Di Ford Mystery Quilt 2014

Here are some borders of the Di Ford Mountmellick 2014 Mystery Quilt. I now have this appliqué ready for stitching.

The little hexagons went together well and I did use a suggestion from Lisa Bongean in one of her recent posts. She said quilters need to use darker threads so the light thread does not show through so I followed her advice and probably went a couple of shades darker than I might have. It worked! Now the paper is removed and they are 'glued down' with Roxanne's glue to hold them in place while I stitch.

My stems are already stitched.

 Here is a little of the process. I most often have done needle turn appliqué with the freezer paper still on the top to use as my guide - no marking on the fabric, no glue, etc, but you have to continually put your overlay on the block for placement. With the starch appliqué method, you can lay it all out, glue baste in place with tiny dots to hold it down and stitch. I like that part of it.

Since this is a tight border, I decided this method would work best.

Above you can see my new Clover iron. No steam, 3 settings and it is small. 

 I have never mastered using the tiny Clover iron many people use so this seems perfect for me. Before, I used a small travel iron I had. I get better control with this. I have my spray starch in the lid with my little stencil brush. Under my muslin is a teflon pressing sheet so my ironing board is not absorbing all the liquid going on the muslin.

Here are some leaves that are starched. I remove the paper (three layers of freezer paper) and press flat again before I glue them onto the background fabric. It is suggested that you rinse the appliqué in water before you proceed to get rid of the glue and starch. Now I have some good handwork to do for a few evenings!! Happy Stitching!