Hidden Threads

I’ve spent part of the weekend in the closet pulling out quilt tops to finish. As the weather gets blessedly cooler, the idea of keeping a quilt on my lap long enough to bind it doesn’t seem so nasty.

One thing I’ve noticed is flaws in my previous work - you know, the quilts with wobbly seams and those on-point quilts that look a bit on the wavy, distorted side. I guess that all quilters can look back on their previous work and find flaws. One quilt was so nasty that I unsewed the border on the spot and started looking for an alternate fabric and matching thread.

What about you? Do you have controls for this type of perfectionist behavior? Actually, I’d like myself better if I just loved the quilts for their appearance and my enjoyment in making them, whatever my level of skill at the time. But some nasty little voice in my head keeps saying, “Fix it now!” Truthfully, I’d rather be making a new, better quilt and let the old ones hide in the back of the closet, but that seems like such a waste.

After a much needed summer holiday, it’s back in the saddle, or sewing chair as the case may be.  It’s fall, or close to it, and I’m itching to get into those great amber, russet and brown fabrics.  Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting magazine always does an entertaining fall issue, and this year is no exception.  Check it out.

On the finishing front, I’ve made a pact with myself to quilt and bind my fall quilts from last year and hang them.  Quilt tops are my favorite part of the quilting process, so the finishing off . . .quilt sandwich, free motion quilting, and binding are always when-you-have-time projects for me.  I like to do everything myself and sometimes my ambition exceeds my available time, so piles of tops sit until I find a way to shame myself into finishing them.  This is my year to decorate the walls with quilts, so wish me luck.

Ever been confused by the math involved in determining the size of side setting triangles?  I sure have.  These are the quarter square triangle cuts that are usually used to fill in along the edges of quilts that are set on point.

I hope the table below helps to sort it all out for you.   The first column shows the finished size of the quilt blocks you are using, i.e. a 6 1/2 inch block finishes at 6 inches.  The second column shows the size of the square you should cut.

After cutting the square, make two additional cuts, one along each diagonal, like a big X.  This will leave you with four side setting triangles.  Have an odd sized block?  Here is the formula:  multiply the size of the finished block by 1.414.  Take that sum and add 1 1/4 (1.25)  inches for the seam allowances involved.  That’s it.

After you have explored all of the standard layouts, you still aren’t done with this block! I said that it was versatile and dramatic, but I didn’t say that it could look charming, even old fashioned.

Small Circle Drunkard’s Path Block

If you reduce the size of the quarter-circle piece in the block, you can create small spheres by combining four blocks together. A reduced block size, around four inches, looks really cute with small circles throughout. This design works well with vintage and specialty fabrics. It makes a great Christmas quilt too.

I have some templates available from my Drunkard’s Path Page. Take a look in the side bar near the bottom of the page. Happy Sewing.

So you want to make a sandwich, but don’t know about filling. For me, the part of quilting that gets my creative juices flowing is the design and quilt-top assembly. I’ve usually left batting considerations for the end of the process, and given it short shrift to boot, but I’m learning to do better. Batting can make or break a quilt. It will determine how far apart you can quilt a piece, how it will drape, and how warm it will keep your family, and that’s just for starters.

Why Is Batting Important?

Want to avoid bearding, want to eliminate loft, want to create a warm and comforting throw that will keep the kids cozy on those cold winter nights? Pick the right batting and those things are easy to do. Pick the wrong batting and – well maybe you’ll get it right next time, or with the quilt after that.

Because quilting supplies are getting more expensive all the time, and your time is becoming more precious too, it’s important to understand how critical batting can be to a successful project.

My next few blogs will explain about batting terms and qualities. The explanations should help you stuff a great quilt.

The last thing you want is to fail with the easy stuff, so enjoy this primer on filler so you can make a quilt that realizes your vision, both inside and out:

Batting in the Olden Days

Historically quilts were stuffed with whatever was around. Wool, flannel, and even paper were pressed into service. As we’ve moved away from ‘needing’ to quilt to ‘wanting’ to quilt, we’ve become a little more exacting in our batting selections. There’s really a lot to choose from, even exotic materials like bamboo and silk. When you make your next quilt, you should give your batting at least a much consideration as your thread, backing, and binding choices. It’s part of the construction – more than that, it is an essential quality in the final feel and look of your overall quilting project.

One Saturday, I was standing in line at the quilt shop and struck up a conversation with a nice woman who seemed to share my taste in fabric. A number of the bolts in my cart were her favorites and visa versa. After we’d chatted for a few minutes, the conversation came around to our stashes.

She admitted to me that she hid most of her stash from her husband, secreting it away under beds and in plastic storage tubs in closets. She also admitted that she was beginning to forget which fabrics she already has, sometimes accidentally buying duplicates.

This started me thinking about my own situation. I have problems with full disclosure too. My stash has spread all over the house, and it’s outgrowing spaces that less than a year ago I’d have though were generous.

So, How Much of a Stash Is Too Much?

When I first started quilting, I lusted after the stash and scraps of other quilters, imagining an Aladdin’s cave of fabrics, notions, thread, buttons, and ribbon. It seemed to me that the more experienced quilters would always have superior quilts because of their obvious skill, and because they had so much fabric to choose from.

How can a beginner have a chance of creating anything as rich or complex as someone who has been quilting for a few decades and has drawers and drawers full of fabric at his or her fingertips?

My solution?   I spent a couple of years finding deals on fabric-by-the-yard.  Some retailers will sell odd cuts, bolt ends, and returns at bargin prices. These fabric pieces are large enough to use for piecing and appliqué, add variety to my stash, and make me feel rich – abundantly rich.  It’s true that most of them aren’t from the top mills, but they are quality 100% cotton fabrics.

After investing in this kind of variety, I moved on to more expensive fabric, opting for good manufacturers of batiks and the like, offered by online outlets that provide a discount but require a one yard minimum cut of each fabric.

Now I have an embarrassment of riches, and have started wondering when to say stop. Ever? The nice woman at the quilt shop is letting her memory be her guide. When she can’t remember what she has, it’s time to start reevaluating her stash – in her book, anyway. What about you?

As long as I can remember the fabrics in my closets and cubbyholes, can I keep hoarding? Should any of this fabric acquisition bear a relationship to my ability to use it all before I die?

You tell me. How much is too much?  Or is it ever too much if you can afford it, and it makes you happy?

Quilting is entering the green age.  If you think about it, quilting owes its existence to conservation, transformation, and the ingenuity of people who were trying to make the most of what they had.  I have a romantic notion of those beginnings, so I’m inclined to embrace the idea of going green with my quilting.

I’ve never been one to bulk up on sprays and glues.  I like all-cotton batting, and I try to conserve fabric as much as I can.  I’ll even rework or postpone patterns I like that look like they just waste too much fabric along the way. 

I’m not alone in my thinking.  Quilters and conservationists around the web are blogging about greening the way we live our quilting lives.  The links below will give you a representative sample.  Whether you admire the Amish philosophy, want to conserve by using up your stash, or would like to know more about earth friendly quilting products like soy or bamboo based fabrics and batting, there’s someone who shares your interest or point of view.

Consider the Amish

Using Your Stash to Go Green

Earth Friendly Common Sense

What About Those Organic Fabrics and Batting?

What’s Your Green?

Thinking smaller when quilting doesn’t mean the project will be easier. Some of the hardest quilts to make are miniatures. If you think you can reduce a quilt in size to finish it faster, think again. Small quilts need some forethought and special treatment. Here are a few tips that will help you make your miniature a success:

Use Quality Fabric
If you’ve been fudging by using okay fabric on some of your quilts, miniatures aren’t the place to cut corners. Good quality fabric with a nice hand (feel) is easier to use, looks better, and lasts longer.

Pay Attention to Detail
Inaccurate cutting, imprecise seams, and sloppy ironing will make a miniature a disaster to assemble. Get into the habit of measuring your work along the way. Keep a small ruler by your sewing machine, and use a gridded ironing board mat. It sounds like a pain, but measuring each piece as you cut, sew, and iron it will make it easier to put your miniature quilt together – and have it turn out well.

Use Foundation Piecing
Using foundation piecing increases your accuracy and gives you a stable platform on which to work.  If you are using fabric scraps, it also helps stabilize biases.

Plan Your Colors
If you have a color scheme, try looking at a mock-up from a distance. Miniatures look different from full size quilts. A bright, demanding fabric in the wrong spot will spoil the effect you are trying to create. Miniatures don’t have to be plain, but some pre-planning will help you to avoid being disappointed with the results. After the time and precision work involved, you don’t want to be bushwhacked by a bad color or value choice.

Take Your Time
The easiest way to thwart your best efforts at a miniature is to get sloppy because you’re tired. If your back starts to bother you or your eyes start to get tired, take a break. Heaven knows the quilt will be waiting for you when you feel fresher.

Resize Your Fabric Patterns
Using a large patterned fabric in a miniature quilt might have a different result from what you intended. The fabric detail that stands out in a six-inch quilt block will be lost when you downsize that block to three inches. Avoid large prints in favor of medium and small sized alternatives. The medium sized print will look large; trust me.

Use the Right Tools
When you work on a miniature, using a magnifying glass and having the proper lighting is doubly important. A hands free magnifier is a real asset.

Don’t Cut Corners
Things you may have fudged on in the past will be a definite gotcha here. Wash your fabric and batting before you begin. Use a low loft batting that won’t obscure your precise seaming. Iron all of your pieces as you sew them, and be careful to use good ironing practices in order to avoid distortion.  In a small quilt, any distortion is magnified, and it becomes much harder to conceal mistakes.

Creating a miniature can be one of the most satisfying of quilting experiences.  A good miniature looks like a jewel and really is a work of art.  Following the guidelines above will help you avoid some common pitfalls and create a great looking miniature the first time you try.

The horizon is looking grim for those of us who covet cotton.  Energy costs are up, which is making everything more expensive, but did you realize that cotton production is down, and is destined to stay that way?

Farmers rushing to take advantage of the corn and soybean bonanza are dropping cotton as a crop, and a good portion of what’s left is going overseas.  China is a big purchaser of cotton, consuming at least 45% of the worldwide market. We have to make due with what’s left, and that will be getting more expensive as time goes by.

Are Quilters on a Budget Being Priced Out of the Cotton Market?

Not to be an alarmist here, but I was kind of hoping that prices would be going down, not up.  As fabric has become more painterly, artistic, colorful and creative, it has also risen in price.  It’s getting to the point where good fabric is beyond the budget of many of us, at least for most of our projects.

This is a lament. I don’t have any ideas on how to handle the problem.  Even if you start dying your own fabric, there are costs (sometimes substantial) involved.

Diving for Fabric

My friend Emily started ‘diving for fabric’ a few years ago.  This is her term for haunting second-hand stores and garage sales for cotton garments that she can recycle.  She even uses chopped up pieces of collars and cuffs as fillers for pillows – yes she cleans them well first.

This isn’t her only source of fabric, but her system does yield some really interesting finds.  The prospect, unappealing until now, may have some merit if cotton keeps getting more expensive.

I’ve said it before: quilters are the most generous, kind people I’ve ever come across. If you quilt and want to help others, you don’t have to be a member of a guild, an award winner, or a joiner by nature. There are many organizations out there that will be grateful for your efforts, and thrilled that you want to help them help others.

Share the Gift of a Quilt With Someone in Need.

The links below are a good place to start. Let me know how it goes, or if you have a worthy charity that you want others to know about. One quilt won’t save the world, but the example of the AIDS quilt shows us that working together, our stitches can make a difference.

Make a quilt for someone who needs a helping hand, some love, or some reinforcement that the world is still a good place to live in.

If you have information about organizations set up to help with Midwest relief efforts,  please comment here and I’ll pass the word along.

Ipump
Provide quilts to children diagnosed with diabetes.

Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative
Make an art quilt to help fund Alzheimer’s research.

Project Linus
Give a quilt to a needy, sick, or traumatized child.

Warming Families
Help the homeless.

Soldier’s Angels
Help American soldiers and their families.