A sticky situation

 

Well, I did NOT get much done in the sewing department yesterday, and I'm OK with that. I went shopping instead! And there were two reasons for that. I have to take my car in today for a recall on the fuel pump. That requires that the gas tank be ¼ or less. I was at a half tank, so I had some gas to burn off. I'm just at the ¼ mark, so hopefully, that works for them. 

It was a good trip as I found something that I didn't think I would find! Let's see what happened. 

I went to Brampton Sew n Serge as I had to pick up a couple of things, and I needed a couple more thread colors. I need to make an inventory of my thread, but there just doesn't seem to be time for that. And because that task is NOT written down, it's not likely that it'll ever get done until I write it down!

New spools of thread

I ran into people I know!! Oh my -- these are people that I've been Zooming with for a long time, and so good to see them in person!! I had some good discussions, and then I was on my way to the next place, The Hobby Horse. OH MY  - I can't believe how built-up the area is along Mayfield Road. There used to be farms along that road or houses sitting on acres of land. Now it's going either chock a block houses or in the process of becoming chock a block housing. So sad, and where are all these people coming from? 

I hadn't been to The Hobby Horse in over a year! I had a good visit with Gail, who is as spunky as ever. The store has a totally different look inside - it's so bright and airy! Lots of samples to look at, and I swear that all the fabric was new! 

The Hobby Horse

It wasn't all new because I got the fabric for the binding of my Bonnie and Camille quilt. I am happy!

The binding for my Bonnie and Camille quilt

I had taken my Kimberbell quilt with me to see if I could find something that I liked for the border. Well, thanks to Catherine and her trusty eye, we found something. But not before, we pulled several bolts of fabric off the shelves - how long is it since I did that? Then we kept finding something better. And this is what I bought. Yep - out with the pinks and in with the greens and yellows. 

The borders for the Kimberbell quilt

It's hilarious - the fabric is kiwi, and it's PERFECT. It plays down the pinks and corals in the quilt. You know how sometimes, you buy something in the shop, and then you get it home, and you're not completely happy with it? I hung it on the wall, and I'm THRILLED with it. Thank you, Hobby Horse!!!  That was one of the tasks on The Task Master, and now that one is crossed off. I'll try to get the borders on - oh - maybe I can do that during the Virtual Retreat this weekend. 

The border fabrics

I also splurged and bought a jigsaw puzzle. I know - I didn't need that, but that was my little treat to myself. 

A jigsaw puzzle

I got a bit more work done on my owl applique. And I happened to get a question concerning fusible products yesterday. This is the danger of misinformation. This person was told they cannot use a certain fusible for machine applique. Since when?? The only fusible (to my knowledge) that you cannot do machine stitching on is Heat and Bond ULTRA HOLD. That's the very thick stuff, and it isn't meant to be used for stitching. But all the others, unless something has changed during COVID, can be stitched by machine. I wonder if it says that on the label. I found a video that talks about Heat and Bond ULTRA HOLD and Heat and Bond Lite. I haven't watched the entire thing, but she says - right at the beginning what you need to do with each. 

Here's the thing -- this person was told by a QUILT SHOP that she couldn't use one of the products for machine applique because it will gum up her needle and her machine!!!  What is this? They should know better. I wonder what store it was, and I hope that it was a misunderstanding. 

OK -- so what about the issue of the sticky or the gumminess getting on your needle. Well, I've had that happen in the past, and I simply take the little ball that forms on the needle, and I pull it down with my thumb and remove it from the needle. I don't use special needles; I don't wipe my needles down - there's really no need. I'm not a fan of these trendy little tricks people think are so clever and well  - they aren't necessary! 

But what is important (EXTREMELY IMPORTANT) when appliqueing is to use the proper foot. I'm using my open-toe applique foot. You can use others - no doubt, but I like this foot for two reasons. One, there's nothing in front of the needle, so I can right into the little nooks of my applique to get the stitching exactly where I want it to be. Secondly, there's a CHANNEL on the bottom of the foot that allows my decorative stitch to GLIDE under the foot and not get jammed up! Yes - you can use other feet, but in my opinion, you're asking for trouble. 

The open-toe applique foot

Another critical thing is a stabilizer. If you're not using a stabilizer - well, you should. Yes - it's not necessary every time - it really depends on what you're stitching and what stitch, number of layers, etc. But almost 100% of the time, especially with satin stitching, I use a stabilizer. Try it without and see what happens!

OK - so back to the gumminess on the needle. I'm not sure what fusible I'm using, but look at the buildup on my needle. 

The "build-up" on the needle

Gumminess? What gumminess? This is after doing almost all the pieces on the owls, and in some instances, I'm going through multiple layers at once, and there isn't enough gummy to take off the needle. WOW!!!!  OK -- now I want to do a test. I've got several different fusible products, and which ones cause the gumminess? It doesn't matter because I've done miles of fusible applique in my day, and I've never had an issue other than removing the ball from time to time that forms on the needle. 

My little owls are coming along nicely. I still have 39 pieces to stitch down. There are three sections for each eye! And two feet per owl. I'll get there - slow and steady!

Working on the eyes

Here are the owls - so cute!!!!

My owl row for All in a Row

When I finally got to my walk yesterday, I decided to swing by Chapters again. I know - obsessed. There was NO line-up, so I went in. I think there was ONE quilting book in the entire place - loads of coloring books! And I browsed the magazines and found ONE that I would want, but since I wasn't sure if I already had it - I left it. I do not have it, and I'll go back. There was a lineup when I left, and I bought nothing. I just wanted to browse!!!

Remember I promised pictures of someone's stash? Well, here's the first shot. 

A neatly organized stash

OK -- so that looks very pretty with all the fabrics nicely lines up, but how much time did that take? Her husband made the shelves for her, and she uses comic book boards to fold the fabric around. I LOVE the look, but that's just way too much work for me!

And then how about this! OK -- that's a LOT of fabric and a LOT of folding. She took the fabrics and folded them in quarters (along the fold). They are then wrapped around the comic book boards, so they are mini-bolts. It's nice to see the range of colors, but way too much work.

Now that's a stash

I'd be terrified of pulling one off the shelf! Nope - I like my basket method best. That's the beauty of each of us finding out own solution. Thanks for sharing the photos!!!! 

Well, I have a LOT of writing to do as I didn't get anything done yesterday. No, that's not true. I think I attempted to edit this one document about 5 times, and each time, something came up, and I couldn't get back to it. This morning after the walk, I need to get some of these crossed off the list. I'm going to aim for one a day, and in two weeks, I should be done this and ready to start the next batch!!

Well, that's it for today. Don't forget the Virtual Retreat this weekend. Saturday evening from 6 - 9 and Sunday from 10 - 8. I'll post the links tomorrow. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!