Questions From An Aussie “Wool-ite”

I’ve taken the liberty to copy and paste this email here in order for you all to see and to offer suggestions to Dorothy’s questions.  Please take a moment to read it and for those of you who have started their journey, do you have any tips that you might want to share with Dorothy?

Thanks gals,

Kaaren ♥

Hello,

My name is Dorothy and I live in Australia and have just bought the Crazy Quilt book.

I have sewn two wool quilts from  Primitive Gatherings and smaller wool items too.

The biggest hurdle I have is getting wool. I have bought a lot online and have even dyed old wool coats and jackets because in a land of Merino sheep there is no wool in the shops.

I attained Sue Spargo's class last year in Melbourne and started her Magnolia quilt.

She brought all the wool with her. She is coming back in August and it would be great to see her again. The wool when we can get it is $24 a Fat1/4.

I came across your blog and it has already shown me that the wool looks lumpy

until it is sewn down. Your pictures of what you are doing are so encouraging, please keep on putting up your photos. 

Can I ask?  Are you putting cotton batting behind as stated in the book and how hard is it to sew through all thicknesses?

I don't have a blog, maybe I should start one though I seem to spend enough time online as it is.

Dorothy

wool, applique, embroidery, craziness

Hey gals...
The wool craziness has started in my world.  Here's my link to my blog posting.
http://mylifeisastitch.blogspot.com/2010/02/wool-applique-embroidery-craziness.html
It's been a while since I've worked with wool as the base of the project.  Still loving it.
Also loving seeing all the other works in progress on all your sites.

Layout , Marj's block

 

I traced the things that I wanted to use from the book and decided where to put them. Next I will have to cut out all the little pieces.

Appliqué

 

This is what I have finished as of last night. I’ve had to change my thinking a little because of the thickness of the seams. I did two basic stitches with the seams basted and it wasn’t working for me. So I decided I would whipstitch the seams closed with matching thread and do the decorative stitches directly over the whipstitch. I have a few more appliqué shapes I’d like to get stitched down, then I’ll do a bit of embroidery.

Anybody else having a difficult time stitching with it being so thick?

Yikes!

Yesterday I started stitching my Crazy Wool quilt and I must admit I was wondering what I was doing wrong! I’m not new to working with wool…I have made about ten wool runners and table toppers and just recently made a wool quilt …and they were all a joy to make. So why was this so difficult?

This Crazy Quilt, although it is only 24 inches, felt big and bulky and the needle didn’t want to slip through the wool like it use to! YIKES!Remember I am stitching through wool, the muslin foundation and the batting. It felt a lot like machine quilting a big bulky quilt..you know the part where you are trying to quilt the middle of the quilt…well that’s what this felt like. I think it was because I started on the middle block and with the bulk of the batting I couldn’t grab the quilt with my left hand like I use to… but once I got use to the struggle of working with the bulk of the batting it became easier. And I’m sure the other blocks will go much quicker and be less painful as the bulk will be less…or at least I hope so…

My friend, Claire suggested using a Chenille needle #24 and she was right~ it does go through the wool MUCH easier.

Chenille #24 needles have a larger eye to accommodate the perle cotton or wool thread. Because the needle is a lot thicker it makes a larger hole in the fabric which makes it easier for the thread to pass through the fibres. This is especially important if you are using the wool threads as they get worn very easily and the fibres rub off. I even found this with my table toppers.. I would often use shorter lengths of thread to avoid this from happening. Also Claire warned us that when our appliqué pieces are tiny, the chenille needle is too big to use for sewing them on. But it should be perfect for doing the stitching along the seams of the crazy quilt- Don’t worry…I will keep you posted!!

(You can get a package of Chenille needles #24 for $1.49 at Michael’s.)

So now you know…I live in a blue house, with a yellow/orange rose bush growing up the front arbour and a big tree off to one side…ahhhhh HOME…I think I’m getting homesick!!

Today I am off to downtown Palm Springs with two gals from home. We thought we would do a bit of ‘window shopping’, hang with the movie stars and have a bit of lunch…:o)

Oh, and tomorrow…we are off to San Diego…my husband will so some sightseeing…(yes…I will look at his pictures…ha ha). Where will I be you ask?? Why I will be killing time in the Country Loft Quilt Shop~ hopefully talking to JoAnn Mullaly author of “Wool Crazy” and doing a bit of shopping!! I will also be stopping off at The Fat Quarter Shop in Vista!!

Ahhh…retirement is grand!!

Have a marvellous Monday and Happy Quilting!!