Christmas Is Coming
I know Christmas is coming because I saw advertisements on TV for both the light that coming on with clapping and the clay pet that grows fur. VBS
I'm having a great time hand quilting Autumn Walk. The secrete was getting the great sandwich. I am doing a cross hatch on point. I don't want to put it down but limit myself to an hour at a time. Great to do while listening to audio books, too. I think I have about 1/5 of it done already. No stitching for the quilt police but I never do any part of quilting for them anyway.
My only frustration has been the markings. I had a pen that made blue marks that disappeared with water on a cotton swab. But it was nearly used up so I went to Hancock and bought another. It doesn't work. The first was Clover and the one that doesn't work just says The Fine Line by W.H. Collins. I also found an unopened pen that disappeared with air. It doesn't last for ten minutes. I marked some with slivers of soap but it is messy. One problem is I have both very light and very dark fabric to mark. I even put some painter's tape on to follow. There has to be a better way. Help, please.
4 comments:
Are you quilting straight lines? Whenever I quilt straight lines I use 1/4" quilters masking tape. It's sticky enough you can use each piece 3-4 times. It comes in little rolls - by Dritz I think. I know the packaging is blue and white. I use chalk pencils a lot, but test them first. Some wash out a lot easier than others. I've not tried this, but I've heard that crayola washable felt pens for children work wonderfully.
I am always in a dilema about marking. I have a quilt pounce but it has white chalk and only works on the dark areas. I used blue chalk that does in a carpenters plumb line but someone told me that it is hard to get out. It came out on the sample piece but I haven't finished the quilt yet. Fingers crossed.
Hi Katie, good for you for diving in and hand quilting. It is a very relaxing thing to do, and frees your mind to deal with other things. Almost meditation like.
As for marking..check out Clover online. their blue pens are the best, but I invested in a clover chalk marker. It's a little tube with chalk dust in it, and it rolls on where you want it with a little wheel, like the dressmaker markers used to use with carbon paper. They come in many colors, but I've only used white, and then replaced it with the quite pale yellow which works on dark or light fabrics. It brushes off with your fingers or a good stiff "blow"..LOL It doesn't seem to do any harm and I've never had a problem with it. Works with or without humidity.
And the chalk last a long, long time. And when you need more, clover sells refills in little bottles that you dump into the screw off end. I think you might like it..*VBS* Hugs, FInn
I was just lamenting that I had not seen one Chia Pet commercial this season -- I thought perhaps they had finally fallen out of favor *s*
I wish I had advise for marking, but I usually fly by the seat of my pants. No marking for straight lines -- just kind of show my eye where I'm going with the thread, then go for it. I won't win any awards, but I'm okay with that.
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