Applique [ap-li-kay] noun, verb, -qued, -queing. Noun - ornamentation, as a cutout design, that is sewn on to or otherwise applied to a piece of material. Verb - to apply a decorative feature to a piece of material. (Source: dictionary.com)
It's a fancy word, it's spelled in a funny way, and it sounds like it must be something extra special. Well, applique is just that! People choose to decorate all sorts of things using a similar technique that quilters use. Purses, quilts, blue jeans, jackets... just about anything at all can be appliqued with something to make it especially different or distinct.
Many quilters will make an entire quilt out of applique designs, and there is a giant supply of patterns to support that dedicated and awe-inspiring craft. Two of the more popular applique books around Suzanne's Quilt Shop are Elly Sienkiewicz's books, Elly Sienkiewicz Teaches You Beginning Baltimore Applique and Elly Sienkiewicz Teaches You Advanced Baltimore Applique. Another great reference for the history of applique, over 2,000 modern and traditional design ideas, and even 5 new quilt projects is Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Applique.
One example of a stunning masterpiece of applique handiwork was made by one of Suzanne's most loyal patrons. Linda Heirs brought a quilt for the Show & Tell segment of our January meeting of Saturday Sampler, and the room practically exploded with Ooooooos and Aaaaaaahs.
Not only does Ms. Linda make quilts as impressive as the one above, but she pieces them, puts them together, and quilts them all ENTIRELY BY HAND. No, we're not lying folks! Ms. Linda likes to surprise us here in the shop with her blocks as she is working on them individually, but we are still all blown away at the beautiful quilts once they're all put together and finished so beautifully. So, thank you, Ms. Linda, for sharing your quilting talents and adventures with us and all of our fellow quilters!
While Ms. Linda may make her grand applique quilts look easy, and while some of us may think it's a nearly impossible feat to accomplish, we still believe that anyone can dress up a quilt and create beautiful designs by using applique for embellishment. A few curly strips of material with a colorful block at the ends and you've got a scrolling vine of flowers. And scrolling vines are hard to come by if they're not appliqued onto the quilt! So, why not at least give it a try? A small project can start you out. Or, if you've tried applique before and loved your results, why not try something a bit more challenging? If you can't make up your mind about what project you want to get started on next, our latest eNewsletter (released and emailed out on Tuesday, March 2nd) highlights tons of applique quilting options. If you're not signed up to receive our eNewsletter each week, you can click here and scroll down a little bit to enter your email address and be automatically signed up! You'll see our weekly specials, sales, new products and kits, and even be automatically entered into a drawing to get free stuff!
Not sure how y'all are feeling out there, but we are all DEFINITELY ready for Spring to arrive. Rachel worked on making the newsletter pop with tropical prints to get you in the mood for Spring Break and a little bit of R&R fun in the sun. And when you stop by the shop you'll definitely notice the Spring-inspired mood Trisha and Dallas were in when they rearranged the front of the shop as well as the display windows. Suzanne has been ordering lots of new fun, bright, and cheerful collections of fabric--perfect to brighten our days and put a little Spring in our steps!
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