The F word. Fusible that is.

My what a sweary sewing day today.  Honestly, I might just have surpassed myself with the variety and ferocity exhibited today.

It started with getting up early and packing up a quilt to be basted and all the kit and caboodle required to do so and trudging ever so slowly and carefully through the icy inch of snow to ... well.... nothing.  It was supposed to be a quilting group meeting -  something very new to me, primarily attended for the massive tables to be honest, I take a long time getting to know actual people however nice they are....  Anyway.  Dicey, slow, painful trudge to get there, and there's nothing on.  D'oh!  Should have thought that it'd be cancelled if the pavements and roads were icy.  Numpty.

So. Hip hurt, and no way to baste.  Plan B, continue work on my Soda Pop.  I dont know if I've shared much of that with you.  I did put a wee picture of the half made quilt top on my Finish Along List.  Well, we got the top pieced a couple of days ago, and mum has been a massive help in drawing and cutting 150 more petals for me!

If you are not sure what in the name of the wee man I'm on about, I'm talking about making the fabulous quilt by the equally fabulous Ms Katy Jones, featured in the, again, fabulous Fat Quarterly Shape Workout book.  Here is a photy (nicked from Allegory  co-incidentally fabulous also).  Allegory also ran a Quilt Along, which is when I started this... I didn't officially join in as I was, rightfully, a bit dubious as to how quickly I could  do it - not very quickly at all it turned out!  Anway.  This is the masterpiece I dream of...

With all my basting issues, I bought a queen size fusible pack of batting for this one.  With my trusty un-built coffee table laid out in quilting mode

mum and I painstakingly fused the quilt top, and back, to the fusible batting.  (We had towels wrapped round the boards, just in case you wondered).

No cat was pressed in the making of this quilt.  Not for the want of her trying though.

One row at a time, we fused and quilted / raw edge applique'd the petals.  My god it is an absolute freakin' hateful nightmare.  (Must state, this is NOT how Ms. Jones tells you to do it!  Must also state that although it is the method Allegory used, I sincerely doubt she did the same way I've been attempting - my sweariness and foul temper are my own fault entirely and only directed inward I assure you!).  

My petals wont stick right, they keep lifting off.  I keep completely missing the points, then they get folded over on themselves at the very last minute and sewn in place like that.
My walking foot, despite NEVER being too happy to assist me in getting straight lines straight, is even less happy with the notion of doing a gently undulating wave.
The fusible batting gives the quilt sandwich a temporary crispiness, which makes it very difficult to wrestle through a sewing machine.  The fusible batting has also UN-FUSED itself.  It apparently doesn't like to be quilted.  Bit f****** useless then wouldn't you say?!  Don't get me wrong, I've used it in bags and pillows and wall hangings etc, and its been fab.  But a quilt?  It is not playing nicely with the other children at all.

Back and shoulders now as sore as hip, time for plan C.  Get on with the second bag commission.  Typically enough, it just didn't want to play nice either.  I was trying to do this style of zipper again.

This tutorial, but this time I'm making the zip about 2" longer at the end instead of splitting it up.  The fabric pieces either side of the zip.  Just could not do it!  5 times I've sewn it and had to unpick.  I've pinned it.  I've starched it.  I've used bondaweb on the edges of the zipper to fuse it in place (might have known that wouldn't work today!).  I've tacked it.  Every single time I end up with a big (more than 0.25") bump of fabric on the top being chased by the needle...  I just don't understand it.  

So, there has been a big blue sweary cloud round my head all day!  Thankfully, mum is still here.  She cooked me dinner, we put the fire on, and did nothing - absolutely nothing all evening.  So much happier now!  

Sorry bout the not-so-good photos today, and also if you've commented and I've not replied I apologise; I'm a bit behind.  I do read them and I do appreciate getting them, thank you!