area - pink in some areas, and pale turquoise in others - but the back was different. I used just a pale pink in my bobbin, to blend nicely into the pink floral backing fabric...

Whilst I was doing the machine quilting and preparing the binding I listened to the BBC Book Club's podcast of the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's 'Pride & Prejudice' on my iPad. I am a Jane Austen fan from way back and this podcast was fabulous - informative and a bit funny too.

You can listen to it on your computer too; go HERE.

Next step was to attach the binding strip...

Once the binding was sew on, I trimmed the excess Pellon and backing fabric away...

....and pressed the binding away from the table runner top for a nicer finish when folded to the back.

The binding was turned to the back and slip stitched down with a thread that matched the binding...

And that, my friends, is a wrap!

One new Elefantz design from an idea to a finished pattern... 

 Though I shared this over five days, the process took me just two days. 

I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at the why's and wherefore's of my design process, and maybe I've encouraged you to let your own ideas travel from a thought to a finished project!

If you like Helen Stubbings new line of fabric, 'Nice People, Nice Things', ask your local quilt store if they'll be stocking it, and if not, give 'google' a try - it's wonderful for finding things locally!

My "Bee Happy" table runner pattern will be in Australian Patchwork & Stitching magazine near the end of the year. I'll let you know when it's available.

Would you like to make one of my favourite table runner patterns?

It's been a while since I've had this pattern back on the shelves, but when I ironed it today to use on my dining table I thought, "It's too pretty not to be available to others"...

My 'Oopsie Daisy' table runner is 11" x 41" and is perfect for using up leftover jelly roll strips, and a couple of charm squares!

The applique is pretty sweet too, and no matter what side of the table you sit on you have a mug of pretty oopsie daisies to smile at you...

 

 

 The pattern is HERE in my shop now as an instant PDF download.

It is Friday morning where I am in Far North Queensland, and with spring just three weeks away I'm up to my ears in a complete spring clean and re-organisation of my sewing room/creative space while Mr E is away. I started at 4.30am on Wednesday and will have it finished today by lunch - which is just as well because Mr E flies home tonight!

I've even gone through every button bag, all my fabric, my big plastic tub of lace and ribbons, all my unused skeins of thread, as well as built two 4-shelf bookcases (from flat packs) that fit inside the built-in wardrobe away from the light to re-house my fabric. When I began this spring clean I discovered some folded fabrics had fade lines from the bright tropical sun that creeps in even when the shades are drawn! Now they are safe. \o/

I love spring cleaning. It blows out the cobwebs in my mind and refreshes my soul.

What about you? Do you enjoy a good spring clean too?

hugs

Jenny

xx

Day 4 - the process of an Elefantz design...

Yesterday you saw how and why I choose certain threads and stitches in my designs, and today I'm going to take you through my piecing process.

Number one thing to do at this point is to TAKE LOTS OF NOTES so I can write the pattern correctly when the project is complete!

 I wrote two full pages for this simple design, but it's essential if I'm to keep my sanity when I need to re-write the pattern in an understandable and methodical manner.

When I wrote my very first pattern I was advised to write as though someone who had never sewn would be able to understand it. That's a pretty good rule of thumb if you ever write a pattern yourself. 

Let's begin piecing!

I've chosen striped fabric to border the four feature blocks. It's a nice contrast to the roundness of the applique pieces...

 

For the background of the table runner I've decided to use all three colours of the 'script' fabrics. Now there's a reason I've put the grey script fabric reading horizontally  and the  turquoise and pink script reading vertically...

 

This project is a long, narrow table runner, so in all probability there will be people sitting opposite each other at the table, and I didn't want only one to have a 'readable' view of the script fabrics. I've pieced the table runner so that wherever you sit around the table you will be able to read them...

The same applies with the design of the feature blocks. They are 'right side' for viewing from any angle at the table. I made them with no particular facing direction for that purpose.

In a change from the original design layout I showed you on Monday (which had a line of 1" squares down each narrow end of the table runner) I decided to use 2 1/2" strips of the sweet little vignette fabric instead, as it brought some more colour, interest, and movement to the design...

To harmonise with the deep pink in the striped borders of two feature blocks, I chose to make my border using the pretty pink hearts fabric...

I have it running horizontally for a reason, but more about that tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the last day of my 'building an Elefantz design tutorial', and we'll look over the quilting and binding of the table runner.

It's really, really sweet, and I've already posted it away to the lovely Melinda at Patchwork & Stitching magazine, so I have some nice 'finished' pics to share with you too!

Mr E has flown away till the end of the week to another boring exciting business conference, so with just Blossom, Bob-the-dog, and Princess Sophie to look after I decided to experiment with a recipe.

I've made Lasagne with gnocchi instead of sheets of pasta...

It looks good, and smells amazing...

Hopefully it tastes good too!

hugs

Jenny

xx

Day 3 - the process of an Elefantz design (and scones too!)

It's day 3, and time to show you how I've appliqued and stitched the four feature blocks.

As I wrote yesterday, I fussy cut the little circles from two fabrics as a design element for the daisy centres.

I've decided to use just three embroidery threads in the design as there are only three colours in the fabric palette - pink, grey, and turquoise. 

HINT: Start with a NEW size 9 embroidery needle.
Believe me, when doing applique you notice how much easier it is when you start with a brand new needle!

CHOOSING STITCHES: I don't plan what stitches to use until I actually have the needle threaded in my hand. 

A few people have asked why I don't get others to stitch my designs for me, thus freeing up more time to plan more projects and write more patterns. 

Honestly, it wouldn't work for two reasons. 

1. It's only when I am actually stitching a block that the design tells me what stitch or colour thread it needs, and...

2. I enjoy stitching a new creation myself! I have a stitcher's heart, you see.

With these daisies I thought I'd either backstitch the petals or chain stitch them, but it didn't feel right once I held my needle threaded with pink over the block. So blanket stitch became the star of the moment!

Normally, as you know, I use white hanky linen or soft cotton sateen in pale solid colours for my block backgrounds. This project was different because the cream background fabric was patterned, so I needed to choose stitches that wouldn't get lost amongst that pattern. The blanket stitch stood out, as did the leaves which I loosely fly-stitched...

For the bees I used a variety of stitches - chain stitch, stem stitch, backstitch, running stitch, and satin stitch...

When all four feature blocks were finished, I traced a 4 1/2" square around each one with my red heat erasable Frixion pen to centre the block before cutting it...

When I was happy with them I used my rotary cutter to separate each one into their 4 1/2" squares, ready to be pieced...

Tomorrow I'll piece the table runner and explain my fabric choices, and why I made a small change to my original graphed design. Sometimes the fabric speaks louder than the design.

Designing, sewing, writing and formatting patterns, stocking my shop, emails, blogging, and writing my e-zine takes me 6 full days a week. Recently I've been lamenting the simple things I used to do each day, so I've made a start on changing things.

That is why I made THIS household planner.

You see, I'm an organiser and planner by nature, but I've strayed badly the last few years and have decided to 'do what I know to do' and get back on track with time and home management, as well as proper business hours.

So far this week I'm feeling quite empowered!

Today I even made made a fresh batch of scones - I haven't made them in almost a year and yet they were a family favourite found in the weekly menu for decades before Elefantz became so busy and I stopped being organised with meals and snacks.

Want to take some time out of your own busy schedule and make some too?

~Jenny's Scones~

Pre-heat your oven to 200C (400F).

Sift 2 1/4 cups of self-raising flour into a large bowl.

Beat together 1 egg and about 3/4 cup of milk.

Rub about 2 tablespoons of soft butter through the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre and pour in 3/4 of your milk/egg mix. 

Important : Using a knife, cut through the scone mix to incorporate all the ingredients. Nana taught me to always use a knife as it helped the scones rise higher because you weren't 'beating' the mixture around with a spoon.

 Pour in the rest of the milk/egg mix, and cut it into the mixture until all combined.

The whole process of 'cutting' the mixture together will take no more than 50-60 seconds.

Turn the mix out on a floured board...

Pat it down gently, and mould into a circle about 1" high.

Lift it off the board and place in the centre of a baking tray lined with paper. Score it across the top with a large floured knife to make eight sections...

Bake for 15-18 minutes.

We like ours slightly browned...

Break apart and serve with lashings of butter and spoonfuls of your favourite jam (mine is Ananoth Boysenberry from New Zealand!)...

And don't forget to 'butter and jam' the little broken bits that fall off the side. 

They deserve respect too, and besides, they are my favourite bits!

see you tomorrow,

hugs

Jenny

xx

Day 2 - the process of an Elefantz design

Yesterday I showed you how I go from an idea to a formulated sketch and layout.

Today I'm going to transfer the design to fabric by preparing it for stitching.

There are four, 4" applique blocks in my table runner design, so I cut a 13" square of cream tonal fabric and divide it into four sections using a heat erasable Frixion pen...

Then I trace my four applique blocks into one square each, keeping them closer to the inside edge of their square than the outside, but being sure to give the 4" blocks a 1" buffer from the cross lines...

NOTE: I only bought this light box late last year. Before that I normally taped the pattern sheet onto a window, and then the fabric over the top! This works brilliantly, so if you don't have a light box I highly recommend the window method. I also have a huge home-made light box that Mr E configured for me but found the window easier to manage unless I had a very big design to trace.

I trace all my designs onto fabric with a brown 0.3mm Zig Millenium pen.

Because 99.9% of the time I use the blanket stitch method of applique, I need to reverse my pattern sheet to make reverse templates.

After tracing the reverse shapes onto the smooth side of some fusible bonding paper (I use Vliesofix)...

 ...and choosing which fabrics I will use for the applique sections of the blocks...

 ...I fuse the shapes to the wrong side of the fabric.

Because the fabrics I've chosen for the daisy centres have little circles on them, I've chosen to fussy cut my applique pieces and make the most of the little circles...

I've chosen grey fabrics for three of the four blocks...

...and after cutting out each shape I peel off the Vliesofix and fuse the shapes in place on the traced blocks with a warm iron.

(When I iron the shapes in place on their blocks the red Frixion pen lines disappear.)

I cut a 13" square of fusible fabric stabiliser, and fuse it to the back of the prepared fabric with a warm dry iron. When I am stitching a block that has applique I like to use Weaveline...

My final preparation before I begin hand stitching is to trim the block all around with pinking shears to prevent any fraying of fabric...

 

 So now my blocks are ready to stitch, and all I have to do is choose my thread colours...

Tomorrow I'll show you how they were stitched!

When I was out shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables today I found the market had bunches of roses marked down to $5! How could I resist?

 Blooming beauties make me smile...

See you tomorrow,

hugs

Jenny

xx