Thursday, November 13, 2008

Don't raise the bridge . . . .

. . . . lower the river.

This piece of batting (sewn together from 3 sections) came out too small for a previous quilt top. So I went downstairs to the magic bin and pulled out a kitchen sink that needs borders. I'll make the borders just wide enough to accomodate the batting, back it in something from my stash, quilt it, and call it done! (I'm getting ready for some serious done-ness around here.)

From our favorite local library comes this wonderful trilogy that Bonnie Girl and I have been enjoying while I pin. She gets to watch, while I get to listen. See if your library has it, as it's very well done.


And last but not least the promo item for the day - Simply Cotton batting. Mary Jo's has it in at least 3 sizes. My order just arrived today. First the good news . . . full size (81" x 96") is $10.99 and king size (120" x 120") is around $18.00. It is similar to Warm and Natural, can be quilted up to 10", and is needle punched. Here's the big HOWEVER, however, they recommend that it be pre-washed (by hand) due to potential oils in the seed/hull remnants in the batting. You may remember when Warm and Natural had to be treated the same way.

The label also says that if you choose not to pre-wash, they recommend you wash your quilt immediately upon finishing. In other words, get it done speedy quick.

I'll be using this batting in several tops that have darker fabrics and non-white/light backings, things that I simply want to get done. For my good bed quilts, I'll be using Hobbs Organic which is my all time favorite and has very different properties.

If you want to learn more about battings, see if your library has Harriet Hargrave's Heirloom Machine quilting book. You'll find a wealth of info therein.

It's time for me to get those borders on, so until then, keep stitchin' . . .

3 comments:

Brenda said...

Wonderful quilt and information on batting. I will try and find the videos they look interesting.

Kelly Fletcher said...

I like your brightly coloured "kitchen sink" - it's going to make a really nice quilt.

Edna said...

I'm interested in learning more about your "pinning table" as I have larger quilts to do and nowhere large enough to spead them out to pin. It looks too small to do an entire large quilt at once. How do you pin a large quilt without taping down the backing?