Laura Nownes

[Marianne G.]

Hello Ritzy!
I am looking forward to trying the starch if it can help not only when you piece but also for cutting because I always get the "ditch" or "valley" if I fold fabric like Laura Nownes shows and that she warns against. I tried cutting like this the first time after I had watched Sharon Peterson cut long strips right across the fabric by folding but gave up after realising I would have to cut several inches away in the middle anyway. I am getting excited especially now I have chosen my fabrics (mostly fat quarters so I would not have to cut long strips :lol: )
Marianne

I have also had problems with getting the 'v' when cutting across the width strips, my reaction was ''well it is going to be cut into shorter pieces anyway so I shan't let it worry me, and if all else fails I'll fudge it in the seam allowance'', because I would rather have it right on the front & iffy seam allowances, than perfect seam allowances & iffy on the front, and quite frankly I am too 'tight' to waste the fabric. Besides 22" strip sets are easier to handle than 44" :wink:

[Marianne G.]

I think the key to avoiding that V is the match up the selvage edges and letting the fabric hang away from the table. If it hangs well, nothing that looks like a bubble in the fabric, it is OK to lay it on the table. If it doesn't hang well, you have to adjust one of the selvages to the right or left until it hangs correctly. Once it is laying correctly on the table you can fold the fold up to meet the selvages and make you cleaning up cut. Hope this makes sense.

[E.M. T.]

Tech support is looking into the missing PDF re: cutting instructions ,ie. how many strips, how long, how wide, etc.
We can do it the hard way, but that's no so hot ! for a class. :x I think you're on the money, Renata...Thanks !
But If we have to do it from scratch..someone should say so ! :? :?

[Pamela O.]

I think the key to avoiding that V is the match up the selvage edges and letting the fabric hang away from the table. If it hangs well, nothing that looks like a bubble in the fabric, it is OK to lay it on the table. If it doesn't hang well, you have to adjust one of the selvages to the right or left until it hangs correctly. Once it is laying correctly on the table you can fold the fold up to meet the selvages and make you cleaning up cut. Hope this makes sense.

Totally agree. Well said.

[Lois B.]

Welcome Marianne! The more the merrier! We quilters always want to do eveything we can to nuture the addiction in others. Happy to have you aboard. My house guests have left and today I spent catching up on my job work. Tomorrow morning will be more of the same but in the afternoon I will hit the sewing room and pick out fabric. I am going to pick it out and starch it using Rosemary's method. I hung a clothes line on my screened in porch to help give the electric dryer a rest from doing all the bedding after the guests. I am going to leave the line in place to dry starched fabric. I can't wait. I think our humid climate will leave just enough moisture in the fabric for it to be pressed just beautifully. While I wait for it to dry I will work on something else. My sewing room is just so very lonely for me. Actually, I got up there a few hours over the weekend because my SIL wanted to learn Gyleen Fitzgerald's butterfly seam. It was so much fun to have someone there sewing with me. I hate it that she lives a whole state away. Thank goodness I have the Forum!

[Marianne G.]

Hi Lois, thank you for the welcome. Everybody is so nice here and shares their experience so freely.

I think the key to avoiding that V is the match up the selvage edges and letting the fabric hang away from the table. If it hangs well, nothing that looks like a bubble in the fabric, it is OK to lay it on the table. If it doesn't hang well, you have to adjust one of the selvages to the right or left until it hangs correctly. Once it is laying correctly on the table you can fold the fold up to meet the selvages and make you cleaning up cut. Hope this makes sense.

Yes, it makes sense even to me I always wash fabric when I have bought it. I come from a clothes making background so want to avoid shrinkage and running (I even wash silk and wool before using or storing it). I find that some quilting fabric often is very off grain because it is cut instead of torn off the bolt and gets very distorted when washing. Maybe I should fold the fabric prior to ironing it after the wash instead of ironing it unfolded and then try to fold and cut. Another small experiment to undertake. I will need a notebook to write donw all the tips and tricks you all hand out.
Marianne

[Marianne G.]

Welcome Marianne! The more the merrier! We quilters always want to do eveything we can to nuture the addiction in others. Happy to have you aboard. Thank goodness I have the Forum!

And encourage you to spend money on more stash - for the good of the local economy of course :lol:

[Marianne G.]

Whoo- Hoo!
They've managed to find the pdf's with the cutting instructions, time to get slicing & dicing...

[Renata L.]

Whoo- Hoo!
They've managed to find the pdf's with the cutting instructions, time to get slicing & dicing...

Thanks, Rosemary, for the heads up!

[Lois B.]

I did it! I spent the afternoon in the sewing room choosing fabrics for this project. I need another project going right now like I need a hole in my head. But what can I say? I am a quilter. The fabric is starched and by morning it will be ready to press. I have a date with my husband for dinner so I will not be tempted to press the fabric dry. Here it is. We'll see how this goes. I may want to choose something lighter for the background. Right now its the sort-of solid light green. Might not be showing up in the picts. It's not. Oh well. You'll see it later.

[Renata L.]

Lois, they're gorgeous! I keep mixing and matching and changing my mind... will you pick my colors for me? :lol: :lol: :lol: Enjoy your dinner date!

[Marianne G.]

I love your choice of fabrics, Lois!
I have been ironing my fat quarters (oh dear, that sounds a bit - well not quite right ops: :P ) but gave up on starch because what I had gave my husband a migraine so will go and get some cornflour tomorrow and try my hand at making my own non-fragranced starch. I just could not keep myself from cutting a couple of strips for the 9-patch so will set up the machine tomorrow and see how I fare. I re-watched the Sally Collins video while ironing. She talks about using a small sharp needle size 60 or 70 and Laura Nownes mentions a top-stitch needle size 12/80.
Has anybody experience with either for piecing. I have always used a universal size 70. Something else to experiment with.
I also cut my cutting mat into 3 pieces today. It got warped when we moved recently. I have kept putting off buying a new one because we have known for a while we would move and last time we moved my then cutting mat was rolled! The company we used this time took really good care of this one but the lorry must have gotten hot at some stage and it got a dent. Good excuse to go shopping, I think!
Marianne

[Renata L.]

Marianne, for piecing I use a universal needle either size 65 or 70 (depending on what I have on hand). I use the small needle for the same reason Sally Collins suggests--it leaves a smaller hole in the fabric--and because I use 50 wt Aurifil thread for piecing and size 65 or 70 is perfect for that weight thread. I could use a size 60 needle but with my particular sewing machine, the automatic threader will work with every needle size except size 60 (lazy me... ops: :wink: ). Frankly, I don't see why a size 80 topstitch needle would not work but for me it is overkill for the job: topstitch needles are more expensive than universal. However, the size 80 would probably not be too terribly big for a 50 wt thread. The best thing to do is try both and see which you (and your sewing machine ) prefer.

[Nancy R.]

Hi Marianne - I use anywhere from a 65 to an 80 for piecing (I haven't used a 60 just because I've never happened to have a 60. I'd use it if I had it). I don't think I've ever purposely gone above an 80, but probably have accidentally. I've never had noticable holes in the piecing, so I think these sizes are fine. I use a universal or a topstitch needle, just depending on what's at hand. I'll usually go universal if I'm pulling out a new needed specifically for piecing, but if I have a topstitch needle in the machine or on the pin cushion next to the machine, then I'll use that. I haven't noticed a difference in the result, but I'm also not especially picky in my piecing.

I know what fabrics I'm using for my quilt so guess I should try to get started tonight. I'll decide how the fabrics go together as I go along, so could have an interesting result! But that's the way I roll....

Nancy

[Rita C.]

Lois what a great looking pile of fabric on that clothes line. I can't wait to see what you do with them. I am sorry to hear that you were lonely in your sewing room. I would be happy to come sew with you anytime if I wasn't so far away. I can't believe that there aren't loads of quilters living around you in Pennsylvania. I mean, your are in quilter country for goodness sake. Isn't there a local guild? And if not, maybe you could advertise to form one? But maybe you don't have time for that. It was just a thought.

Got my nine-patches done and now ready for next weeks block. I think the idea of pinning either side of the seam is a good one as it stops the little blighters from shifting as you sew. I am using lots of FQs from my stash so this will be a scrappy quilt, which I like.