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Summer Time - Are you Piecing?
The old adage for quilters is: Piece in the summertime, quilt in the winter. Of course, this was before the invention of the longarm quilting machines! Unless you hand quilt (which I also do)! Last weekend, my husband and I went to the mountains, about a two-hour drive. Since my hands are idle as a passenger, I usually take a quilt with me that I’m hand quilting. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine streaming right into my lap in the truck... on my quilt. Even with the air conditioner on, the quilt made me super warm! I get what the “old adage” was all about! Luckily, you can piece any season of the year and have your quilt tops quilted by a professional longarmer – like me! So, piece away friends! Pop on my website and click “Book A Quilt” and let me help you get those quilts finished!
Pantograph of the Month - Driftwood
I selected the pantograph “DRIFTWOOD” as my featured pantograph this month. Designer Jess Zeigler describes it as, “…The best part about Driftwood is the organic "pods" of negative space make the texture really stand out. Driftwood would be a great quilting design to use on a busy quilt because it'll have a unifying effect.”
When I think of driftwood, it brings a vision of me of walking on a beach and seeing driftwood – such a clean fresh summertime thought. I look forward to the day that actually happens, so until then, I will enjoy the vision and peace it brings me while I quilt out this pantograph!
These are a few of my favorite things!
Dritz Mark B Gone Fabric Marker and Blue Line Eraser
When I’m marking where to sew on fabric, I always have one of these Dritz Mark-B-Gone fabric markers. It stays on the fabric, until you remove it with water, or my favorite and sure-way to remove them is to use the Blue Line Eraser Spray! But please follow their tip “Blue Line Eraser is completely safe on most fabrics. But Please Pre-Test marking and removing the marks on a sample piece. We highly recommend pre-washing fabrics because of the chemicals used in the dyeing process could react with any of your marking methods.”
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
If you are a quilter, I’m pretty confident that you use an iron. Sometimes my iron gets what I call “gunk” on the surface, which if you don’t remove could transfer onto your fabric. There are many ways to remove the “gunk”, but my favorite is a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Making sure the iron is completely cool, I get one of the sponges out and wet it just until it is damp (not soaking) and I scrub all the gunk off. I use a damp paper towel to remove any soap and then I have a new clean iron again. Find it here.
Creative Grid's Perfect 5 Ruler
If you don’t have this ruler, well.. you just gotta have this ruler. Especially if you collect rulers! Lol.. Things I love about this ruler – the measurements are actually numbered for you – not just the mark. There are grippers on the back so it doesn’t move while your cutting, and it has a diagonal line for lining up those half-square triangles. Find it here.
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
Should I Use Cotton or Polyester Thread when Quilting or Piecing?
My Opinion
It depends. I use both. It really depends on the look that you want on your quilt.
Cotton thread has a flat, muted appearance, and typically the thread appears thicker than a polyester thread. I love to piece quilt tops using Masterpiece Thread by Superior Threads. It is, hands down the strongest and best performing thread that I’ve found for piecing. It is certified Egyptian-grown, extra-long staple cotton and designed to create perfectly pieced seams, and has low lint. And it comes in 79 different colors to match your fabrics!
Polyester threads sometimes will have a sheen to it when the light catches it, and it comes in a variety of different colors and weights. But other poly threads are matte looking. One of my favorite threads to quilt with is a 3-filament polyester thread by Superior Threads called SoFine! Thread. It is lint-free, has a matte-finish, and quilts out beautifully! It comes in 134 colors!
My quilting prices include thread (any color - cotton or poly) at no extra charge!
If you are interested in specialty threads like silk, or metallics, then I charge a small fee, depending on the size of the quilt.
I really like this video from Superior Threads that goes into more detail about the difference between cotton and polyester thread. The video is ~ 11 minutes. Worth the watch if you’re contemplating which to use.
Do you have a question that I can feature in a future newsletter? Please email me spiritquilter@gmail.com.