Friday, July 9, 2010

Thursday... uh, no It's Friday. Where did Thursday go?


This will be a cushion one day.  Its one of those great projects I had so much fun with, but never put together. The pattern was crayoned and then blanket stitched. It is so pretty... I really should do something with it!

I missed Thursday... the whole day seemed to be a waste. No Energy!!! My granddaughter had a sleep over on Wednesday night and by the time we got through the pile of books she brought to me in the morning to read, the day was half over.

It was one of those funny days because it was so hot the air conditioner couldn't keep up, and when it's hot here in Ontario its muggy. So most of the day I felt like I was standing in a puddle of water. I had to go out first thing to replace my broken EPA pen and the minute I stepped out the door, the heat hit me like a brick wall. I came home and put my feet up and read a book for the rest of the day.

My poor wall hanging got put on the back shelf again yesterday. It's too hot to sew. I don't seem to be to great at these mini challenges... did I say that already?

But the good news is, we are expecting thunder storms today and they are the best medicine for this kind of heat. I am not a great fan of the booming and banging, but I will be happy to see them today so we can all feel some relief.

Another box full of goodies came yesterday and I didn't even open it up... I might do that today, once it cools down. I know there is some great stuff in it... but I am most excited about the purse handles I ordered. I am going to make another one of my favorite totes and this time I want to put wooden handles on it. I hope to have some time to work on it this weekend... I have told everyone I am not doing anything but sewing, (but a lot will depend on the heat,)  EXCEPT for the few hours I am out at the Picton Quilt Show!

Day 4 - Mistyfuse.

Well I know you have all heard me talk about this in the last few months, but have any of you taken me serious? Have you tried it?

This isn't a new product, it has been around for quite a long time, but it is very new to me and I have to say, I am 100% converted. It is so easy to use and there are some great benefits to using it that I didn't even think about till I tried using it.

First... it is very light, lighter than other similar products that say they are lite. After I used the Mistyfuse on my little wall hanging challenge I was convinced that this was the product for me. You hardly know it is on the back of your fabric pieces and once your decorative stitches have been made, there is no weight or stiffness to the area that has been fused. That was one of my biggest complaints before, the way the blocks felt after using the fusible.

Second... It is VERY easy to use. I looked at this lacy, meshy material and wondered how it would ever work out. I followed some really good instructions and it was amazingly easy. I used freezer paper to draw my pattern on. Once they were drawn, I rough cut the pieces and ironed them to the RIGHT sides of my fabric choices. Then I laid the pattern and fabric onto the Mistyfuse and cut around them with my rotary cutter (I used the Fiskers Fingertip Cutter). I took the 3 layers to my ironing board and using a Teflon sheet, top and bottom, I pressed them with a medium hot iron... I used the old 4 second rule for pressing. I waited a few minutes for it to cool.. long enough to get my next piece ready... and took it off the sheet. I fussy cut the shape and removed the pattern. Now one of the things I thought of was, that freezer paper pattern could be used again... so I stuck it on another piece of fabric, cut out the Mistyfuse, ironed it and fussy cut it and I had a second piece with the same pattern. My suspicion is that that Freezer paper pattern will make 9 or 10 pieces before it loses it's stick. so I think that will be a bonus as well.

Last... There was no mess... none on the Teflon sheet,( it all peeled away with the pattern piece), none on the rest of my fabric that I was using, and none of that irritating paper that has so much static cling that you are wearing it on your behind before you know it! Also, your machine needle doesn't get clogged with the fusible and your specialty threads work well with it.

Mistyfuse comes in 2 colours... black and white and a special UV product that is specially formulated with an effective retardant to protect against the tanning effect of UV rays, great for all your heirloom projects.

Negatives... the negative is that when you buy it you don't always get the instructions with it. Iris from Mistyfuse, says she always sends instructions with the product, but some places just don't bother to pass them on. It comes sold on the bolt by the metre so make sure you ask for instructions, or check my website for the instructions. I will be adding more details to it now that I have actually used this great NEW product.

AND... I will be making up for the lost HEAT day... tomorrow. Day 5... see you then!

No comments: