CONTINUING - DESIGN PROCESS

Part 4 -  Creating a wall art quilt - from start to finish.....

At last....I'm satisfied with the tree motifs which are pinned in position to the quilt top on my design wall.

I came up with a clever trick numerous years ago when working on a piece that required precision placement of its many small design elements.  Rather than trying to move work this size to a pressing surface and hoping nothing shifts (of course it will), I use a Clover mini-iron to tack each piece in place. Once the elements are temporarily secured, the entire piece is transferred to a large pressing surface and permanently fused together. 

Here's another trick to use when machine appliqueing to avoid those pesky frayed threads along the edge of a fused motif.  Before machine stitching, use a tiny paint brush to coat the edge of the applique with Fray Block - a June Tailor product. Batiks don't fray as easily, but being hyper fussy about high quality workmanship, it's my standard procedure no matter what fabric I'm working with. I learned about this product from my pal Linda Cantrell....well known for her detailed humorous appliqué quilts.  

With matching thread, I've machine appliqued each section.  The machine is equipped with an open toe embroidery foot and programed with  a narrow blanket stitch.

Again, being the control freak I am about tidy workmanship, I pull the beginning and ending thread ends on each and every section to the wrong side and tie off. Yes, it's very time consuming....and it's just another example of why it can take me so much time to create a quality wall art quilt.

It's almost finished.....stay tuned for the rest....