A Valentine's Day Applique

I'm on Christmas break!  Today's goal was to not get out of my pjs all day. I wanted to take a shower tonight and take off one set of pjs to put on another.  Well that didn't happen I am sad to say but I still didn't really get dressed.  No makeup and sweats are days that I long for so I can sit at my machine and stitch until my muscles say "STOP!"  

I had another goal also. (I can't really be that lazy!)  I wanted to give it a go with applique.  I have some upcoming projects that I think would look great with some applique pieces so I wanted to practice.  I was a little bit concerned about trying this but I was excited at the same time.  I like to keep challenging myself to learn the next step.  I had already perused the internet to see what kinds of supplies I would need.  I bought some Heat n Bond Lite, stabilizer (the tear away kind) and some new embroidery needles.  I used coupons for these items at JoAnn and saved a few dollars.  I already had some fabrics and scraps I was wanting to use for this project.  I bought the Valentine's fabric last year for a project that I never started.  I know that I'm the only one who does this. ;)

Next I needed the letters for my applique.  I searched Google images but didn't find any that I really liked.  So I went to Powerpoint and typed my letters, saved them as an image, reinserted the image and then flipped it to a mirror image.  To trace an object, it will need to be reversed to iron onto your fabric.  I traced the letters straight off my computer screen onto the paper side of the Heat n Bond.

I cut the letters out but just trimming first.  I left an edge around the letters for now. There isn't any reason to cut out the centers of the letters, thank goodness.  I get enough of cutting things out at school.

I took the Heat n Bond pieces and ironed them onto the back sides of the fabrics I chose for my letters.

I arranged the letters on the piece of fabric that I want to use for the pillow.  Then I peeled of the backing and ironed the pieces. I expected it to be sticky like tape and was trying to be careful...wasn't necessary.  I wouldn't even use the word "sticky" when you peel off the paper.  But it will stick to your fabric well when you iron it on.

Let the sewing begin!  I tried to find a mark on my satin foot to use as a guide to help me keep my stitches even on applique and the base fabric. I used the top right corner to line up with the edge of the fabric.  It's close to the needle and I could tell when I needed to pivot my foot around curves.  I tried to take a picture of the needle and foot the best I could.  For this project, I set my my stitch width to 4.5 which I thought later was a little too wide.  My stitch length was set to 0.2.

I was pretty excited with my first satin stitch applique.  I was so impressed (and a bit shocked) with my new skills, I even sent pictures of it to people.  My people are very understanding. ;)

To finish up the pillow, I cut some red and black fabric squares, 2.5 inches.  I chain pieced them and then need 10 squares on each side to create the borders.  My base fabric measured 20" in length.  I think the pillow top turned out pretty darn cute.  I needed lace to trim it out so I couldn't finish it up. Man! I wish I had everything handy when I need it...left me with another UFO!