It may have been a rainy couple of days, but aren't rainy days good ones to get some sewing done? April showers didn't stop some of the Sewphisticuts from getting together for an April meeting to learn a little about Stained Glass quilting techniques.
We learned about two different ways to accomplish the look of stained glass with fabric. The first, presented by Peggy N., involved the use of fusible bias binding. Sold in rolls and in various colors, it is bias binding with a fusible backing strip so that it can be pressed into place. After cutting out the "glass" pieces from fabric, they are fused onto a backing fabric on which the pattern has been traced. Then the bias tape is laid down, filling the space between the fabric pieces that make up the design and covering the raw edges. It is fused in place, then stitched down to secure it. A twin needle helps makes it easier to stitch the tape evenly. The bias tape simulates the leading between glass pieces in stained glass works.
The second method, presented by Maura, uses paper-piecing, also called foundation-piecing. Fabric is laid directly on the pattern paper (foundation) and sewn to it according to the numbered sequence indicated on the pattern. The pattern lines serve as sewing lines, making it easy to piece accurately. To achieve a stained glass look, the quilt block patterns have narrow strips designed between all the major color pieces of the design. These strips serve as the leading that would be in real stained-glass works.
We concluded that the bias tape method would probably be best for designs with many curved lines and flowing design, while the paper-pieced method would work best for very geometric designs with more straight lines, or where the pieces for the design were very small.
Other business: Everyone should have received flyers about upcoming events in the Chapter, but here are some reminders - May 2nd is the Sew-In at Trinity Episcopal Church in Fishkill.
The Yard Sale date has been changed to May 30th. Please note this change on your calendars. Lots of help is needed to make this a success, so besides helping out with set-up, on the day itself, with clean-up or donations, please spread the word!
Our next meeting will be held at Judy's house so that we can prepare donated fabric for the sale. Please contact anyone in the group if you need more information. An email reminder will go out before the meeting next month.
As always, we had some Show-and-Tell: as a group we are quite productive in numerous ways!
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| Peggy's blouse |
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| Maura's knit jacket |
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| Peggy's T-shirt |
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| Ronnie's quilts |
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| More of Ronnie's quilts |
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| One of Ronnie's quilts in lighter colors |
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| Maura's retro kitchen towels |
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