Quequechan Quilter - 2 November 2024 - Fabric Bleed

-

I received a question from a lovely lady who wanted to know if I had pre-washed the fabrics I used for the Poinsettias on Point quilt in American and Patchwork's Winter 2024 issue.

Fabric Bleed Testing

I actually couldn't remember if I pre-washed my fabrics. (Lunn Studios for Robert Kaufman's Joyful Holidays was the line of batik fabrics I used for the quilt.)  So, I found some of the scraps from the project and soaked them in what was initially very warm water for over an hour and they didn't bleed.  Way back when, I always pre-washed my fabrics.  I've found over the years, that most fabrics made now don't bleed or run the way they used to.  If you are concerned about it, you can always add a color catcher to your wash load to circumvent any bleed that may occur.

When I made the quilt for the magazine, I received more fabric than I actually needed to make the project, so I made a second, smaller quilt top, that one I'll be custom quilting myself.  The magazine editors didn't want me to quilt the one for the magazine even though I've been sewing and quilting for several decades.  I get it.  I'm an unknown factor and they didn't want to take the chance.  So I asked Michelle Medeiros, owner of Homestead Quilting and Fabrics if she would have the time to longarm it for me and she said yes.  She fit the work into her schedule so I could ship it out in time for the magazine photo shoot and the quilt looks great.  Everyone has been very pleased with it.

I'm hoping to do the custom work on my smaller version in time for this year's holiday season.  I need to finish gifts I'm making first though.

Poinsettia on Point Small Version

It's been another week where the other pulls on my time have interfered with my quilting.  I haven't yet sandwiched the Home on the Range quilt top.  Every day I planned on working in my sewing room, something else came up and I never got to it.  I have managed to select the batting but I still need to get it sandwiched for quilting on my Janome M8.  I'm still not sure if I'll do some free-motion quilting on it or do something with a walking foot.  The past couple of years I haven't been to enthused with free-motion for some reason.  I'm finding the walking foot more challenging these days.  Coming up with a quilting pattern that works for using the walking foot and looks good on the quilt has just been more interesting to me recently, but maybe it's time to get back to FMQ.

I hope everyone enjoyed Halloween.  We've never had trick-or-treaters visit our condo association before, so we were surprised that a couple of folks rang our bell Halloween night.  We didn't have any thing to hand out as we've been here for ten years and never had anyone show up before.  I hope they weren't too disappointed.

As always, you may leave comments or questions below or send them to me at:  quequechan.quilter@gmail.com 

Have a great week and keep on quilting.

Virginia

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quequechan Quilter - 30 August 2025

-
Image
 Hello everyone, This is if anyone is still checking in now and then.  Taking care of my husband has taken over everything.  By the time I have time to sew I'm too tired to bother.  They finally scheduled his back surgery for this coming Wednesday. Hopefully, it will go well.  If his back continues to deteriorate, they would have been doing it as an emergency surgery to try to keep him capable of walking.  Not that he's doing much of that these days. Diamond Grid-Layer Cake Tumble Quilt All my plans to quilt the the five or six quilt tops I've made have gone down the tubes as they say. I have a basic grid done on one of them and that's as far as I've gotten.  I had hoped to have them all quilted by the end of June so I could move on to making some of the patterns I'd planned on for this year as well as some Christmas gifts.  I don't know if I'll get to any of it now. I've gone back to work part-time to help pay some of the medical bills.  I a...
Read more

Quequechan Quilter - 13 September 2025

-
Apologies again.  I have had no time to work on any quilting or craft projects.  I've been spending all of my time at hospitals and rehab facilities making sure my husband is doing all right. Unfortunately, when he was transferred to rehab this past Tuesday after his spinal surgery, the nurses at the facility were dosing him with too much insulin.  He ended up in the ER Thursday morning with low blood pressure, low body temperature, and a blood glucose level of 30.  He very nearly died because of their stupidity.  Needless to say, he will definitely not be going back there.  Now I have to fight with his insurance to get them to cover an out-of-network rehab facility that wasn't out of network five months ago when he was there for rehab.  It's also less expensive than the place that nearly killed him.  GRRRRRR! Anyway, I hope those of you who are still checking in now and then are moving along with your projects.  I would love to do something ...
Read more

Quequechan Quilter - 4 April 2026

-
Image
Hello all, I've been very busy lately.  I'm still sorting through my late husband's things of course, but I've also been making time for my hobbies.  I finished quilting one of the quilt tops I had hoped to quilt last year, I'm working on another afghan, and finally got around to making two new 18" pillow covers for my living room. Layer Cake Tumble Quilt   Current Afghan Project Buttercup Pillow Covers I still have a few quilt tops to quilt and a few new projects I want to start.  I hope to keep things rolling along even if my progess is a bit slower than I would like. There is a small group of Holy Union Sisters living at the senior assisted living facility where I work part-time.  They are planning a mass in memory of my late husband Gerry sometime this month.  They're a very kind group of ladies and have been very considerate of me and of Gerry before he passed.  It was kind of them to offer to do this mass for him and I appreciate it very much as ...
Read more