Things that Work Wednesday...

Wow!  What a busy week.  Thursday we went to Carola's Quilt Shop in Gibsons Landing for TopStitchers Club.   Saturday we were at the Richmond Cultural Centre teaching Fearless Free-Motion Quilting to the ladies of TAGOR, Textile Arts Guild of Richmond. 

  Here's Linda stitching up a storm and loving her new free-motion style...

Freda and Suzanne very focused on their work...

Brenda and Annette fearlessly stitching pebbles...

Corazone enjoying her new free-motion freedom while Bernie looks on in the background...

Wynn being very focused examining her lovely free-motion stitches...

Thank you ladies of TAGOR, we had a wonderful day.
 

There was a big snow storm here on the West Coast it provided the perfect backdrop and ingredient for a day of snow dyeing on Monday with my friend Sandbox Sue.  We affectionately refer to each other as Sandbox Sue and Sandbox Shelley as you can usually find us dyeing up a storm inside or out, weather permitting, when we are together.   

Here's Sue practicing "Safe Dyeing" techniques with her mask and gloves.  Behind the camera I have all the proper gear on too.  It's best to be aware that the little particles of dye can be easily inhaled and will remain in the lungs for a long period of time.  While pretty...best to be avoided.

Careful measuring is a must if you want to reproduce the results...we were snow dyeing and I'll let you decide if we were careful or not...

The fabrics ready for their trip outside in the snow...

Sue gathering the necessary foot wear.  That snow was deep!

Our dyeing table awaits with a pile of virgin snow...

We wanted to dye the top layer of fabrics purple so we mixed the dyes and started sprinkling them on...

It's not only chestnuts that can roast by an open fire...

We realized that our purple was a bit too purple so we added yellow...I'll post the results when we have them all washed and dried.

Some of the marvelous fabrics we have been creating for our projects...

When I arrived home after a creative day of dyeing this is what greeted me and it was still coming down.  We rarely receive so much snow on the West Coast at the end of February but I would say it was perfect timing as Sue and I have been wanting to snow dye for a very long time.  We couldn't get to the snow so the snow came to us.  

Tuesday I spent a fun day with Brenda, my energetic sewing, knitting, designing buddy.  We designed 3 1/2" Courthouse Step blocks on EQ6 and proceeded to stitch some up along with more Bear Paw blocks. We love to work with reproduction fabrics and got hooked on them while gathering fabrics for our Dear Jane quilt...I have 90 Dear Jane blocks finished, Brenda has 200 finished.  I have over 280 Bear Paw blocks on my design wall and now a Courthouse Step block...progress is being made.  For me it's not about the finished quilt it's about the journey and the friends I meet along the way.


Now for this weeks Things That Work... 
Back in the office today to discuss fusible webs.  My favourite fusible web is Trans-Web.  I love working with Trans-Web for fusible machine applique, as the paper is easy to remove, it comes off the fabric in one piece, it is not sticky, the fabric remains soft and supple and the glue does not clog my needle when stitching.  I have had lots of experience with many fusible webs and Trans-Web stands out over all.  If Trans-Web is not available at my Local Quilt Shop I will use Wonder Under in a pinch.  With Wonder Under the fabric remains  soft and supple but sometimes the paper is hard to remove and comes off a little bit at a time.  Give Trans-Web a try with your next fusible machine applique project.  I don't own shares in the company that manufactures Trans-Web...I just happen to love the product.

If you have questions about how to work with fusible webs or how to machine applique please contact me here or at littleoakpattern@gmail.com  I'm always happy to lend a helping hand.  

Next Wednesday I will talk about my favourite sewing machine needles.  Until then...

Happy Stitches,
Shelley