Keeping it together

Things have been really busy here at Casa Quintana.....and I've also been struggling to keep on going because the current chemo has me wiped out.  Thus, you haven't been seeing much of me.

However, I have been talking about Mistyfuse....partly because I had the opportunity to work once again with Attached Inc.'s head and Empress of the Sheerest most environmentally friendly fuse, Iris Karp.

I started working for Iris because I had found the Mistyfuse Ultra-violet and believed in it.  Having said that...I think that Mistyfuse-UV is probably the most misunderstood fuse out there.  It doesn't glow in the dark.  It is no different than the regular white Mistyfuse, except for one important aspect.  Mistyfuse-UV has an ultraviolet retardant in it.

All fusibles will discolor over time.  When Iris heard about a 9-11 memorial quilt which had discolored areas where the fused sheers had been exposed to ultraviolet light (from sunlight and flourescent light), she spoke with her chemist who worked with her to add a retardant to slow down the discoloration.

Of course, since Mistyfuse uses fewer extra chemicals, it is probably a slower one to change anyway, but after I had little dots of brown show up on the clouds in a baby quilt I made....the curator in me started investigating and found Mistyfuse-Ultra Violet.

I use a lot of sheers as you can see from these two pieces....as well as some solid, light colors.  Mistyfuse-UV is perfect for these as it won't be as much of a problem overtime.  Of course, I do have to be careful as when I'm working with it...I can't tell the difference between the regular Mistyfuse and the Mistyfuse-UV....I HAVE to keep them in their proper envelopes.

Mistyfuse is easy to needle through, doesn't leave things stiff or hard, and doesn't gum up your needle.  It doesn't come with a release paper, so you must use a teflon pressing sheet or silicone coated baking parchment....but it makes things so much easier....you can transfer the pattern by tracing it in pencil (or light colored Prismacolor pencils if your fabric is dark) RIGHT SIDE UP onto the coated baking parchment, then flip it over onto the fused piece of fabric, and iron the graphite/pencil side down on to the fused side....this transfers the pattern without having to reverse it or change scissors to cut through your paper...and it makes things a lot faster and easier.

Since my hands are so numb, I have turned to using more fusible...but with Mistyfuse it leaves it supple.

Here are a couple of tutorials: Sue Bleiweis using mistyfuse:

 http://suebleiweiss.com/blog/mistyfuse-tutorials/

And Iris herself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xNZcN01FR0

There are others out there as well....and there are lots of ways to use it...as decorative elements, in order to make your own fusible batting...and lots more.  I showed you in the Dayton Landmarks' St. Mary's  piece I recently finished how I used it to create shadows.

So...because I like it so much....and because I have some which Iris sent me home with...I'm sharing a package of Mistyfuse Ultraviolet, which contains 2.5 yards by 20" wide piece.  I will use a random number generator from online to pick a number.  All you have to do is leave a comment....if you don't use sheers, that's OK....you can use Mistyfuse-UV just as you would use regular Mistyfuse.  I will pick the number on May 5.  Good luck!

To read more about Mistyfuse, go to www.Mistyfuse.com  or like the Mistyfuse FB page.
https://www.facebook.com/MIstyfuser?fref=ts