Crafted Applique Book Tour & Giveaway

I have said it before, but it is worth repeating: I blog because of the wonderful community of quilters online helps me make connections and grow as an individual and as a quilter. Today is a case in point: if I were to only be a modern quilt guild member, I probably would never have had the wonderful opportunity to get to know Lara @Buzzin Bumble or be introduced to her awesome raw edge applique method that she presents in her new book, Crafted Appliqué. When Lara reached out to me to see if I would be interested in trying her technique and blogging about it, I had absolutely no hesitation. Appliqué has never been one of my strong skills as a quilter, and I was eager to learn more and improve my skills. Let me tell you, Lara’s method does not disappoint and I am excited by the possibilities that her method opens up for me creatively.

When I received the book from Lara, I eagerly sat down and read about her method. She does a fantastic job explaining her technique, but what I truly appreciate (and what appealed to my nerdy technical side) was her side by side comparison of her method to other raw edge appliqué methods; methods I had used in the past. As I was going through the comparisons, I could see the areas I struggled with using applique methods in the past and it made me giddy excited to have a try with her method. No fray? I couldn’t wait to try! Crafted Appliqué contains 7 different projects within the book, but I was itching to use the rest of my Celestial Lights palette (the other half was used for The Humans Are Dead).

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A post shared by Yvonne Fuchs (@quiltingjetgirl)

Once I had the fabric for my project selected, then I had to figure out what I was going to do with them. I brainstormed for a bit, and hit upon the idea of layering orange peel shapes to create an ombre design. I found the perfect set of Orange Peel Block templates on Craftsy from Caroline @Sew Can She, and I was off and running.

Purple Passion

Almost as soon as I made up my mind what I would be making, I knew that this mini quilt belonged with my friend Jess @Quilty Habit. And as luck would have it, last Sunday I had the pleasure of going to lunch with a group of friends, and I thought that the wall behind our table was a perfect location to hang and photograph this mini quilt.

Purple Passion

Let’s talk details, yes? I used all three sizes of the orange peel template and layered the shapes onto my chosen background. And then I started quilting. Yup, I did not top stitch down the shapes prior to quilting… and they stayed put. Even better, in the very center of the quilt there is a lot of fabric bulk, and the shapes did not shift or gather.

Purple Passion

To be fair, the first thing I did was to secure each applique shape via quilting, starting with the white, small orange peel shapes and working my way out from the center of the quilt. Then I went back and added the echo quilting within each orange peel. Look at those raw edge appliqué edges! I spent about 8 hours quilting this mini quilt on my domestic machine, turning it this way and that; scrunching it up to fit, and the edges still look like I have just cut them.

Purple Passion

Channeling my inner Renee @Quilts of a Feather (I was inspired by her Bat Falcon quilt), I marked a 1/2-inch grid on the background and finished the quilting with more orange peels. As you might be able to see in this photo, while I did my best to avoid the edges of the appliqué as I worked on the orange peels, I would occasionally dip into the raw edge. But the method held up: there is no fraying.

Purple Passion – Backing

For the quilting, I used 50wt Aurifil 4030 (Plum) and I really love how its slightly more magenta than true purple tone works with the fabric in this mini quilt. And using a solid for the quilt backing really is a fun way to see how the quilting shines.

Purple Passion – Quilting Detail

I am really thrilled with Lara’s raw edge appliqué method, and I know I will be using it again in the future!

Crafted Appliqué Giveaway

**The Giveaway is now closed – Congratulations to Beth T.**

Lara is offering a copy of her book to one lucky reader! Use the Rafflecopter entry below to enter to win. The giveaway closes on Thursday, May 26th. If you just can’t wait and want to buy a copy of the book right now, have no fear – Lara has offered to refund your money if you win a copy in one of the giveaways! You can purchase a signed copy on BuzzinBumble, or buy it from the AQS shop or through Amazon (all non-affiliate links). *Note that Amazon was sold out of the book but should be back in stock today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you want more opportunities to win a copy of Lara’s book, or if you want to get other points of view on Crafted Appliqué, the full blog hop schedule is below.

Crafted Appliqué: New Possibilities Blog Hop 

Sunday, May 1 – Introduce the Hop – Lara Buccella- BuzzinBumble
Monday, May 2 – Valerie Smith – Pumpkin Patch Quilter
Tuesday, May 3 – Dana Gaffney – Stormy Days
Wednesday, May 4 – Lorna McMahon – Sew Fresh Quilts
Thursday, May 5 – Mary S. – Needled Mom
Friday, May 6 – Heidi Kuntz – Red Letter Quilts
Saturday, May 7 – Alycia Carmin – Alycia Quilts
Sunday, May 8 – Amy DeCesare – Amy Made That
Monday, May 9 – Sherri McConnell – A Quilting Life
Tuesday, May 10 – Lara Buccella – Sew Mama Sew

Wednesday, May 11 – Christina Cameli – A Few Scraps
Thursday, May 12 – Melissa Corry –  Happy Quilting
Friday, May 13 – Sarah Craig – Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Saturday, May 14 – Soma Acharya – Whims and Fancies
Sunday, May 15 – Val Reynolds –  Val’s Quilting Studio

Monday, May 16 – Angela Pingel – Cut to Pieces

Tuesday, May 17 – Sandra Walker – Musings of a Menopausal Melon
Wednesday, May 18 – Cheryl Brickey – Meadow Mist Designs
Thursday, May 19 – Judy Murphy – Quilt Paradigm
Friday, May 20 – Yvonne Fuchs – Quilting Jetgirl
Saturday, May 21 – Cindy Pieters – Stitchin’ at Home
Sunday, May 22 – Susie Zlogar – Susie’s Sunroom
Monday, May 23 – Connie Kresin-Campbell – Freemotion by the River
Tuesday, May 24 – Ruth Bourke – Charly & Ben’s Crafty Corner
Wednesday, May 25 – Kaja Zieslar – Sew Slowly
Thursday, May 26 – Ann Brooks – Fret Not Yourself
Friday, May 27 – Cynthia Brunz – Quilting is More Fun Than Housework
Tuesday, May 31 – Jenn Trott-Zisserson – Quarter Inch From the Edge
Wednesday, June 1 – Paulette Horn – The Way I Sew It
Thursday, June 2 – Sandra Jansen – Studio Sew of Course
Friday, June 3 – Christine Sherman – Triangles and Squares
Saturday, June 4 – Darlene Simmons – Quilt Shop Gal
Sunday, June 5 – Announce BuzzinBumble Giveaway Winners – Lara Buccella

Linking up with Finish it Friday, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop, and TGIFF.

Disclosure: This book was provided for review by the author. All opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced by the businesses involved.