Wow normally

I had a good day Tuesday taking Nina in for her spa treatment. Then I spent a lovely couple of hours with  Elizabeth, my Bernina dealer,  learning all about Nina's potential.  I had read her manual and learned a thing or four!  She is quite the machine!

It turns out she did not need a full treatment, only a manicure for a hangnail!  So glad to have her back in action and we can continue our thread experiments.  I made lots of notes and I'm very excited to work through all the options for thread and stitch choices.

But I had thought Nina'd be gone so I continued to pursue the finding of my style with the leaves I'd sketched/copied.

Today is all about what I call lick and stick.  The real name of the technique is fusing.  I fused Pellon 805 Wonder-Under Transfer Web to various fabrics.

After everything has cooled down I remove the release or backing paper.  I can free cut the prepared fabrics with sharp scissors or an exacto knife.  I can also draw my applique shapes onto freezer paper which can be lightly ironed onto the fabric  which is roughly cut out and placed on a Teflon sheet or the release paper.  Removing the release paper and directly cutting the shape keeps fraying to a minimum.

After I cut the first leaf I realized I want to be able to mix and match the fabric pieces.

So I stacked 2 fabrics, placed the release paper between them when I ironed the freezer paper down. Then I removed the release paper. The backing is a bit sticky so they hold together for cutting  but they easily separate when I'm done.

I learned two things.  First I should have my 'real' glasses on and not my cheap designer readers from Michael's.  LOL   Then I need to find my better scissors and put a new blade in my exacto knife.

But the trial run was a success and I'm expecting great results on any normal day.  I can get Nina to fill in any gaps even on these which are all ready for fusing permanently to a background.

After all the preparations are done the playing can begin!