Embroidery applique?

Embroidery applique...

I don't know if it already exists.

I've been playing with this idea in my head for a long time... A very long time. 

I haven't tried it because all the quilting "rules" say "No!"

But quilting is so much different than 20 years ago. Even different that 10 years ago, 5 years ago!!

More and more we quilters are kicking those "rules" to the curb. We don't need them anymore (😝)

I have company coming in less that two weeks. I had started to put my sewing room in some kind of presentable order.  I managed to refold one stack of fabric and place into the shelves.

Then I saw the newest pile of "crumbs" that were created while I prepared strings for the Honeycomb project...

K, what better way to "organize" that mess than to sew them down!  (And just like that, picking up is done for the day.  Maybe I can just keep the door closed while SIL is here.)

It's going to be a small test sample.

Combining raw edge applique

With embroidery stitches

I like the stitches better in the daintier quilting thread than the chunkier 2 strands of embroidery floss. (Plus I think the quilting thread will wear longer.)

And in a "Ticker Tape" style using all those small pieces of fabric I just can't throw out!

I wrote about the Ticker Tape quilt in Unexpected Joys blog update Nov'17.

The difference is that I'm stitching only onto the top fabric and not onto a quilt sandwich with batting and backing. I want to hand quilt between all the pieces. 

Though, even with knots, the backside looks kinda cool.

I'm thinking the thickness of the batting won't allow me to get the stitches small enough to secure these tiny pieces. Perhaps that can be another experiment with bigger scraps sometime in the future.

But for now, I need to go review some embroidery stitches and see which ones will work best for applique.

Wishing you all the best!