Before I go any further, if you’ve been wanting to purchase GO! Be Dazzled but it just hasn’t been the right time for you to do it, be sure to read all the way to the end. I have a special offer for you!

Each of the blocks in GO! Be Dazzled contains several applique shapes, each one placed in a very specific position within the block.

For the majority of embroidery machines, the square blocks are going to take at least 2, if not more, hoopings to complete. In order to guarantee success, even for someone completely new to Embroidered Applique, I devised an easy system for placement of not only the applique shapes on the background fabric, but also for positioning the background fabric in the hoop.

The CD contains complete illustrated instructions for each block, but sometimes there’s nothing quite like a few good photos to tell the tale, so here goes!

The photos that follow were taken while stitching out a “hearts” block (month 06) using the jumbo hoop on my Bernina 830. Your hoop may not be as big as this hoop, but the principles remain the same.

The first thing you are going to do is hoop a piece of medium/heavy weight tearaway stabilizer. The key here is “TEARAWAY”. When you are all done with the embroidery for each block, you want to get rid of as much stabilizer as possible from around the applique shapes. Tearaway makes this sooooo much easier!

The first color to stitch (after you have put the hoop in your embroidery machine) is going to be a placement line to tell you where to position the background fabric. This will be at least a cross-hair marking the center of the block. If you are using a jumbo hoop, you will also get the outline for the block – or at least for the half that you are stitching.

On the background fabric (which has been prepared with a fusible tearaway stabilizer on the back), you will mark the center as specified in the directions. For months 5, 6 and 8 (all squares) this will be the center with the fabric placed square on. For month 7 this will be the center with the fabric placed on point.

Remove the hoop from the embroidery machine and place it on an ironing board (with a padded surface). Take a pin and push it through the center marked on the background fabric. Guide the same pin through the center marked by stitching lines on the stabilizer in the hoop.

Now take a second pin, and poke it through the fabric a couple of inches above the center pin. Move the fabric as necessary (it should swivel around the center pin) until the second pin is aligned with the corresponding point on the stitching on the stabilizer. Use 4 pins to secure the fabric to the stabilizer. (If you really want to, use 505. I am just not a fan of spray adhesives.

Return the hoop to the machine.

The next thing to stitch (in most but not all cases) will be a tackdown line to hold the background fabric in place. For the smaller hoops, this will not happen but do not worry! What comes next works just as well to hold the fabric in place!

Now to get your applique shapes positioned exactly where you want them in the hoop.

The next thing to stitch is placement lines for the first layer of applique shapes.

Click on the photo to see a larger version – it’s a bit easier to see the placement lines!

Now you can go to the ironing board and fuse the first layer of applique shapes in place.

When you are done, return the hoop to the embroidery machine and stitch out the placement lines for any remaining layers of applique shapes. For the heart block, the large hearts in the center of the block have a second, smaller heart, layered over the top.

Here is the block with all layers of applique shapes fused on…

Now you can stitch straight through to the end, changing thread colors as desired.

To stitch the other half of the block (or however many hoopings are required for the hoop that you are using), remove all of the stabilizer that was in the hoop from around the applique shapes. The fusible tearaway stabilizer on the back of the background fabric should be left in place.

Hoop another (clean) piece of tearaway stabilizer. Go through the same set of steps as before. The only difference is that the block already has some stitching on it.

So what’s the special offer all about???

Have you seen the April 2011 issue of The Quilt Life with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson? I am honored to say that GO! Be Dazzled is featured as the centerfold!

To celebrate this piece of publishing history, I am offering 20% off the price of the GO! Be Dazzled CD if you purchase it at any time in March OR April 2011, from my online store… HERE! All you need to do is enter the coupon code “GBD-20″ at the checkout. If I can get my online store to cooperate, the digital download version will be available too.

Hopefully all of this made sense to you! If not, leave me a comment with your questions, and I’ll do my best to clarify!

GO! Be Dazzled was released in May 2010, my first collection to utilize the AccuQuilt GO! cutter and the following AccuQuilt GO! dies:

• GO! Round Flower (55007)
• GO! Feathers (55008)
• GO! Circle-2″, 3″, 5″ (55012)
• GO! Star-2″, 3″, 4″ (55028)
• GO! Heart-2″, 3″, 4″ (55029)
• GO! Funky Flowers (55042)
• GO! Sparkle-Diamonds (55089)

The CD can be used in two ways.

First, it can be used to create the quilt featured on the cover as a Block of the Month program with 12 months.

Each month, 2 (identical) blocks are stitched out:

• Month 1: The 9 patch diamond blocks
• Month 2: The circle diamond blocks
• Month 3: The big diamond diamond blocks
• Month 4: The square diamond blocks
• Month 5: The Star blocks
• Month 6: The Heart blocks
• Month 7: The Funky Flower blocks
• Month 8: The Round Flower blocks
• Month 9: The top and bottom borders
• Month 10: The left and right borders
• Month 11: The corner blocks
• Month 12: Constructing the quilt

For people wanting to create a smaller quilt, a simple sashed 9-patch quilt layout has also been created, using only the square blocks and the corners:

In order to minimize the amount of fabric that ends up in your trash can (the fabric should, after all, be in your quilt!), a system has been created to allow for perfect placement on blocks that are cut 1″ bigger than the finished block size. This 1″ includes the standard 1/2″ for seam allowances, and an additional 1/2″ for shrinkage and “fudge factor”. This is how it works:

• Cut the background fabric to the size specified in the instructions. For each of the square blocks, this will be 13″ x 13″.
• Mark the center of the fabric as specified in the instructions. 3 of the square blocks are stitched with the square in a horizontal layout, the 4th is stitched with the block on-point.
• Hoop a piece of medium/heavyweight tear-away stabilizer. When you have finished stitching a block, you will need to get rid of as much of the excess stabilizer as possible (from around the applique shapes), so I have found that a non-sticky stabilizer works best in the hoop.
• Put the hoop onto your machine and stitch the first color. This will always be a placement line to show you exactly where to place the background fabric.
• Remove the hoop from the machine (but do not disturb the stabilizer in the hoop).
• Working on an ironing board (to take advantage of the padded surface), place a pin through the center point marked on the background fabric, and then guide the same pin through the center point that is now marked on the stabilizer. Push the pin all the way in. The background fabric can be swivelled around the pin.
• Use a second pin and place it through one of the center lines marked on the fabric, 2″-3″ away from the center point. Guide the pin through the corresponding point on the stabilizer. You may need to swivel the fabric around the first pin a little to get it to line up. Push the pin all the way in.
• For a double check, repeat with a third pin. You should be able to push a pin through the center line – on the other side of the first pin – and have it line up with the placement line stitched onto the stabilizer.
• Pin the fabric to the stabilizer, being careful to keep the pins away from any stitching that is going to happen. 1″ in from the edges in the corners is usually a good place.
• Return the hoop to the machine and continue stitching. The next color to stitch is usually a tackdown stitch to hold the background fabric in place. Pay attention to where the stitching is going so that you can remove the pins if necessary.

The second way the GO! Be Dazzled CD can be used is as a design library for the specified AccuQuilt GO! dies. Each of the designs used in the Block of the Month quilt is also on the CD as an individual design. These designs can be used on smaller projects, for example purses, tote bags, pillows, clothing. As an example, check out this quilted calendar:

One of the things on my to-do list this year is to create a place for people to post photos of quilts (or any other project for that matter) that have been created using my designs. Hopefully more news on that will be coming soon! I’ve seen some gorgeous renditions of GO! Be Dazzled using various different color schemes.

I nearly forgot! On November 2, 2010 in Houston, TX, at the awards ceremony for the International Quilt Associations anual World of Beauty judged show, GO! Be Dazzled won first place in the Computer Aided Machine Embroidery category!!! This is the first time that I have entered a quilt into this show, and to have the quilt win was an amazing experience. Lee, from AccuQuilt, was with me at the awards ceremony, and took a bunch of photos:

Everything you need to create your own version of this award winning quilt is on the CD!

 Are you willing to give me some feedback? If so, please leave a comment below with your thoughts. Do you have a store near to you that is offering GO! Be Dazzled as a BOM? Would you like to have? Would you be interested in participating in an on-line BOM – you’d be stitching on your own at home, but would have the option to check in online each month for moral support and to get your questions answered. I’d love to hear what you think!

If you have a Bernina Jumbo Hoop for the 830 you are in excellent shape. The central diamond blocks will each stitch out in one hooping and the square blocks will each stitch out in two hoopings.

If you have a Mega Hoop (150mm x 400mm) or equivalent (Pfaff and Viking both have hoops that are 200mm x 360mm) you are also in great shape. The central diamond blocks will each stitch out in one hooping and the square blocks will each stitch out in 3 or 4 hoopings.

If you have a Large Oval Hoop (145mm x 255mm) or equivalent then you are in good shape – as long as you have a lot of patience. The central diamond blocks will each require two or three hoopings while some of the square blocks will require up to 9 hoopings.

Placement is super easy, with detailed instructions on the CD for how to mark the fabric for each block and align these marks with placement lines that should be stitched out directly onto the stabilizer in the hoop. Be sure to read the instructions before you start stitching!

Placement of applique shapes is also super easy! Once your background fabric has been put in place in the hoop, the next thing to stitch out is placement lines for each applique shape. Remove the hoop from your embroidery module while you fuse the prepared applique shapes in place. Some of the designs have layered appliques, so you will need to do 2 or 3 sets of placement lines each followed by fusing shapes in place.

Another question that came in today was about the thread colors used. Here’s the scoop on that!

Isacord thread was used for GO! Be Dazzled, in the following colors:

• 0811 Candlelight
• 2508 Hot Pink
• 2715 Pansy
• 4620 Jade
• 1010 Toast
• 2506 Cerise
• 2810 Orchid
• 4423 Marine Aqua
• 2550 Soft Pink
• 2510 Roseate
• 2830 Wild Iris
• 6011 Tamarack

If you want to do your own colors, here’s a formula I have been using with the students in my Block of the Month classes:

Choose 3 different fabrics – in the case of GO! Be Dazzled there are Regal Purple, Cerise and Daffodil from the Crystals collection by Benartex. For GO! Be Dazzled Too the fabrics used are Hunter, Sage and Cream from the Crystals collection by Benartex.

Now choose 2 or 3 threads to match each of the 3 fabrics, e.g. 2 or 3 different shades of yellow to match the Daffodil. This will give you 6-9 thread colors.

Now choose 2 or 3 threads that contrast with the fabrics. For GO! Be Dazzled, these were two shades of turquoise, and a bright lime green. If your 3 fabrics are different shades of the same color, then choose 2 or 3 threads of the complementary color. Check your color wheel if in doubt!

Hope this helps to answer some of the questions you may have. More coming on GO! Be Dazzled in the months to come. Feel free to drop me a line if you have more questions.

Due to a lot of requests, I have put together a thread chart for the Silk Hearts Quilt!

The numbers on the chart refer to the color numbers of the threads in the Silk Hearts Collection by Aurifil. Use the same colors that I used, or use your own choice – you really can’t go wrong!

Click on the Silk Hearts Thread Chart to download it.

Enjoy!

To download the new thread chart for Aurifil Cotton Mako, please enter your name and email address here:

You will receive an email with a link to the download page for the file, along with instructions on where to put it.

Thanks to Alex Veronelli from Aurifil for helping to create this thread chart!

Samples of Embroidered Applique using Aurifil Cotton Mako