UP DATE ON THE FUSING ISSUES & MOVING FORWARD

This week is starting out better than last week ended.  I will be teaching my last Beginning Quilting class on Monday.  Everyone is doing well, getting all their blocks done and we will be putting on their borders.  My fusing issues from last week has been solved.  I scrapped the problem block and with the change from Steam a Seam 2 to Pellon Wonder Under heavy weight #725 have solved my Batik issue.  Fusing Issues

Very pleased with the first new block.  

This is the pattern I am using, not sure why every pattern I select lately is called Garden Party.  The pattern's blocks other than color and position changes are all the same.  Note I placed a large heart instead of the tiny little hearts at the end of the stem in front of the butterfly and will skip them as well in the other two areas of the blocks.  Little tiny hearts were not something I intended to mess with.  They are easily less than a half of a dime size, and there are multiples of them.  Appliquéing them really not posible and even cutting them out seemed insane.   

I am primarily using Batiks for this project.  I have a large bin of them, but of course you never seem to have enough.  I ended up shopping at my local quilt shop for more.  Fortunately a quarter yard of numerous additions wasn't too bad on the budget.  

Over the last few appliqué projects I have learned to bag up my fabric with thread matches.  Makes life way easier and saves lots of time searing for just the right color of thread multiple times. 

Have a nice start on the second block.  I will admit that selecting the fabrics I want to put together is the hardest job.

And my other fabric choices for the block laid out for the second flower, leaves, stem, and butterfly.

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

MID WEEK MAKERS

CONFESSIONS OF A FABRIC ADDICT

GARDEN PARTY DOWN UNDER IS DONE AND FUSEING MISHAP

The Garden Party Down Under quilt top is finished.  It has been a long eleven months, but I am pretty happy with myself as I stayed on task each month.  That is not the way I usually work, projects like this one in the past have often taken several years to complete.

I elected to not put on diamond borders.  It finishes at 63 by 63 inches now.  A perfect fit for my dining room wall above the buffet.  It is off to the quilter on Monday.

This week I started a new appliqué project by Laura Heine.  I immediately ran into a major issue.  I managed to get the entire lower left pieces appliquéd on fused the left side pieces when I realized I had a problem.

I was using Steam a Seam 2 to fuse my pieces on.  I noticed that the fusing is coming through and leaving a very apparent shadow.

And the two shown here are not all of the ones that were like that.  I discovered that the batiks were the issue.  I had some regular cotton pieces that showed no problems at all, but the batiks were not something I was going to deal with.  I scrapped the the project.  I cut out a couple samples of the batiks and tried Steam a Seam 2 Lite, it worked OK, but I was hesitant to trust it.  So I pulled out some Pellon Wonder Under in both heavy and medium weights.  The heavy weight worked just fine, no issue at all and it fuses well.  Moral of the story, is DO NOT USE STEAM A SEAM 2 FUSIBLE WITH BATIKS.

I spent the end of last week re-cutting, re-fuseing then re-appliquéd the new block pieces and will be taking the problem block to the quilt store where I am teaching a Beginning Quilting class to show the shop owner so she can warn others of this issue. 

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

MID WEEK MAKERS

CONFESSIONS OF A FABRIC ADDICT

  

 

  
  

 

 

GARDEN PARTY LAST 2 BLOCKS & MORE BASKETS

I managed the first week of teaching beginning quilting at our local quilt store on Monday.  I had two true beginners, not just quilting, but sewing.  They did really well, and by the end of the day had a couple rail fence and square dance blocks done that properly measured the 6 1/2 inch.   The other 3 ladies had some good sewing experience.  And, this coming week I have a 6th ladies, starting late, but fairly experienced so she should be able to catch up quickly.

On the home front I am on the last month of my Garden Party Down Under BOM.  This has been a long 11 months.  

These two are all ready to sew together and add to the rest of the quilt.  Stay toned next week for the finished quilt top.  

Major additional blocks added to the Baskets quilt top this week.  Both the basket blocks and the joiner blocks have been a chore.  Lots of bias edges, and not so sure about some of the light fabrics in the joining blocks, but I can rearrange them once all are finished and see how that goes.  

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

MID WEEK MAKERS

CONFESSIONS OF A FABRIC ADDICT 

 

   

BASKETS UPDATE, CHRISTMAS & THE LAP OF LUXURY

 I have a busy month ahead of me.  I am teaching Beginning Quilting at our local quilt store.  Five students and at least two that are extremely new to sewing.  So lots of hand holding ahead of me.  The four Mondays of this month from 9:30 to 3:00.  Lots ahead of me.

Progress on my Alex Anderson Baskets class is coming along slowly.  I still have 3 more of the basket blocks to sew together and get on the design wall and lots more of the blocks that go between them.  This quilt top is much slower going together than I thought.  

These connect blocks are a bugger to make, they just take a good deal of time and pinning to get those seams all lined up and nested properly.  

I got feed up with baskets and decided to take a brief break and sew 3 Christmas runners.  My husband and I have coffee every Tuesday morning at a local Starbucks with 3 other couples.  One couple invites us to their home every December for coffee instead.  They fill their home full of Christmas trees and decorations.  Dozens of trees fully decorated, it is quite the site to see.  So this year I decided to gift the 3 ladies with a small Christmas runner.  This first one is done and the other 2 cut out and ready to go.

And the last month of my Garden Party Down Under blocks all ready to start.  These look to be the easiest of all the last 10 months behind me.

Our neighbors next door gifted Zoey our little Yorkshire Terrier with a new bed.  The boys next door, a Poodle and a Basset Hound, didn't like this comfy bed, so they gave it to Zoey.  She loves this bed, it has become the perfect spot to lay in while sunbathing in front of the glass doors in our bedroom.  This is truly the lap of luxury.

DESIGN WALL MONDAY

MID WEEK MAKERS

CONFESSIONS OF A FABRIC ADDICT