2009 should be full of Sewing and Soup

My mom always reminds me that what I do on January 1, supposedly I will do all year... Let's hope so!

Yvette, Karene and I started our "Home is Where the Heart Is" quilts....Here are a couple of pictures of it... in different fabrics....

And here's a link to pictures of each month's block, with a place to click on a finished color picture of the block. SEW CUTE!

I tried to take some pictures of the process, because it was new to me, even though I made that moose wall hanging last year that was sort of the same technique... Jacque is thinking about making this quilt too, so hopefully the pix will help me remember how to do this, and maybe help her too!

The pattern is great, and it is already reversed. We were supposed to do our "homework" and have our pattern pieces traced onto Steam-A-Seam or Wonder Under type stuff before we got together. I got an F on homework.... cos I had not even started! However, with Yvette helpfully pointing the way, I got all my pattern pieces traced...

And then started the fun. We picked the fabrics from our collective stashes that we each wanted to use on our particular interpretation of the block.

Then we started fusing the Steam-a-Seam (and I think you could use Wonder Under too, which may be cheaper, so I'm going to try that also!)...

Now this is where it gets too challenging for my feeble mind. The following pix and explanation would not apply to Wonder Under, which I don't think has two sheets of paper on its fusable web..... But if you are using Steam-A-Seam, here's what I learned....

The Steam-A-Seam has two papers that stick really well to one side of the fusable web, and not so well to the other side. I had traced onto the looser side.

Yvette patiently showed me SEVERAL TIMES, how to slip a fingernail inbetween the fusable web and the stickier paper, and separate it so that the fusable web was then being used, while sticking to the looser paper.

(In retrospect I wonder if tracing on the other side might have made this process easier on my brain, but I'm not sure!)

Explanation pix below:

These are the three layers.... traced design on top (on the looser paper)....


And here is another view of the three layers.... I will separate and throw away the paper on the right, keeping the paper that has the tracing, and the fusable web.

Here, I have removed the bottom (or better sticking) paper from the fusable web and I have laid the web, topped by the tracing on the paper, on the WRONG side of the fabric...

Wrong side of fabric is topped by fusable web, is topped by traced paper. This is topped by a sheet of paper (like copy paper or parchment paper) to protect the iron, and the whole thing is ironed.

The paper/fusable web is now "one" with the wrong side of the fabric. It is cut out on the paper tracing lines. The tracing paper is removed.

And the piece is laid onto the proper place on the quilt block. I got all my pieces fused, and cut out and laid in place on the block.

And when I was entirely happy with it, I laid paper over portions of it and ironed those portions.....

And it's done! Ready to be zig-zagged or blanket-stitched (my preference) around each fused fabric piece.

(There is also a strip of fir trees I need to do for the bottom of the block, and it's missing a border at this point....)

(Sample picture from online, with border and tree band.)


Now, my hints for Jacque are as follows:

1. Buy more Steam-A-Seam or Wonder Under than you think you will need. Like, twice as much..... because we are from the same gene pool and though I doubt it, you just may screw this up as often as I did, which was embarrassing. I was amazed at how many times I laid the entire "sandwich" of traced paper, fusable web, and second paper, on top of a piece of fabric... and completely fused the paper to the paper and nothing to the fabric. I also have emptied my sewing room trashcan so that NO ONE can see how many times I fused onto the right side of the fabric.....instead of the wrong side! And I have no idea how I managed to get this stuff on my iron.... but I think it had something to do with forgetting the cover paper/parchment sheet.... while simultaneously having things on the cloth in the wrong order.... My iron is fine, thanks to Goo-Gone and a scrubbie (and some creative cursing!)

2. Do set aside a quiet afternoon with no interruptions and have dinner already in the crock pot before you start. This is fun. It is addictive. You will not want to stop for such mundane things as potty breaks or serving dinner.

I can't wait for next month's block! I'll even get my homework done on time!

It's called Honeymoon Cottage!

:)