Linda and I always pre-wash our fabric – meaning that we wash it before we cut it up and use it in a quilt. Always. We wash in a washer and dry in a dryer.

I spend time in every class telling students why I wash my fabric and it seems like a good topic for the blog. So, why wash?

1. Cotton shrinks when washed and dried. Not all cottons shrink at the same rate. For example, a batik shrinks less than most cotton off the bolt. If you construct a quilt with batiks and other fabrics, and then wash, your quilt can draw up in some areas and not in others. This often looks bad. You should also be aware that not all regular printed cottons shrink at the same rate either.
2. Cotton can bleed. It is our experience that this is mostly due to water chemistry. Fabric washed in one place may bleed and it may not in other places. We think it’s much better to know if there’s a issue before you sew a problem fabric into your quilt. FYI – use Synthrapol, Retayne, or the Color Catchers made by Shout to control bleeding.
3. In our opinion, pre-washed cotton behaves better. It tends to fray less because it has been pre-shrunk. It has a better hand. We have each used starch in the distant past but don’t any more because we haven’t noticed a need to use it.
4. Pre-washing removes the chemicals and finishes from the fabric. Because I know quilters who can’t touch unwashed fabric, I asked my dermatologist about it. He said that, yes, these chemicals can cause problems for some people. He also said that some of these chemicals out-gas and that the fumes (that don’t bother most people) can be a problem. It’s also important to remember that most of our fabric is imported and that shipping containers are treated with insecticides and some of that residue could end up on your fabric.

So that answers the “why” question. Tomorrow I’ll answer the “how” question.

We don’t often (or ever) post photos of our quilts in progress. It usually takes 1 year from the time we finish a quilt to the time when the book is at the quilt shop. It is frustrating to people to have to wait so long for a pattern. But blogs are all about sharing what’s going on now. So, while I can’t show you the whole quilt, I can show you selected parts of what I’m working on now.

I am using these pieces from Jinny Beyer’s Palette Collection. The greens laying on the diagonal are the block and border backgrounds. I’m piecing them. I’ll show you a pieced block background later next week.

Quilter’s often want to use exactly the fabrics that we used when they are making their quilts. This collection and these colors should still be available in 2 years – and even longer. Here’s a question for you: If I added a few prints or dots just for fun, and those fabrics were not available in 2 years, would you be unhappy? My thought is that there is always a fun substitute and finding those substitutes is a great way to make a quilt your own. Is that what you think too?

I really would like to know what you all think so please leave comments.

I am an iron killer. I don’t know how I do it, but irons just don’t last at my house. It probably has something to do with the fact that I tend to knock them off the board and onto the floor every now and then. Seriously, don’t you think an iron should be able to take that sort of abuse?

I bought a new iron yesterday to replace my now way-to-leaky older iron. Because I do tend to kill irons, I don’t spend a lot of money on them. I found a Shark Professional model for under $50.

So, I read the instructions (I really did) and plugged it in. I turned it to its highest heat setting and started ironing. But it wasn’t gliding the way it should… It took me a bit to actually look at the sole plate and to my horror I saw a sticker that I should have removed before ironing. Where was that in the instructions!? I let it cool and scraped off what I could (see photo).

I tried heating it back up and using an iron cleaner to remove the remaining goo – that didn’t work. I let it cool again and finally got it clean with Goo-Gone. I can now say that it’s a very nice iron! It heats up quickly, is heavy, glides well, and the steam works. Oh happy day!

Last fall we planted one lonely broccoli plant just to see what it would do. It’s been making broccoli! Since I had no idea what broccoli ‘in the wild’ looks like I thought that some of you might not know either.

Ours is wispier than I thought it would be, probably because we aren’t watering it. But we have been eating what the plant produces. Next year we’re going to plant more.

The organizers of the Pigeon Forge Quiltfest took us to dinner one night at the Old Mill Pottery House Cafe. The actually make things from clay in an adjoining shop. We all we given a hand-thrown Quiltfest mug. That’s Little Man holding my mug!
Lila, one of the event coordinators, was nice enough to have her picture made with Little Man.

I have this little wooden man action figure that was given to me by my editor and fellow author, Lynn Koolish. (Thanks, Lynn!) Little Man is not really an action figure – he’s a drawing tool and he has been an interesting addition to my desk.

I decided to take Little Man with me on my trip to Pigeon Forge, thinking that it would be fun to include him in some photographs.

Here he is perched on the Skylink sign at DFW. Skylink is the people mover at the airport.

When I got to the airport in Knoxville I began to realize that I was going to be seeing a lot of bears. This carved mama bear (and her cub) greet you as you go toward security. While Smokey Bear is the mascot of the entire US Forest Service, I’m guessing that he is especially loved by those in the Smoky Mountains.