New Techniques on NewFOs

Yesterday was a fun adventure in my quilting room as I challenged myself with all things NEW. Enlarging a pattern, freezer paper, reverse applique and a zip bag! All while fighting a cold, I actually think being so absorbed in figuring things out was a helpful distraction to feeling so crummy.

And I have two NewFO Finishes! First up is my Triple Zip Pouch from Debbie's wonderful tutorial at A Quilter's Table which was my January NewFO project. I can't say that this is my first experience with zippers as I learned to sew making clothing in high school, but that was a few years back so it's a close first. I was a bit nervous about it but they went in easily.

The bottom print is from Timeless Treasures, then a bit of Pearl Bracelets and the top and lining fabric is from the Parisville line. Zippers are from Zip-it and I have to say that their fun colors make this bag! Here is a peek at the 3 compartments in the bag.

And the back. After I picked out my fabrics I read on other blogs about directional fabrics being upside down for the back so I attempted to seam my main fabric. But, I didn't take into account that the top zipper lies flat so my calculation was off which is why you can see my seam on the bottom front. Next time I'll move the seam about 3/8" further towards the back. Sew and Learn!

NewFO #2 is my Sew Along at Threadbias February project - a Reverse Applique Heart Pillow. I'm going to show you the pillow first and then some of the details of how it was made. The pattern is from the book "Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays" by John Adams. It's a good sized pillow and mine needs a plumper 18" pillow form to fill it out. February's NewFO is done - click the button on my sidebar to read more about the NewFO Challenge.

I quilted the patchwork yesterday and embarked on a DIY Enlargement Project as the pattern in the book needed to be enlarged 400%. My closest copy store is an hour each way and nursing this cold all week hasn't made me anxious for a road trip. So I scanned the pattern and printed it, enlarged it by 200% and printed it and then by 300%. You can see that the side edges went off page. Then I laid them on top of each other and taped them to my window light box with a bright sunny day to make it easier.

I dug around in the kitchen for a roll of freezer paper, taped it over the top and using the spacing between the other sizes as a guide drew my heart.  I'm terrible at free hand drawing... and I wanted my heart sides to be balanced. This method worked great!

Next I cut out the heart and laid the frame on top of my patchwork just to make sure it looked okay. The heart shape was then ironed to my grey Moda Bella background fabric and sandwiched on top of the quilted patchwork.

I sewed along the edge of the heart and then did two more lines of stitching close to the first.

This part was a bit scary. It was wonderful seeing the patchwork peek through, but I was quite worried about cutting something I didn't want to with my sharp little scissors. I must admit to holding my breath until it was done!

I love this Reverse Applique technique and look forward to doing it again. I'm linking up to TGIFF, Can I Get a Whoop Whoop, Finish It Up Friday, Find A Friend Friday and Link a Finish Friday.

One last linkup for all of the NEW in this post!