Washing fabric…

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A friend recently asked me the fabric washing question. I thought I’d share my response here on the blog… 


Linda and I ALWAYS pre-wash. As I remember it, people quit prewashing fabric back in the day when Harriet Hargrave came up with the idea that if you make your quilt with unwashed fabric, used a cotton batt, machine quilted it and then washed it, the quilt would look more antique. This is absolutely true. It helps to remember that this was back when machine quilting was not accepted in the quilt world and Harriet’s idea was a very big part of what helped machine quilting become accepted.

But, if you are not after the look of an antique quilt, we think you should still prewash because:

  • Fabric bleeds. How much it bleeds has a lot to do with the water chemistry where you are. There is a lot of variation in water chemistry.
  • Fabric shrinks – and not all at the same rate. In my opinion it’s better if fabric is shrunk before being sewn into a quilt.
  • I think prewashed fabric behaves better for both applique and piecing. And, no, I don’t add starch or sizing back into the fabric.
  • Fabric directly off the bolt has chemicals in it in addition to the sizing – formaldehyde being the one I dislike the most. There are also pesticides sprayed on merchandise as it enters the US and that may be in the fabric as well. I much prefer to wash those chemicals out of my fabric before I store it in the closet or sew with it.

So, I wash with Orvus Paste. I add a color catcher (made by Shout) if I am worried about bleeding. I also have Synthrapol and Retayne on hand (the bigger guns for controlling bleeding). I wash in the washer in cold water. I dry fabric in the dryer. I fold it and put it on the shelf until I’m ready to use it. Then I iron it.

Visionary Art Museum…

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I went to the American Visionary Art Museum on Saturday. What a great museum! I could only take pictures on the outside – and there is a lot outside. There’s even more inside. This is a museum dedicated to outsider art. The art is personal, quirky, very accessible, and I do love it!

There is a wonderful mirror mosaic on the outside of the building. It was begun by Jack Livingston and later taken over by Mari Gardner. Both were assisted by students.

The sparkly glass/mirror tree is like Christmas all year round!

The mirrored mosaic egg is pretty wonderful too.

The wooden meditation chapel in the wildflower garden is way cool. You can climb up in it.

That’s where I found this fine fellow. If you find yourself in Baltimore, don’t miss this museum!

Baltimore from the street…

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I’m not a big city girl so I’m finding a lot to look at as we walk around in Baltimore. I thought this decoupaged door was interesting. I had not ever considered decoupaging an exterior door.

I’m not sure that I’m crazy about the colors on this particular door but the idea is really great. The “decoupager” also used blackboard paint very well. What a great place to leave notes for people.

I think the thing that I find so appealing about town houses is that they are similar to each other, but different. People put their individual stamp on them. It was the painted stairs that caught my eye here.

 
I like this power pole with electrical wires coming out in rays. Jeff thought I was crazy but where we live most of the power lines are buried.

 
The orange door with black mailboxes were fun – especially at Halloween.
 
 

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I returned from Quilt Festival yesterday. Upon my return I found out my internet service had been down for 2 days. If that was not enough the auto reply to emails said I would return on the 20th instead of October 31st.

If you have been trying to get hold of me I apologize. Linda

Visiting Baltimore…

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I will be teaching and giving a lecture Monday and Tuesday for the guild in Annapolis. Luckily for me Annapolis and Baltimore are very, very close to each other so I’ve come in early to visit my son, Jeff.

We went to Fells Point (near Johns Hopkins School of Public Health) for lunch. We walked and window shopped and had some wonderful gelato at Pitango. I’m telling myself that the walking burned LOTS of calories.
 

I liked the look of the tree trunk and took this photo. In fact, I took so many photos of so many things that Jeff threatened to quit waiting for me. I snapped quickly.
 
 
There’s water at Fells Point – and sail boats and water taxis and big ships and tug boats. It’s a working harbor and a nice place to walk.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
We went back to Hopkins and I got to see where Jeff spends a lot of his time. He’s working on a PhD in biostatistics. He shares an office with 3 other grad students. Notice how tidy his shelf is! I’m sure if it was me I’d have that bottom shelf covered with colorful do-dads.

Bamboo batts…

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It’s getting close to Halloween and that’s a good time to talk about batts! Not the black, flying kind, but the white fluffy kind ☺.

I have used cotton batts exclusively for many years. I prefer an organic cotton batt. I do my part where possible to cut down on pesticides in the environment. When Hobbs discontinued their organic cotton batt I was unhappy.

I tend to prefer unbleached batting. I’m not crazy about the bleaching agents used on the cotton being added to the environment. I also wonder what the bleaching process does to the fibers in the long term. For these reasons, and since I don’t usually need a snow-white batt, I buy unbleached batting.

Luckily, Fairfield came out with Bamboo Batting. This batting is 50% bamboo and 50% cotton. Bamboo is a more ecologically friendly fiber. It is my understanding that bamboo requires less water and fewer pesticides. This batting is naturally clean and white – and unbleached! That’s also good. 


I have used the bamboo batt in 3 quilts to date and I’m happy with the way it feels and behaves. This detail from Tree O’ Life gives you an idea of what it looks like in a quilt. Honestly, it looks a lot like cotton. (FYI – Tree O’ Life hung at Paducah earlier this year and will be out in a book next year.)