Review on Unlock Your Artistic Potential: Crayon Box Quilts with Melt-n-Blend and Fusible Applique by Karla Richter

If the technique in this book were as simple as described in the introduction, I would give it five stars. I couldn't decide whether to give 3 or 4 stars so I just went with 4. I've used permanent ink on fabric with great results, I've always loved to color and I'm pretty damn good at all kinds. Drawing and painting. So I wasn't afraid at all to try this melt and mix technique. I only mention this because in the introduction she emphasizes how well everyone can master this technique, even non-artists who were initially too intimidated to try it. cumbersome process that doesn't give great results. The two main problems were: 1. The crayons don't stay melted for very long and you can't melt a lot at once. You need to continue melting a small amount, coloring and melting again. You really need to have an iron by your side unless you want a lot of extra practice getting on and off! 2. Some colors go well together and some don't. You kind of get used to how one color goes on and when you try another, oh! It is clear that beautiful work can be done, as evidenced by the superb photographs in the book. But believe me, it's not easy the first time. So after that first experience, I had four friends from my quilting guild. We all made sure everything we needed was to hand. We each had our own crayons, we had matching napkins etc. Everyone was very excited to try this technique. but nobody was satisfied with the results. Eventually we just started experimenting with other methods. We've found that it's best to first color the primer lightly over the fabric (using regular unmelted crayons), press it down to warm it up, then paint while it's still warm, press down again, until it gets warm, and then mix the colors while it's still warm. Basically just paint and blend on warm fabric rather than constantly melting individual little puddles of chalk. Also, we all thought it would be easier to color our non-fuse designs this way and then apply them to the non-wovens. Because the original way, by the time it was all done, all the stickiness on the underside of the applique had dissolved into the fabric. This is probably why the author recommends using textile glue to fix the appliqué elements to the background! Therefore, the techniques described in this book did not impress me or four other experienced quilters who came to my house and tried it. Maybe things get better with practice, but as I said, melting, blending, blending, blending, blending, blending, etc. is very difficult. On the plus side, the patterns are just beautiful and a few guild members want to buy the book just for that. For coloring we will use ink, paint or another method of working with colored pencils! I have tried this method twice and will not try it a third time. However, I will try another method to color these beautiful patterns!