to prewash or not to prewash....

...that is the question.

i'm not a prewasher. that's right- i said it! i do, however, throw a quilt into the washer the minute i cut the thread from finishing the binding.

do i worry about bleeding... nope.

do i worry about shrinkage...*shrug* i little...but i prefer the crinkly washed goodness of a quilt. makes it more...quilty. (i'm going to post about shrinkage later)

the bleeding thing can ruin a day. your quilt goes in the washer a red and white quilt, but comes out a pink and red quilt...i can offer help.

i use a detergent called Synthrapol (i get mine from Dharma Trading). dyers use it to prepare fabric for dying and after to help pull out excess dye. (i have my suspicions that it is the same active chemical as in shout's color catchers..just saying)

the coolest thing for quilters about synthrapol is that it neutralizes the chemical bond a dye particle floating in the water has that would otherwise stain the lighter colored fabrics. (it can be used in prewashing fabric that will be used in fusible applique too.)

i love this stuff! i use 1/4 cup per queen quilt and wash as normal. i do add a little regular detergent to the water to make the quilt smell good. if you don't it'll smell like ironed batiks.  the trick is to let your washer fill completely with water and agitate a couple times, then add your quilt. that way the synthrapol is fully mixed in the water. (for you front load owners- there is a low foam version available)

there is another soap called Retayne. I'm not a fan of it cause it has 'fussy' instructions. you have to add so much per yard..blah blah blah....wash the first time in hot water then after that in cold...blah blah blah. synthrapol- just add it to the water, wash, and not have to worry about it again.

want proof? i had a customer bring me a very vintage applique quilt that her mother had done backing in the 30s. it was a bouquet tied with a deep purple ribbon on an off white background. you guessed it- the purple had bleed very badly onto the background. i offered to wash the quilt with synthrapol, what could it hurt? not only did it remove the bleed, we discovered that background was white fabric, not off white.

i am not a paid endorser (i wish) for either synthrapol or Dharma Trading. i offer only my honest opinion based on personal previous experience (at least 10 years worth of washing quilts) do with it what you want :)

housekeeping!

a quick reminder: tomorrow is the first of April so today is that last day to grab March's BOM as a freebie!
i've received lots of emails wanting January and February's blocks...i have them for sale in my etsy shop for a small nominal fee. all retired blocks will be available for purchase.

also- i'm going to ask how y'all would feel about me hosting another block swap. i'm thinking (20) 10" finished cake stand/basket blocks made from 30s repros and kona white. i'll post a jpeg tute for the blocks with all the details and i'll also design two settings to go with the block for your stitching pleasure..would you want to participate? i'm thinking a 2 month turn around starting the first of May with blocks being due in June....wanna play?? i've done this before with the spring swap and the sister' choice blocks....so i have some street cred :)

what box do you fit in?

i was recently sent a link from a quilt related company whose mailing list i was on. they asked (nicely) to follow the link and take a quilting survey. okay...the promise at a chance to win an accu-cut was helpful in that decision :)

they asked lots of questions; what skill level did i think of myself, did i quilt my own quilts (i giggled), how much did i think i'd spent on fabric in the last year (Da Nile is a river in Egypt)

but one question left me perplexed:
do you consider yourself a modern or traditional quilter?
ew- that's a toughie....ever since i've fallen into blogland and i see what's being created there- i would put myself in the 'traditional' box....but then i go to my LQSes and guild sponsored shows and after leaving i'd put myself in the 'modern' box.... then there's the whole what's-old-is-new-again argument...*sigh*

that got me thinking- where do i find my personal footing in the quilting community? what am i? i use to call myself a 'contemporary traditionalist' to me, that meant that i used nontraditional fabrics and color combinations in traditional pieced blocks and quilts. that worked for a while, then i grew as a quilter and embraced new techniques and became a better piecer. i was attracted to the more challenging nontraditional designs and patterns where my bright colors fit in perfectly...hmm...so i'm not longer a traditional quilter?

now, i'm all confused....then it hit me:
i am a quilter. period. i express myself with fabric, needle and thread- it doesn't matter what color or what pattern as long as i am expressing  myself. it's been a long (fun) journey to get where i am and i'm okay with where i am right now. my quilts are mine. the initial idea came out of my head and i love getting it from my head into a quilt. quilting is my passion and i want to share that passion so that you might get bitten and we can be insane together. that's why i started this blog- to inspire and help others get 'there'.

quilting is my therapy- seriously- i can't begin to pretend that it hasn't saved a few lives along the way :) i haven't found a bad day yet that can't be saved by petting fabric. even when i'm in a slump, i find myself sitting in my studio floor. just being in here is soothing. many long winded phone conversations have taken place with me laying in the floor under nemo...i've joked that if i had a bathroom and a refridgator, i'd never leave...i don't think that's too far from the truth. my haven requires quilts.

i'm not going to worry about those boxes anymore...unless they contain fabric!

the art of the quilt

saturday evening was the opening reception for the "art or the quilt" exhibit at the cobb county art museum.
it showcased the best quilts from the last 10 years of the east cobb quilt guild's biannual show. (awarded first place in category, best machine/hand quilted, or best of show)

karen's elemental was used as the 'copy' for all the literature.

my customers had three quilts hanging in the exhibit.

alberta's harvest star. it won best machine quilted.

karen's elemental quilt. 

jan's mistletoe quilt. 

it was fun! davis loved the crab salad that the caterers made...

milestones giveaway winner!

so today's the day i annouce how many strips i cut

so they they all are.....

believe it or not- nobody was even CLOSE with their guesses, except the winner.


 



so how many strips were there?

729

so who won?

rose who came the closest with her 695 guess. she lives here in town, so i'll be taking the tote to her soon.

that was fun!

yes i am just as shocked as you guys!  each stack is 100 strips, with the stair step stacks containing 20 strips. 

so alot of you guys were curious what i was making with them....i'm doing a bargello type block.

i also don't like having a giveaway where only one person wins, so i wrote a short tute on how to sew the block that can be found here.

thanks for playing along and entertaining me! we'll do this again real soon :)

i love me some feathers!

what's black and white and covered in feathers?




kathy's black and white churn dash quilt.

you know i love quilting feathers and my favorite is a feather meander.

it makes a predominantly white quilt just sing!

i mean- look at these pictures and try to tell me you didn't drool??

a finished quilt and some retail therapy

roxanne came to pick up her retreat mystery quilt. i had to take it's picture with the sun shining on it...

i was Intown Quilters this pass weekend and my resolved melted when i saw these fat quarters. i couldn't leave them behind. i'm starting to notice my preferred fabric colors directly correlate with what ever season is approaching...that's my story any way :)

they join these previous adopted fat quarters (on the left) for a yet undesigned quilt. i'm leaning towards a simple large HST with kona ash quilt. i've seen some nice HSTquilts in blogland and find myself inspired. if i liked making QST, i'd do that, but i like the endless layout possibilities if HST.

i took the baby squirrels to a rehabber last night and report that they are in the perfect hands! they were alittle dehydrated, but that was to be expected. she said they would be fine. it was hard to let all that cuteness go, but i know from previous experience- cute doesn't last and squirrels are destructive as pets. i have enough critters already and i don't trust barney....

just one innocent question...

i went to a local pet supply chain today and while i was waiting i noticed a lady carrying a light fixture box wearing a confused look. the box was the dead giveaway- she didn't belong in a pet store.

so i asked one simple innocent question:

What's in the box?

turns out, english was not her first language and between my very basic knowledge of spanish and her understanding of my english (and some great charades action) i found out that two baby squirrels fell out of her chimney...ahh, the signs of spring :)

so she opens the box and i'm horrified to see she has them bedded in fiberglass insulation..i told her she needed to call Animal Control. no go- language barrier. then she hands me the box and says "you take" i didn't know if it was a question or statement. she turns an walks away- yup- statement.

so here i am in the middle of the pet store the brand spanking new guardian of two BABY squirrels. no good deed goes unpunished. thankfully the staff helped me get them out of that fiberglass and in some nice soft bedding in a more appropriate carrier.

get ready for some serious cuteness!

davis said i'm no longer allowed in the house without a pocket search and a thorough pat down.

but i did find a great new use for my scraps. the babies seemed to really like them.

i am waiting for traffic to die down and i'm off to the local rehabilitation center.

spring milestones giveaway!

i have reached three blog milestones:
1) i have almost hit 500 posts (this is post #495)
2) i hit 200 followers couple weeks back and
3) March 21st is my two year blog anniversay!

so i decided to have a giveaway...now you'll have to work for it a bit...

i spent alot of time last week cutting 2.5" strips for a particular project (which i started on sunday and can't wait to share!!!) and as i looked at the stack i thought- "what great timing! i have a giveaway planned and this would be perfect"

guess how many strips i cut!!!

leave a comment on this post with your guess on how many strips are pictured. winner will be the closest without going over and if i have multiple comments with the same number that is correct, i'll draw one name to win. for you no reply commentors- you must include your email to qualifiy. (you can spell it out to avoid spammers:  yourname (at) server (dot) com) one comment per person. multiplies will be disqualified (hey- it's only fair). Winner will be annouced next monday, March 21st.

what what you win??

this little Bento box tote i made from Pink Penguin's tute.

due to shipping costs, this contest is for US only.

okay put your thinking caps on!

what's for dinner?

venison tenderloin *lip smack*
stove top (i'm out of wild rice)
and green beans..

 YUMMY!!!

i get a gold star- i cleaned my plate!


(the venison is from the doe i got during deer season)

i sent them back home

three quilts went home this week.


vicky's paper pieced windmills








 

edie's beautiful TAW wedding quilt

she found the perfect backing fabric!
doesn't it just scream wedding bliss :)

and mary's tulip quilt.

 the background of this quilt is a black pin dot on white. it made me dizzy when i quilted it. the dots 'danced' in my peripheral vision... i had to take alot of blink breaks.

you know i love solid backings!! it's like two quilts for the price of one!


stay tuned...i've reached some blog milestones and will be celebrating with a giveaway later this week.!!

never a dull moment

a little back history- last night barney was driving me crazy wanting me to throw that darned tennis ball. so i took it away and set it on my cutting table way in the back. usually when i do that he will relax, forget about it, and go lay down and sleep.

not last night...nope...i hear the awful-est noise and i turn around....yup, that's barney on top of my cutting table!!! i measured, my table is 35" from the floor...if he had a middle finger, i'm sure he would of showed that to me too...*shaking head* noodle dog

so to all those quilters that show pictures of their cats on their cutting tables- me and barney thumb our nose in your general directions!! dogs rule!!

*giggle* later...

setting triangles

when piecing a quilt that has blocks set on point, you want to cut the setting and corner triangles so the edge of the quilt top is on the straight of grain. this is important to keep the edge from stretching when you go to sew on your borders.


side triangles are the teal along the edges and the corner triangles are orange.

here's a chart of some of the most 'common' block sizes and the square size to cut for setting triangles and corner triangles. this chart will give you exact on point corners- the block's corner will be exactly on the seam. if you want your block corner to float- add an 1/2" to 1" to the square size listed. clear as mud, right?

for side setting triangles, you will cut the square across both diagonals.

for the corner triangles you cut 2 squares once across the diagonal (you'll only need 2 squares because a quilt only has four corners).

i recommend spraying the fabric with some sizing, best press, or starch before cutting to help stabilize the bias edges.



for those that are interested, here is the math formula for figuring out the square size. i round up to the nearest 1/8 inch.

for the side setting triangles:
multiply finished block by 1.414 and add 1.25
for the corner triangles:divide finished block by 1.414 and add .875


and i use to H.A.T.E. math....

sunny side up

lucky loves to lay in the sunny patches in the floor... i'm well trained, i move his bed out of the corner for his maximum comfort during the vitamin K soak

i have been wanting this picture FOREVER!! when he lays just right, his ear will stand straight out...it's his sign of total body relaxation.






 

lucky doesn't like the camera, so if he sees me with it, he disappears. plus, when his ear sticks out like that, he usually will flick that muscle to get it to flop back down...