Design Wall

I have something on my design wall. Shocking, I know, but true.

Pat Sloan visited Thumb Butte Quilters' Guild this month. I signed up for her class on fusible machine appliqué. I've taken a class on machine appliqué before, but you never know what great tips you'll get during class from a different teacher.

I had pieced the foundation for the appliqué beforehand. I didn't trust myself to complete it after the class. We were going to be working on her pattern Little Blue Bird. Being the annoying student that I am I changed the colors, so I have a red bird. I also created different flowers.

There didn't have time during the class to work on the actual project. There was only time for the practice piece.  I surprised myself by actually working on it after the class. I cut all the pieces out, and I'm starting on stitching the appliqué.

I've had a little trouble with the fusible not holding up. Pat warned us about not "cooking" the fusible by pressing it too long. I pressed it for just a couple of seconds, but pieces were falling off.  I tried turning the iron to a lower setting, but still the pieces were falling off. I used Heat 'n Bond Lite, a new product for me. I am assuming it is operator error, because Pat loves the stuff. Several of my red berries have fallen off, and many of the stars are only partly adhered to the quilt.

I love the look of appliqué mixed with piecing. I'm going to keep trying different techniques until I find one that works for me.