applique – Teresa Coates

25 May 2021

New Embroidery Designs + the Brumby Pouch

Before work and on the weekends, I’ve been collaborating on embroidery designs with my artist daughter and we finally (finally!) have a couple available! There are two versions: one pincushion with a happy little face and one pincushion with a strawberry. The images are her original artwork that I digitized and I’m pleased as punch with them!

I wanted a way to show off the design and decided I would do it on a bag of some type, so I started looking through patterns and found that I’d bought the Brumby Pouch pattern from Sew Sweetness and it was perfect. It’s part of her Minikins Season 3 package, a fab collection of 12 PDF patterns and videos that show you how to do each.

I have used Sew Sweetness patterns a few times over the years and I’m always impressed with her pattern writing and her attention to detail. There are some patterns that are “quick and easy” and that’s their selling point. The thing I love about Sara’s patterns is the fact that your finished bag is going to be well-crafted and beautifully finished. She gives little details and hints to make the most of the pattern and I have loved every bag I’ve made with her patterns. If you’re new to working with her patterns, read them carefully, watch the video and trust her. It will turn out great!

The pincushion appliqué was made with Cuddle® minky (shocking, I know!) and I love the way it turned out, so textural and fun. It is available now in the Etsy shop in DST EXP HUS JEF PES and VIP files. If you get it and use it, please tag me! I’d love to see what you do.

Happy sewing!

18 March 202121 March 2021

Missing Horseshoe Bend {American Travels Quilt Series}

If you are looking at this picture and thinking “That’s not Horseshoe Bend,” you’d be right. It’s nearby, but this certainly isn’t it.

On our road trip last August, Hawke and I were heading north around the eastern side of the Grand Canyon. It was our third day on the road and we were heading toward Zion National Park; we didn’t have reservations anywhere and wanted to get to our next sleeping spot as early in the day as we could. We were making good speed, but as with all road trips, a bathroom break was needed, so we stopped at what looked like a rest stop. Turned out it was for a hiking trail and the fellow at the gate explained that it was just a 20 minute hike if wanted to do that after using the bathrooms, but we demurred and he let us through to use the facilities then hit the road again.

27 March 2016

The Making of Red, a quilt

Red at Watermark Gallery. Photo credit: Peter Cameron

Late last year, I teamed up with Bill Volckening to brainstorm some modern art-inspired quilt designs. Over a couple of dinner meeting, we settled on something reminiscent of Matisse’s paper cuts with a touch of Rorschach, deciding that it should be all needle-turn applique in the spirit of traditional Hawaiian quilt making.

Teresa Coates applique — I started by free-hand drawing the red shape on Kona Cotton, then cutting it 1/4-inch larger. I basted it to 108″-wide white muslin.

Over the next month, it went from a digital sketch to a full-blown (80″ x 80″) quilt, hand-appliqued and lightly hand-quilted by me, with load of echo quilting from Jolene Knight.

The entire shape was appliquéd using a traditional needle-turn method. It took about 30 hours in total.

I just keep stitching, then removed basting stitches.

Big stitch quilting — Bill took it to Jolene who worked her magic, but left purposeful gaps for some additional big-stitch hand quilting in both the white and red.

In the end, I’m absolutely thrilled with ‘Red,’ which is now part of the Volckening Collection.

It is currently on display at Watermark Gallery (part of Gallery EOSS) in East Providence, Rhode Island through April 10, 12016.

Addendum: Sam of Hunter’s Design Studio wrote about the work here and there was an interesting bit of discussion that ensued.