Sunday, December 10, 2017

New Pattern - Two Peacocks

New Pattern - Two Peacocks

I completed the quilt, "Two Peacocks" in 2013. The quilt was inspired by a plate I saw in a museum. The plate was black and gold, so didn't have color which made it fun to choose the fabrics. I've had a friend asking for the pattern so finally got a chance to make up the pattern for this quilt. It is available on Etsy and at my website. The center circle is all applique which can be done either by hand or by machine. There is also embroidery: in the peacock crests and the flowers (stem stitch and french knots).

©2013-2017 Susan Taylor Propst

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Tulip applique

Tulip

The design for the tulips was taken from multiple sources. The leaves were from a group of tulip bulbs that my husband brought home in the winter. The flower was from some tulips that were growing in England. I used yellow fabric and added the color with fabric pastels. I used the starch-press-glue method to make the unit with the leaves and flower, and then appliqued all of it to the background.
The tulip appears in the lower left corner of the quilt. You can see a bit of the ground that runs across the bottom, and the tree that runs up the left side.


©2017 Susan Taylor Propst

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Alternate Beautiful Blocks Quilt

Alternate Beautiful Blocks Quilt

I like to complete several quilts when I design a pattern, utilizing different fabrics to show some of the versatility of the pattern. For the Beautiful Blocks book, I had a group of friends who were willing to test the instructions, so I decided to make another quilt with them. Instead of the light colors of the original quilt, I decided to use a black background. I also used a different border and eliminated the mock cathedral window cornerstones setting so as not to interrupt the black background between the blocks. This has the effect of looking like the block designs float on the black background.
These colors are kind of unusual for me, but I like how this turned out. I actually got the inspiration for the colors by putting a picture of the layout of the original quilt in Photoshop. Then I shifted the hue for the non-green colors and this was close to the result. The outer border is 3" wide, where there is a 1" width strip of green pieces between 1" strips of black. The corners are quarter circles, just like those used in the block on the bottom row. I am still in the process of finishing the quilting on this quilt.

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Applique Center

Applique Center

I have finally completed the applique center! I have to say as much as I love the posies, I'm glad to be done with them. I've already started to add some of the elements around the center, but wanted to just show the center for now. It's a bit difficult to see in the photo, but there are ribbons connecting the posies and the bluebirds. The background was paper foundation pieced rings. I used pinless piecing to stitch the rings together. The outer edge of the circle was hand appliqued to the square piece of background fabric.
For most of the applique on the quilt, I have been using starch and press on the individual pieces, and then using glue to construct the units (such as the birds or the posies). Then I hand applique the unit pieces together before stitching the unit to the background. The background beyond the circle is a solid piece of fabric with a subtle texture. I considered piecing the outer background, but there will be enough going on with the applique pieces that I didn't want to make it more busy. As I add elements now I will add more pictures.
This part of the quilt is symmetrical, but the remainder won't be so I'm excited to really get into the work of adding the rest of the applique pieces.
© 2017 Susan Taylor Propst

Saturday, November 18, 2017

New Patchwork Book

Beautiful Blocks

I taught beginning and intermediate patchwork classes for a number of years as well as creating applique designs. I decided a few years ago to revisit the intermediate class and update some of the patterns. The design is similar to what I taught in the classes, but there are more techniques and new ways to make some of the blocks. What is particularly nice for many quilters is that I have developed techniques for completing many blocks more easily all by machine, including the Dresden Plate block. I also know many students didn't enjoy the curved piecing so have used glue to make the curves much easier. The outcome of this is that I have written a book with all of the instructions and step-by-step illustrations. I have just completed the manuscript and it will be available on Amazon Nov 20, 2017.
                                                         ISBN: 978-1979475259

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Viola and Lily of the Valley Posy

Viola and Lily of the Valley Posy

These posies contain violas and lily of the value and join with the bluebirds to surround the center of the quilt. Outside of this ring will be a tree-of-life type design with a variety of flowers and birds. I used permanent fabric markers to make the lines on the violas, and crayons to add the touch of color to the light petals of the flowers. I stitched the units together before stitching them to the background.
There are eight of these along with the eight bluebirds. Next week, I'll have a picture of the center of the quilt.

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Bluebirds

Bluebirds

The next circle around the center contains 8 bluebirds and 8 posies connected by ribbons. The picture shows one of the bluebirds. I initially considered stitching many pieces for the light blue portions of the wings and tails. Having found these two fabrics which I felt were a great color combination for the birds, I decided instead to use the two fabrics and draw lines suggesting the wing and tail feathers. I used a light box with a paper pattern to draw the lines with fabric marker on all of the pieces. This was much quicker than stitching many pieces, especially since it would have had to be repeated 8 times.

Susan Taylor Propst  ©2017

Friday, September 29, 2017

Pansy Circle

Pansy Circle


I love pansies but have never included them in quilts before since they require either a printed fabric that has the pansy design and just happens to be the right size and color, or fabric embellishment. Since many of my designs are made into patterns, this can present difficulties for people who want to use the pattern. However, I decided to include them in this quilt and decided to do a lot of them! They form a ring around the center flower.
Two of them are shown in this photo:
Susan Taylor Propst ©2017

For the pink pansies I painted the darker color on to hand-dyed fabric. For the periwinkle pansies, I started with hand-dyed for the back unpainted petals. Then I found a fabric marker that is very similar in color and colored white fabric with the periwinkle color. The dark color around the centers is painted using fabric paint. The leaves were cut from pre-printed fabric.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Dahlia Flower Applique

 Dahlia Flower Applique

The center flower is stitched for the applique quilt! This is hand appliqued to the background. I stitched the flower together as a unit before stitching to the background. The background is pieced using paper piecing.
Susan Taylor Propst ©2017
The flower was in a photograph taken by my husband in the Valley Gardens in Harrogate, UK. It's stylized, but sets some of the color scheme for the rest of the quilt. This measures about 16" diameter.


Saturday, September 16, 2017

Welcome!

Hi - Welcome to my new blog! 

If you applique, you know it takes a long time to complete a hand applique quilt. I am usually working on several at at time, so I thought I would share images of some of the pieces that I am working on.

I have finished designing an ambitious applique quilt that features a large number of different flowers, birds, and a few animals. For the first time I am combining fabric that has been embellished with paint, crayons, or fabric pastels. I will be posting images of the motifs over the next few months. Let me know what you think.
The first motif is a cardinal. He doesn't have legs yet because I will be embroidering them when he is added to the quilt.
Susan Taylor Propst ©2017
 Susan