What started out as a simple, small project Friday ended up being not so. Isn't that always the way! I have a great lady who does my hair here in Ocala. Louise is a hoot and we always have such a great time chatting about life, men and, of course, dogs! Louise is a certified training who volunteers at a 'no kill' shelter here in Ocala two days a week and 2 and 1/2 days she does hair in her own salon.
I thought I'd make Louise a small hanging (12"x 14" - or close to that!) for her shop. the lady to the right is the design on her business card and I thought she was perfect for fusing.
So off I went the other day and scanned in the card and enlarged it and printed it off. Simple enough...then I traced onto some freezer paper, then ironed the freezer paper onto some fabric I had already fused with Misty Fuse. When Susan and I went to the quilt shop that was going out of business I did pick up two fat quarters, one being a black and the other one a red print.
Here she is fused onto the background. Doesn't look black does it! Well, when I started to stitch down the fused pieces...what a mess...white threads from the back started showing through and it just looked down right bad! UGH...I did email the Queen of Fusing,
Melody Johnson, for some tips or suggestions. Thank, Melody!!! This was her response:
"It sounds to me like your fraying fabric is a looser weave and that may be the biggest hurdle. I don't sew small pieces down, or for that matter large pieces either. It ruins the effect. I am not a fan of Misty fuse and really suggest only using Wonder-Under, regular. I did make several Matchstick quilts, using both cotton and silks and never stitched a single thing down. Too much work!"
Well, duh! Not having any of my own hand dyed or batik fabrics with me, I stopped at one of the local quilt shops today and picked up some black batik, pink fabric and b/w for the binding. I'm not going to stitch down the fused pieces, per Melody's suggestion. They seem VERY stable and I did use Wonder Under this time instead of the Misty Fuse. Heck, it's going to be on a wall and not washed or touched...and if the pieces fall apart, I'll have Louise let me know and I'll repair when we're back in town. I have to get some batting tomorrow so I can quilt the piece and possibly take over to Louise this coming week or next week. Her salon is only 2 miles from the house. I'm much happier with the piece and like the pink way better than the red print fabric. I just put a small sashing around the pink to set it off then add the b/w fabric for the binding.
So funny story about our day trip on Thursday to the quilt shop that was closing...no bargains here! The fabrics were only 10% off as were most of the notions, patterns, etc. But we all stood in line anyway! These pics are out of order but you can see where we had to stand in line to even get in the store (last pic!).
I did pick up some crystals in reds and maroons that were on sale. I use this every so often in my art work and I actually remembered to bring my tool for heat setting them!
So if you're looking for a bargain, wait until the end of the month. I think they'll drop the prices more at that time. The owner is retiring and wants to spend more time with her grand babies. Folks are upset because there aren't many or any quilt shops in this area. Maybe they'll end up selling the business to someone else. Hope so for all the quilters sakes!
I'm making good progress on my butterfly and actually worked on it yesterday afternoon while my friend Carol was here. She's making her annual baby quillow for one of her grand babies! She's made one a year, with the exception of last year, for each of her four grandchildren. Some of them have received two! Carol's made a few of the fleece quilts you tie and the babies love those.
Tonight, I'm doing a trunk show for one of the quilt guilds here in Ocala. Terrible, but I forget the name of the guild! Geezzz At least I have directions for where I'm going...good thing, right! Susan is coming along to be my 'Vanna White' and hold up my smaller quilts. I'm looking forward to meeting the ladies and seeing how another guild runs. 
