This post is really about bleeding fabric, but to get to that part of the story I have to start with the iron. My cheap Sunbeam iron began spitting brown stuff before Christmas so I had to buy yet another iron.

If I had $1000+ to throw at an iron, I’d get a Laura Star ironing system. (You know it’s going to be expensive if it’s a ‘system’.) Instead I bought a Rowenta Pro Iron Steam Station. The base is the water reservoir. It wasn’t cheap, but it also wasn’t $1000.

I read the reviews on this iron and many said that it was prone to spitting water. It is. But once it quits spitting, it puts out a huge amount of steam. My solution is to leave a folded towel next to the iron and every time I pick it up, I first let it spit on the towel. So far that’s working for me. FYI: I can go several hours before I have to refill the reservoir.

I started work 2 days ago on the last quilt top for the color book. This one features light prints in a rainbow of colors…

With the top made (it’s way cute!), I decided to piece a square of each fabric that I used to make the quilt back. I pressed as I sewed. My iron did some spitting and, in a few areas, the fabric got wet. I was absolutely stunned when a fabric with red dots bled! And later, even more stunned when a smaller red dot did the same thing!

I prewash all my fabric. This should not have happened, but it did. I replaced both fabrics—on the quilt top, and on the back. I was mildly annoyed at first but then I realized how lucky I was to have found this out when it was still easy to fix.

The dragonfly fabric you see in the quilt back (below, 2nd row) replaced the larger red dot. I used a different small red dot to replace the small red dot that bled.

I wish I knew why that fabric bled. I wish I knew what other quilts those two fabrics are in! But for me it is yet another reminder to wash very carefully. With color catchers, or synthrapol and/or retayne.

And, because I like the photo, here’s a shot of the scraps from the quilt top:

I am working on a pieced quilt based on a triadic color scheme of red, blue and yellow (the primary colors) for the color book. Red is the dominant color in this quilt, with blue and yellow accents. My first attempt (last week) produced blocks that were not what I expected. Even Steve agreed that the test blocks did not look friendly. They weren't exactly bad, but they were not going to work in the book. What to do?

I slept on it and woke up New Year's day ready to begin again. I wish I could show you the blocks—both bad and good—but I can't. They will be in the book. I can show you the pile of scraps from both quilts…

The oldest scraps are on the right. The darkest reds and the truer blues did not make it into the new quilt. I replaced them with red prints that are more active and blues that lean to aqua.

The idea of 'primary colors' makes me think of crayons, little kids, and clowns. The pile of scraps reminds me of all these things but amazingly enough, the quilt does not. It is much quieter than you'd think, and it is very friendly!

In other news, Steve has been helping me with the quilts for this book too. He has been sewing down bindings (there will be more of that) and he's been basting quilts!

I have one more quilt top to make and then the machine quilting will begin—maybe next week!