Reprieve

I found this unpublished post from Feb 2014 in the draft folder. I have finished some applique projects since this post. The blocks for Hop to It are all fused but not yet stitched. Now that I’ve had some machine applique experience I’m starting to think about this one. Did I really use Misty Fuse for that project? Yikes. I find Misty Fuse very hard to work with because there’s no there there, if you know what I mean. The white version just disappears into thin air because it is so fine and there is no paper on it. I prefer to use Soft Fuse now.

Why is the project still a UFO? Most of our grad school projects have been 12 month BOMs which leaves no time allotted for assembly, borders, etc. Most of the ladies in the group were retired while I was still working so I was always behind. Since we started the 2017 bucket list album quilt project (more on that one “In due time” as the Kitten Academy community is wont to say) I’ve been very selective in which of Mimi’s projects I participate in. I’ve got too many of the “I really want to do this” list to “waste” time doing something that doesn’t really interest me.

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Today was supposed to be Mimi Dietrich’s grad school class – our first meeting at the new location north of Baltimore – but it was cancelled due to weather. The weather was crazy. I live far enough south that I had only rain before I went to work. People who lived north or west of Baltimore had ice and snow. Work was a 2 hour delay which made no sense because that put us going to work during the change from rain to sleet/snow – the dreaded wintry mix. Looks like we’re going to have ice Tuesday night into Wednesday with a possible coastal storm (lots of snow potential) on the weekend. Sigh.

Why was the today’s cancellation a reprieve? Our project this year is Edyta Sitar‘s Hop to It (out of print). We were supposed to have the first block finished for today’s show and tell. Now I have another month to get the block done. I had the book with me at the January meeting, brought it home and promptly lost it. I found it Friday night under the quilt I had been binding last month.

I did very little sewing at home in January but got lots done sewing elsewhere. What’s up with that? This weekend I pulled fabric for the block and drew the pieces on parchment paper. Why parchment paper? I decided to do fused applique for this project. I like to use Misty Fuse because it doesn’t make things stiff like some fusibles do. But, it doesn’t come with paper backing. If you want/need paper backing, you press it to parchment paper.

I have several packages of Misty Fuse somewhere but, can I find them? Of course not. I have no idea where they are. Someday when I don’t need them, they’ll turn up. So, while I was ordering something from Keepsake I ordered a 20 inch by 10-yard package. That should last for a little while. It came last week. Hopefully, I won’t disappear it like I did the others.

Confession: I have yet to finish an applique project.

Tags: Grad school, Hop to It, Tools