My SSCS gift

I thought this was going to be my last post for this year ..... but I was asked how the scalloped border was added and since it is still fresh in my mind, this is the right time to post about it. The pink scalloped section was appliqued onto the teal blue border. After the pattern was copied from the magazine and pasted together (I think the pattern was enlarged by me), the pattern was placed on the wrong side of the pink fabric and pinned in place really well. Then, a 1/4" seam allowance was cut away (see bottom right hand side) all around the pattern. Then the seam allowance was rolled to the back (fabric had to be clipped in places on the curves and dips to allow the fabric to be rolled back easily) and basted in place (using the English Paper Piecing method). Once the scalloped section was basted, it was placed on top of the teal blue border, making sure that there was enough of the teal blue fabric where the scalloped border dipped inwards. The scalloped section was then pinned really well in place and then appliqued. 

I didn't take photos of the remaining steps, so you will have to use your imagination for visualising the rest of the steps. 

The white diamond square had the 1/4" seam allowances rolled back and basted and then pinned in place on top of the scalloped pink section and appliqued on as well. Excess fabric was cut away from behind the white square and then the embroidery design was traced onto the white fabric using my light table. 

Once the top was brought to the flimsy stage, it was placed on top of a piece of batting (it was basted a wee bit to hold all the layers together) and then the embroidery was done using an embroidery hoop. It was a bit bulky with the batting but I much prefer the look of batting with the embroidery. Once the embroidery was all done, then the backing fabric was added to the back and basted really well and then hand quilted. There ... now you know how it was done. 

When I'm working on something different, I often think that no-one will be interested to see how a project was done .... until they ask a question and then it hits me that there are people out there that are interested and that is when I regret not taking photos to show my process as I go along. 

To the person asking about my blog .... it is just a standard template from http://www.blogspot.com/ Once there, look for a tab to Create a Blog. It was quite easy to set-up and it is free. One suggestion for photos is to use Picasa (free downloadable program) to downsize your photos as you will quickly run out of free space offered by blogspot. 

Happy New Year to all!