April BOM: Modern Appliqué Gumdrops

If you're new to guild's Block of the Month segment, you can read my description of how it all works during the pandemic here!

This month's block idea goes out by special request to guild member Brenda (@quilting.wtmf)! She said, "I hope next month is appliqué" when she shared her Confetti Block from March, and who am I to say no to such a request?

Admittedly, the Confetti Blocks from the March meeting were a bit of a mind-bender (thanks to everyone who went along with it!), so let's slow things down for April with some Modern Appliqué. Plus, I think my "celebration" theme from the March meeting was perhaps pre-emptive, given the state of life in the Ottawa region these days! Sigh. I'll stick to sewing, rather than predicting a swift end to the pandemic from now on, okay? :)

So for this month's BOM idea, I looked again to the Ottawa Public Library's collection of quilting books and came up with Sunday Morning Quilts, which was written in 2012 by Amanda Jean Nyberg (@crazymomquilts) and Cheryl Arkison (@cherylarkison). Amanda Jean and Cheryl are both early pioneers of the modern quilting movement; they each have very inspirational blogs and Instagram accounts, and they're also very prolific, superfans of scrappy quilts. Perfect fit!

The basic idea for this pattern comes from their book, although I've modified their approach a bit. First, I'm expanding the appliqué method to be maker's choice - you can choose any of the following methods: 

• raw-edge machine appliqué (this makes for some cool frayed texture after a few washes)
• needle-turn (this is done by hand)
• freezer paper method
• ironing on with heat & bond and then zig-zag stitching around the edge (I think that's actually how you're supposed to do raw-edge machine appliqué)
• maybe a hybrid approach that combines other skills - what about big stitch raw-edge or needle turned appliqué?

So the method is totally up to you! I tried out four styles for this entry (needle-turn, two types of raw edge machine appliqué, and something I made up that I'm going to call big-stitch raw edge appliqué). Please don't feel limited by my examples! I'm not super familiar with appliqué, so this was a learning opportunity for me. Basically, pick a method that works best for you and give this a go!

This pattern is called Gumdrops and appears on p. 122-7 of Sunday Morning Quilts.

Fabric Instructions:

For the gumdrops, you'll need a mix of scraps or smallish pieces (each block requires a colourful scrap of about 5" x 5") in the following colours (solids or prints, whatever works for you):

• yellow
• pink
• red
• orange
• purple

For the background: each gumdrop is appliquéd onto a 5" x 5" square of anything white (again, solids or prints, whatever works for you).

Sewing Instructions:

Make a template for your "gumdrop" shapes. I used the book's examples for inspiration and then drew my gumdrop shapes onto the back of a shipping envelope:

 

I drew each shape freehand, making sure that each one was smaller than 5" x 5". Each one needs to fit onto the 5" x 5" background block, so it can't be bigger, right? Then I cut the templates out.

NOTE: I made four different shapes to give myself some variety, but each participant could definitely just draw one gumdrop shape, since everyone is going to draw a different gumdrop, so this will give us some built-in variety. Team work makes the dream work!

I pinned the paper templates in place on my gumdrop fabrics and used fabric scissors to cut out each shape. For a bit of variety in your gumdrops, you can flip your template over to make the reverse shape.

Then I appliquéd each gumdrop onto a background block. I used a bit of glue to baste each gumdrop in place, and I made sure to align the bottom of the gumdrop with the bottom of each background block.

First, I used a zigzag stitch on my machine for some raw edge appliqué - this was very quick!

Then, I used a straight stitch on my machine and sewed just inside the edge of the gumdrop to leave a little raw edge that will provide texture after it's been washed - also very quick!

Next, I tried my hand (haha!) at needle-turn appliqué - admittedly, not my favourite technique, but I think with some practice I could be convinced.

And finally, just to be wild, I used 8 weight perle cotton thread in a contrasting colour and hand-stitched big X-stitches along the outside edges of two of my gumdrops - this was a really fun technique and I think it looks very cool!

For each block I made, I ran a quick straight stitch 1/8" from the bottom of each gumdrop to hold the bottom edge of the shape in place. I'm not sure if this is actually required, but I figured it would keep things from getting "flappy" and the little basting stitch will be hidden in the seam allowance in the finished quilt, so it can't hurt.

So, this wasn't really an instructive post, per se, but hopefully I gave you some ideas so that you can appliqué a few gumdrops in time for our May meeting! I'm excited to see all the gumdrops that our group will make.

Don't forget to post your photos to social media with the hashtag #ottmqgBOM so we can all follow along with your progress! Happy sewing!