applique action

Here's an action shot of my applique stitching--

The humid ocean air means my hands
are not as dried and cracked as usual!

I know, amazing, right?  I am attaching wave crests to the background.  The light blue fabric is shaped with a layer of washaway fiber (from C&T).  The steps:  trace design from original onto tracing paper, then trace the piece you want to use onto template plastic, cut out the plastic, draw around the shape (reverse image) onto the fiber sheet, cut out the shape, fuse the fiber onto the wrong side of the applique fabric, cut out around the shape leaving ~1/8th inch seam allowance, snip seam allowance around all the curves, fold over and glue the seam allowance to the wrong side of the fiber shape, lay the shape in place on the background fabric, pin or use glue dots to hold in place until it is hand stitched with teeny tiny stitches all around.  Repeat.  This is just one of several methods of applique, this worked well for all the little bumps and lumps on these pieces.

Our teacher, Sylvia Pippen, introduced us to a new thread that turns out to be great for hand applique--

It is super fine but strong, so makes those teeny tiny stitches easier to make without them showing.

After I got 6 of the wave crests appliqued into place, I started with the sashiko embroidery on the white lines.  Yes, it is tedious, but really quite relaxing.  And easy to do while socializing with my classmates!

Below is some of the work done by others in my class--

I will have more pictures to share.  We are spending our last night here, and listening to the sound of raindrops for the first time since our arrival.  Most of the buildings on the grounds are built of stone and wood, and I think this is one of the prettiest:

Merrill Hall at Asilomar State Park