August 2008 - Posts

• LaRuesews- Rotary cutter, freezer paper and quilt shops

  Well Quilters and ME’s, it’s time again for me to give you a few words of wisdom on the subject of quilting. Thanks to everyone who read and commented on my last blog. That gave me ideas of things to talk to you about this time. Pat asked me in one of her comments to talk more about freezer paper and rotary cutters. Judy talked about sewing basics in her blog and also about the importance of knowing a little about fabric before you go out to shop. I totally agree with her and will add my two-cents worth. But before I start talking about quilting, I just want to tell all of you ME folks that I have done some ME lately. Just to prove it, here is my first attempt at cutwork embroidery. It also has a little machine sewn border, just so it doesn’t look so much like a scrap. Actually, it is a scrap, since it’s a stitchout and I don’t have any plans for it, except to admire my work. I do plan to do more of it. Cutwork is the thing that I’m most interested in. I’m just having trouble choosing a design to do next. I even did it before Pat’s blog on cutwork. My experience and knowledge of fabric goes all the way back to Home Ec. class in Jr. High and High school. I vividly remember my teacher in 8th grade Home Ec. telling how important it is to make sure that we begin by straightening the grain of woven fabrics before we begin to cut out a pattern. One thing that I personally believe though, is purchase the best fabric you can afford. Judy also mentioned using good fabric. The art/craft of quilting is a lengthy process. The things we make, bed covers, wall hangings, clothing, or whatever, can and will become heirlooms. Be sure that you use fabrics will last longer than the time you spend making them. Good fabrics do not come from discount department stores. Quilt shops are the best place to get the best fabrics. If you can’t find a shop in your area, look on line. I know you all have the internet, or you wouldn’t be reading this blog. Quilt shops are everywhere, (except where I live. My closest quilt shop is an hour to an hour and a half from where I live). Go online and select your favorite browser. Type in quilt, quilt shops, quilting, quilt patterns, quilt fabrics, quilt hints, quilt notions, quilt tools . . . get the message? Just put the word QUILT in front of any other word you are interested in. I have little doubt that "something" will come up. I seldom get 0 results when I look for quilt related things. Another suggestion, type in just the word fabrics, then type in quilt fabrics. I’ll bet you’ll get more and better results with quilt fabrics than with just fabrics. You can find quilt shops in a similar way. Just type in the name of your town and state/country, plus quilt shops and "click", it will tell you about shops that are near you. Example: New York City, NY+quilt shops.   It is important, however, to follow the instructions of your class instructor in preparing the fabric before you begin the cutting process. There are many and varied opinions on whether or not to prewash fabrics. I have found much less trouble with top quality fabrics than I have had with cheap ones. I seldom, prewash fabrics, unless they are dark colors that I have experienced fading problems, like dark blue, black and red. Go with your gut feelings about prewashing. If you usually do it, continue, if not, don’t it’s up to you. So far, I’ve been fortunate about fading and bleeding problems. Try a little test when you go shopping for fabrics. First, if you can, go to a quality quilt shop. Most of them carry 100% cotton fabrics for quilting (more on that later) Get a piece of almost any fabric in the shop. Hold it up to the light. See how closely woven the fiber/threads are in the weave of the fabric. Now, on your way to lunch, stop by that well-known discount department store. Check out the fabric department there, (if they still carry fabrics.) Go to their clearance table and pick up a piece of fabric. Hold it up to the light and see the difference in the weave. If you cannot see the difference, head straight to your eye doc, or let me know. There IS a difference in quality. 100% cotton fabric . . . There is also a big difference in all cotton fabric and poly/cotton blends. The 100% cotton fabric is by far the easier to work with for quilting. It has a slight stretch of the crosswise grain. If you hold a piece of cotton fabric with the selvages* in each hand, hold it up and give it a little "tug", you will feel just a little bit of give in the cross wise grain. If you hold a piece of poly/cotton blend in the same way, there will be no give. The polyester in the blend makes the weave of the fabric very stable, so it is much harder to handle when you are piecing quilt blocks. The slight stretch of 100% cotton makes it easier to put the small pieces of a quilt block together, you can stretch a piece that is a little bit smaller measurement to fit the length of one that is a little bit larger. This won’t work with pieces that are more than 1/8 to 1/4 difference, but that tiny bit of stretch can make a world of difference in your ability to make the pieces fit. Like Judy, I also say buy extra fabric. Recently, I found a really beautiful fabric on sale at an on line web site. When I read the description, it said it was 54 inches wide. When the fabric arrived, it was truly beautiful, red paisley print, just right for the blouse pattern I had in mind. I laid the pattern out on the fabric and there wasn’t enough for the collar. I checked the width of the fabric, and it was only 50 inches wide, just enough to make it too small for the pattern pieces. I called the web site, and it was all gone, sold quickly because of the sale price. I had to search out a compatible plain fabric to make a collar and cuffs. I haven’t had the heart to try it again. Sure wish I’d bought an extra half yard. That’s not the only time I’ve come up short, just the most recent. Rotary cutter and cutting (referred to now as RC). Pat asked me to talk further about RC. WOW, what an open subject. As I said in my last post, the RC has become the friendliest and most dangerous tool in a Quilters sewing box. It could be described as a razor blade that rolls or a very sharp pizza cutter. To my knowledge, the "Olfa cutter" was the first one on the market. It was invented in Japan, and has become so useful that many other companies have begun to make their own versions. The old method of cutting quilt blocks was using a cardboard template, drawn by hand to the size and shape of the pieces in your block. Quilters often used a sandpaper board to stabilize the fabric while they draw around the cardboard with a pencil. Then came the scissors. The time intensive part of quilting is the drawing and the cutting. With the RC, came the speed that Quilters now know that they can produce quilts in a minimum of time compared to the old methods. Speed cutting and sewing methods have been developed by quilt designers for many of the old traditional patterns. You need only to look at the magazine racks or book store shelves to see the myriad of new patterns and instructions that are introduced every month. I use the ergonomic version of the original Olfa cutter (click here to view the product). It now has a better safety feature, and is shaped to be more comfortable and easier on your hands. I said dangerous, didn’t I . . . Yes, the rotary cutter is way more dangerous than a non- user can imagine. When using an RC, never put it down without closing it first. It is sooo easy to forget that little click that will save your fingers again and again. If you’ve been sliced by an open RC, raise your hand. (I’m doin’ it) Also, get really acquainted with a new one if you change brands or buy one for the first time. The operation of an RC can be a little confusing at first. Learn how it works before you start out on that speed-pieced quilt you are planning. Treat ‘em kindly and save your skin.   Pat also asked for more about freezer paper. Pat, you certainly know how to ask wide-open questions. For anyone not familiar with freezer paper, it is a heavy white paper with wax and then plastic coating on one side, produced for many years by Reynolds Aluminum Company. With the influx of plastic bags, boxes and bowls for freezing foods, freezer paper became passe’. It was used to protect foods, mostly meat, for cold storage. With the decline of use, Reynolds stopped making it.   Along came the Quilters who had a stash of freezer paper in their pantry. "Gee whiz, I wonder if I could make this stuff stick to fabric with an iron . . . Yippee, it works! I’ll draw or trace a few flowers on it and cut ‘em out and sew ‘em on a quilt block." Then the Quilters told each other at the local quilting bee. "Look what I did with this ole’ freezer paper". Freezer paper also became a staple in the Quilters sewing box. This is where quilt guilds, quilt classes and quilting bees helped out the Reynolds Company. The ladies told each other and they all got together and wrote and called Reynolds (no emails then) and wonder of wonders, the company began to make it again. Freezer paper can be used for patchwork blocks. Example: the house block is often used in quilts. The house parts can be traced onto freezer paper, numbering each part to identify its placement, then she cuts the paper apart. The Quilter then irons the parts onto the various colored fabrics she has chosen for her house. She often uses a chalk pencil or blue marker to show the stitching lines. She carefully cuts out the fabric, leaving a precise 1/4 inch seam allowance around all the pieces. The parts are then sewn together by hand or machine, in order, using the number printed on each piece. The parts together are then used as a quilt block, with a contrasting border, around the house or by applique. Hope that’s clearer than mud. I have used freezer paper a lot for making tracing patterns for applique’. I have done a lot of "needle turn"* applique. Many of the blocks in this quilt were made using freezer paper, with both piecing and applique’ techniques. I have also made the mistake of thinking that some company had done quilters a favor and made a "better" freezer paper just for quilters. I really found out otherwise on two occasions. The folks at AnnTheGran.com asked me recently if ATG should order and stock a certain "new" freezer paper being marketed to quilters. I told them not to do that to you quilters, for this reason. The first roll of Reynolds that I bought was 150 sq. ft. roll. It lasted me more than ten years. The box fell apart before I used up the paper. The next box I bought was 75 sq. ft. I’ve been using it for years too, and it’s not gone. That brand costs an average of $3.50 a roll and can be purchased at most grocery and many hardware stores. I checked the price of "special" quilter paper. It was $8.95 for a package of 8 ½ x 11 sheets. There were 30 sheets per package. Logic tells me that it’s NOT a good buy. 11 inches is not long enough for some applique pattern pieces. By the roll, you get a very usable length of paper. Long ago, I bought a similar product, also made in small sheets. When I used it, it stuck so hard that I couldn’t get it off the fabric. I ruined a sizable amount of fabric with that stuff. Another time, I bought special paper for repairing and saving dressmaking patterns. It was nothing more than freezer paper with graph lines on it. My theory about it is that some people know that they can make a lot of money by repackaging freezer paper and labeling it for quilters then charge a lot more. I get upset when someone makes "something better for Quilter". Show me that it’s a lot better and I might buy it, but when I find out it’s not better, I’m on the phone or the computer letting them know that I don’t like it. Now that I have jumped down from my soap box, I think it is only honest to tell you that there is an advantage to those 8 ½ x 11 sheets. They do fit in the computer printer nicely, that’s how they market them. However, I had my first roll of paper before I found out about those special for Quilter brands and I have a trusty RC designated just for paper cutting. I can cut sheets in 8 ½ x 11 size that I can iron onto the back of fabric and make sheets to fit my printer. I don’t feel nearly as bad about messing up a piece that comes from a $3.50 roll of paper if I make a mistake. I use it to make labels for the back of my quilts, but it does take a little time to prepare the fabric so that the ink won’t run. I really don’t use a lot of it for labels. The satisfaction makes a difference. I also used some sheets with fabric already attached to the paper, made especially printing for labels. The fabric was so stiff when I pulled the paper off that I didn’t use it. With regular freezer paper the fabric stays just as soft as it was to start. In another comment after my last post, someone said that sunlight can set the blue ink from water soluble pens. Another thought came to my mind. It seems to me that I remember leaving pen marks in fabric for a long time and the marks would not remove. I think that the marks in fabric will also set if they are not removed for a long time. I’d like to add a few more thoughts, before I end my sojourn here. I was so touched by some of the comments in my last blog, especially, when Lin said she decided not to forsake quilting completely. I think I said before that I still have the leftover materials of several other things I have done. I’m sure that some of those oil paints have dried up, but I doubt that the basket weaving materials will ever go bad. Don’t even think about giving up one pursuit for another, you may come to regret that you have disposed of a lifetime love. Any of you ME’s who are thinking of taking up quilting should remember that one talent often is the catalyst for change to another. The color theory that you learned in an art class will certainly hold over in your brain to be used in quilting and ME. I learned in a religion class in high school to direct music. I have used that talent the rest of my life. I can read music, but I am not an accomplished musician. But I do have a deep appreciation for those who are great in the music field, because of the heavy responsibility of practice. Be the captain of your own destiny. You all have been given the talents you have for a reason that you may not know right now. Perhaps you will become the mentor for someone who really needs the things that you put on the shelf a year or five years ago. Talents are never lost on anyone. They may very well evolve into some other pursuit that will be worth a lifetime of trivial endeavors. Stitches to you, LaRue   Quilter’s Jargon:       Home economics * classes on sewing, cooking, and home management usually held in high school. They have since it has been taken out the schools so the school systems can "economize" with their budgets, leaving the younger generation innocent about sewing, cooking and taking care of a home. (Not at all my idea of a good thing for the young ones) Selvage* The edge of fabric that does not ravel unless it’s cut. Freezer paper* freezer paper, it is a heavy white paper with wax and then plastic coating on one side, produced for many years by Reynolds Aluminum Company. It was used to protect foods, mostly meat, for cold storage, now used for various methods in quilting. "Needle turn" The applique’ method used when the stitcher uses the applique needle to turn the edge of the fabric under one length at a time before stitching it to a background fabric. Baltimore Album quilts are made with needle turn applique. (Google that and see some really gorgeous quilts.)   Posted Aug 29 2008, 09:36 AM by LaRueJ with 11 comment(s) Filed under: rotary cutter, quality fabric, cutwork, water soluble pens, sewing, quilt, freezer paper

• LaRueSews - Things to Consider Before You Begin Quilting

  Right from the beginning, I need to let all of you know that I am not a quilt/quilting expert. This blog developed because I spoke with the folks at AnnTheGran about something else and out came the idea of my writing a blog. I ask you all to take or leave what I have to say about quilting and then find your own way and style. The things I say here are my own opinion from my experience, not necessarily "Quilt Law". The quilt police* are not out to get you. If you make a mistake, learn from it and go on.   I plan to talk a little about quilting tools, but right now, I also want to tell you to think for a little while before you jump into quilting. We all know that ME is not an inexpensive avocation. You will find the same thing true of quilting. I’ve been quilting seriously for nearly twenty years, off and on my entire adult life. My investment in tools and fabric, etc. is not small. I’ve bought things that didn’t work out and things that are so great I wouldn’t want to live without them (you notice here I didn't say couldn't, I probably could, I just don't want to). That said, be sure you want to quilt before you jump into it (unless your funds are unlimited)       That leads to telling you about a sewing group I was in. I was the only one in the group who did not own an embroidery machine. I met several of these ladies when they joined my quilt guild. They were all experienced at all kinds of sewing and ME. They decided to try quilting. They were in the quilt guild for some time, and they became frustrated or disinterested with quilting. It was my observation that they did not have a good basic understanding of quilt construction. At that time, the guild was not teaching basic quilting techniques. I was fortunate enough to start the guild when basic instructions were being given. My advice to anyone who wants to learn quilting is to find a quilt guild or basic quilting class. Buy only the basic tools to begin with. Make the basic quilt as the class is taught. Learn all you can. Invest slowly in the beginning, then decide whether you want to continue.   My stash has grown over the years to the point that I have my doubts that I will make a dent in it any time soon. My husband recently finished these shelves to house the fabrics I’ve collected. I emptied more than a dozen plastic bins that stored my stash while we built our house. I have fabrics for at least four or five complete quilts, plus many more. The picture here is the product of my many trips to quilt shops from the Canadian Rockies, the southwest US, to New England and as far south as Florida.   I know that some ME’s have bought machines for embroidery only, even though they had never sewn before. In that case, I’m guessing that you would need to buy another machine for quilting. That is something else to think about. Since I was experienced at sewing before I came to ME, I decided to have a machine that does both. My first love will always be quilting, I need a machine that would do both things since my investment in ME is secondary.   There are several reasons I decided to do this blog. One, is because Greg (beamishboy) asked me to do it. He’s been very supportive and helpful. Another is because I’d like to be able to help ATG expand to include quilting and quilting products. Living in rural Alabama, I depend on mail order shopping for things I cannot find locally. I’m always looking for good, reliable web sites that offer the quality products I’m looking for. The last and definitely not least is probably selfish. This is a personal challenge for me. I’ve learned more in the past month since I came across AnnTheGran than I had learned in the past ten to fifteen years. I’ve always been pretty open to sharing the things I love. But putting it on paper challenges me to think and then put my words on paper and then to computer and to you.   The quilt shown here is one that I made soon after I started quilting. It was for my second grand daughter, at her birth. It's not necessarily a baby quilt. But it is still in good condition and she can later use it as a wall hanging. It is a tough pattern for a beginner. Please be smarter than I was at the time and start out with an easier project. I’ve always loved this quilt and wish that I could repeat it with the exact fabrics in a bed size quilt. Maybe I’ll go for a substitute some day.   Quilting is a whole lot more than making a bed cover. Quilting is an expression of your love of fabrics and color. The fabrics are a kaleidoscope of the pictures in the minds of designers who love color, nature, people, flowers, objects, and so many other things. The quilt patterns, tell stories of designers' lives and experiences. The names of the patterns and blocks come from their imagination and tradition. Churn dash, evokes the farm wife as she makes butter. Log cabin, a little house in the woods. Pinwheel, a child’s toy. Fox and Geese, Flying Geese, LeMoyne Star, Bears Paw - just a few of the hundreds of blocks.   The tools to make blocks are just as varied as the names of blocks and quilts. Fortunately for anyone who might decide to make the transition from one craft to another, many of the tools are the same or very similar. These tools could be called crossover tools to be used by both Quilters and ME’s. Scissors, needles, pins, threads, pencils, pens, fabric markers, rulers, seam rippers are all tools that both Quilters and ME’s need in their sewing box. These tools are used more by quilters , but some could also cross over to ME. Rotary Cutters, blades, and mats, specialized rulers, templates, batting, graph paper, freezer paper, quilting hoops or frames, thimble, tracing paper, other, more specialized tools.   Scissors: There are so many kinds of scissors that it is hard to put them in one category or another. A good quality, well sharpened, 8" dressmaker’s fabric shears are a necessity, utility scissors for cutting pager or sheet plastic for templates, embroidery scissors or small scissors sharp for clipping threads.   Thimble: A thimble is a necessity for hand quilters to help push the needle and thread through the fabric. Choose one that fits snugly, not tightly, on the middle finger of your sewing hand. Thimbles like many other tools are personal preference. They come in many shapes and sizes, meeting the need of the wearer. Thimbles can be hard to get used to, but they are a great help. Using a thimble equals less sore, and stuck fingers. If you stick to quilting, or other hand sewing, treat yourself to a silver or gold thimble. I have many thimbles, as I’m a thimble collector, but most of them are only for show and aren’t useful at all. Another thing about thimbles, some people can't get used to using them, others can.  Your fingers will be happier in the long run if you can get used to using one.  Here's another area where you can find your won way.  Use one if you can, don't if you can't   Needles: Hand sewing needles come in a wide variety of types and styles. Sharps are general sewing needles used for applique and hand piecing. Betweens are used for quilting, they are shorter and stronger, made for the specific task of stitching the layers of quilts together. Both types of needles come in varying sizes. They are mostly chosen by preference. I use quite small ones, usually size ten or eleven, in both types.   Sewing machine needles: Use machine needles according to the machine manufacturer’s recommendation, and the kind of material you are using.  Choose them carefully and your machine will love you for it. (give your sewing machine a friendly name and "she" will love you more when you talk kindly to her and use her name.)   Pins and pincushion: There are many types of these as well. I use long, thin, sharp pins with glass heads for most types of my sewing and quilting. I also use tiny, short, glass head pins for applique, they are about 3/4 inch long. (Easy to lose and hard to find.) This is where a sewing magnet comes in very handy. I have one that has a bright colored plastic handle that is easy to hold when fishing those little "buggers" out of the chair cushions and carpet. (your husband, boyfriend, kids and neighbors will love you for that when they don't step or sit on your pins and needles).     Be careful with pins and needles! Years ago, I bought an old sewing machine cabinet at the Salvation Army thrift store. While my husband was refinishing it, he knelt on the floor and right on a sewing machine needle.Half was embedded in his knee. Enter my Handy-Dandy needle-nose pliers...I pulled that thing right out of his knee. (Probably should have had a tetanus shot.)   Threads: This is an area where Quilters and ME’s get quite different. Most experienced quilters opt for 100% cotton thread throughout their quilt construction. Polyester thread is much stronger than cotton. Quilters feel that polyester threads can cut through the fibers of the fabric and eventually cause the seams of the patchwork to separate. It’s very difficult to mend a seam where the fabric is cut by the thread at the seam. Cotton threads come in a wide variety of sizes and colors. The two basic ones, regular sewing weight thread, used for either hand or machine piecing. The other is a heavier, stiffer thread that is sometimes waxed slightly for hand quilting. This thread is usually stiffer, to help the thread from twisting during quilting.   Pencils, pens and fabric markers: Quilters need pencils and pens to plan their quilt designs, trace patterns, etc. There are pencils that are designed to wash out when the piecing and quilting is finished, but they are varied and need to be chosen carefully. Try them out on different kinds of fabrics and colors for washability and color fastness. Fabric markers can be used for either Quilting or ME. Some are meant to be used in construction, some are used to permanently color fabric during the design process. Read the label and choose carefully. Quilters have varying opinions of the blue or purple, felt tip markers. Some use them carefully, using cold water to wash the marks out of the fabric. Others feel that the chemicals in the ink may damage the fibers in time, so they don't use them at all. Don’t iron these disappearing ink markers. Ironing will set the ink and make it permanent. White or colored chalk pencils are used to mark the quilt for hand quilting.   Rulers traditional, and specialized: Quilters need at least a few basic rulers. A 2" X 12" or a 2" X 18" clear plastic ruler, marked in grids with 8th inch markings for drawing patterns and adding seam allowances. Rotary cutting requires a larger, 6" X 24" clear plastic ruler marked in grids with 8th inch markings. These rulers usually have diagonal lines used for making angled cuts. A square 12" x 12" is good to square-up* the quilt blocks before final assembly.   Rotary Cutter: ROTARY CUTTERS ARE DANGEROUS! (I’ll talk more about them in a future blog.) This is "cool tool" developed by a quilter, for quilters. It has totally changed the art and craft of quilting. Before rotary cutters, quilters used templates, pencils, rulers, sandpaper and scissors to accomplish the same thing that a rotary cutter and mat does for us now in a fraction of the time. The rotary cutter "cuts" the time it takes to get ready to piece quilts by so many increments, that I couldn’t even try to count. I could say that the rotary cutter is revolutionary to the art of quilting. It has since been adapted to a whole lot of other things, including ME.   Rotary cutting mats:These mats, like rotary cutters, are also made by many manufacturers. Study the brands and buy a good quality mat. They are self healing and they last a long time. I’m still using the first ones I bought. They come in sizes from 5" x 7" up to full cutting table size. I recommend a medium size mat, about 18" x 24" to begin, since it can be easily taken to class. A larger one can be purchased later if the need arises.   Templates:Templates are sometimes used for individual blocks such as those in sampler quilts*. Purchase them only as needed. You can end up with a lot of templates that you use only once.   Batting:The batting you choose is entirely a personal preference. It is used as a filler between the pieced top or front of the quilt and the backing . The three layers are stitched together by hand or machine. My usual preference is a cotton, polyester blend, of a 80%, 20% ratio. Many kinds are available 100% cotton, 100% polyester, blends, silk, wool and others.   Freezer paper: Freezer paper* has a whole lot of uses for quilters. Don’t buy it right away, until you find that you need it. It is a heavy paper with a plastic coating on one side, that can pe pressed onto fabric with a hot iron. It sticks temporarily. It can be used to make templates for pieced and applique quilts, as well as other uses. The story goes that the freezer paper manufacturers had decided to take freezer paper off the market because of declining use.  Some quilters began to use it for quilt making. They found it so useful that they contacted the manufacturers and asked them to continue to make it. It has once again become a widely used product, mostly with quilters and other crafters.   Quilting hoops and frames: Layered quilts need to be stretched on a hoop or frame to be quilted. Choose either a hoop or frame to quilt your quilt. Some people prefer to lap quilt, so they choose a hoop that is usually about 14" to 18" diameter and can be used by one person to quilt on her lap. I use a 14" round heavy wood hoop with a bungee cord around it to hold the quilt. A floor frame can be as large as 6 or to 10 feet square or rectangle and can be used by many quilters at a time. Some frames can be folded or rolled up for storage.   I know there are other tools that you will choose when you start out. There are probably others that I haven’t thought to include. But in the beginning, stay simple, until you decide to make quilting an art that you will stick with. Quilting and ME are great partners. Go with the idea that you can combine the two and make some really wonderful heirlooms. I’d like to think that the quilts that I have made will be loved for years to come. I’d like to think that my quilts will cover the dreams of people I love today and people who will remember me as the one who lovingly made the stitches they sleep and cuddle under.    Definitions according to LaRue:   "quilty"*, slang for anything quilt related.   "cheater quilt"*, is a preprinted quilt pattern that can be quilted or just used as fabric.   "quilt police"* Expert quilters who are standing by to snap you on the head for doing something the wrong way...there are NO Quilt Police.   "square-up"* Using a square ruler to make the block square on all sides and corners before assembling entire quilt   "sampler quilts"* Quilts made with different block. They are often traditional blocks showing a variety of techniques.   "freezer paper"*, a heavy paper with a plastic coating that can pe pressed onto fabric with a hot iron Posted Aug 07 2008, 12:39 PM by LaRueJ with 19 comment(s) Filed under: LaRueSews, rotary cutter, quilting tools, cutting mats, starting to quilt