Sunday, October 26, 2014

Questions Answered

Usually after posting a finished quilt my mailbox is loaded with inquiries about my quilting.  The number one question is what type of batting do I use.  Most of the time 100% poly.  A lot of quilters have sworn off poly, but due to my allergies it's the best option for me.  I keep a roll of 100% cotton Warm and Natural on hand but it's rarely used.  It has a chemical odor that burns my nose and makes it run, and the dust/lint produced while quilting sends me into a sneezing marathon.  Cotton isn't known for it's poof factor, I NEED POOF-ability.  Poly and poly blends are used when a quilter wants to show off the quilting.
For the last year I've been using Soft and Crafty purchased at Joann's with a 50% off coupon.  As you can see it's only 48" wide. The shorter width works well for me because I quilt on a frame that doesn't have a batting bar, and I don't want one because it would get in the way when I'm using my stool at the frame.   Rarely do I sew batting together to make one big piece. Only when I know the quilting will be light.  So when reaching the end of the first piece of batting I need to attach another piece of batting, so I spray basting spray on the exposed backing fabric.  Lightly and just a very thin line.  It's enough to hold the batting in place until quilted to death. 
Another question is what type of machine I use.  Well here she is.  I've been a BHQ 15 owner for about 4 years.  I love her!  She allows me to do quilting I could never do before at a reasonable price.    As with most BHQ owners I've made some modifications to the machine and Hinterberg Stretch frame to make them work for me.
The question I've been getting a lot lately is "How do I decide what to quilt?" Well it doesn't come easy.  More often than not I do the quilt stare for LONG periods of time.  Below you see my quilting design books that I flip through over and over.  Then when all else fails there's 3 different sites that offer inspiration.  Pinterest is great for searching close up shots of quilting.  Mqresource is a site for machine quilters.  Most of these gals have what I call "Big Girl Machines", and they know how to use them well, very inspirational!  And when all else fails I'll search Google for specific types of quilting, such as "Stunning border Quilting" or "Quilted Cherry quilt"
There you have it, simple girl, simple life with simple tools.

~ Lea Anne ~
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8 comments:

  1. I never thought of cotton and allergies. Once my quilting improves I'll try the poly.

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  2. I am a poly lover also. The newer poly's are so much better than the poly of old. I also find drying a king size quilt with cotton batting in it, is not a real easy task.

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  3. I have allergies too and I use a poly blend called quilters dream. I love it, thin and light and when the quilt is washed it is all so soft and cozy. There are a lot of us poly girls out there!

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  4. I am surprised the basting spray fumes don't bother you. I have chemical sensitivities too and things like cleaning products perFUMES, etc. bother me. I usually use cotton batting. I don't think it bothers me, but I have been sneezing like crazy lately because there is something out there that is. Cotton batting sure does create more lint in the machine! I have enough batting for a few years now, since I got a lot of packages of cotton when they were on sale last year. Next time I need batting I will get some polyester. Have you ever used Bamboo or bamboo blend batting? Or the kind made of plastic bottles?

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  5. interesting reading, I think a lot of us have the sneezes, I find even the cotton fabric can get me going. At the moment I am using an eco friendly wadding which is good for hand quilting. I will when the roll is finished try some poly as reading the comments it seems to be popular and I like the poof factor too which does not happen with mine.

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  6. Nothing simple about you, you are amazing

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  7. I have a mind block when it comes to polyester batting. I know the cotton batting is hardly natural with all the processing but just haven't got around to using polyester.

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  8. any suggestions about tension adjustment for the Bailey,,the book has very little info...thanks.. Barbara

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