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

learning sashiko

Everyday life on the beach includes dogwalking, surfing.....

 and sweet little flowers that have to work really hard to survive the wind and salt.

And inside the Sophie Hearst Social Hall, all is cozy and warm--

And we are in California, after all, so there is wine. After a busy day of stitching, we need to relax and unwind!

  Yesterday afternoon is was warm and sunny, so we could sit outside on our little deck, hear the ocean waves, and enjoy the scenery.  I also stitched together 2 of my hexies:

That was before the wine!  Those little stitches would not have worked very well mixed with alcohol!

But back to our class, and the reason for being here.  Below is an example of the work of our teacher, Sylvia Pippen.  This is a fabric applique image of a tropical flower (lobster claw or something like that?) combined with the white stitching, or sashiko, in the background to resemble stems or branches.

Next is my own picture made from one of Sylvia's patterns.  It shows splashing waves with the sunset (or moonrise, depending on your perspective).  The lines of the waves are just drawn on there for now, and I will stitch them in the sashiko style like above.

I thought this would be a good remembrance of my trip to the ocean and the full moon we just had.

Jan's project is below:

Little flowers floating on what will be a stream of swirling water.  A lot of time and attention to color and detail have gone into those little flower petals!  But the effect will be a masterpiece!

reporting from the west coast...

 Oh, what fun to get out of the snow!  And end up with my sister, Jan, at a wonderful quilting retreat at Asilomar, just south of Monterey, CA.  Although it was an early start to the day (flight left at 6:15 am), it was worth it.  Jan picked me up at the San Francisco airport, and after some rearranging to get my big ol' suitcase wedged into her little car, we headed south on 101 to our destination.

Asilomar State Park Beach as viewed from our room.

This is a resort-like development of a State Park area that is perfect for conferences, etc.  We are part of a large group of quilting friends staying here for classes and fun for the rest of the week.  The Empty Spools Seminars have been a gathering spot for quilters for quite a few years, and Jan has attended before.  This time I get to be part of the fun!

Some of the housing and conference rooms.

We are both taking classes taught by Sylvia Pippen to learn about the Japanese art of sashiko, combined with applique.  Here is my learning sample, trying out some different threads--

Next we will be working on other designs and techniques, with the goal of creating individual wallhangings.  I have a ways to go!

And this is what happens when you run with scissors--

Poor Jan, she had a little bit of a headache.  Happy to say she is recovered already and will keep on stitchin'!  (Don't try this at home.)