Tuesday Tutorial: Save That Batting!

As all quilters know, the cost of cotton is rising -- a lot! So we need to save any way we can.

I certainly am more careful to use every last scrap of fabric. But have you thought about saving small pieces of batting (wadding, to my friends Down Under)? I used to toss the cut-off pieces of batting after a quilt came back from the long-arm quilter.

But no more!

I read about Marti Michell's "Marti's Choice Fusible Tape" on her website.

Marti uses it for quilting large quilts in sections, but Aunt Marti uses it to make big battings out of little pieces!

To use the fusible tape, make a clean, straight cut on one edge of each piece of batting. Place both pieces on your ironing surface (I use a Big Board) with the straight edges flush.

Preheat the iron to slightly cooler than the "cotton" setting, with steam.  Begin at one end and roll the tape over the cut, pressing as you go.

According to Marti Michell:

Marti's Choice Fusible Tape won't gum up machine needles and is soft enough to needle easily by hand. Use it to stabilize seams and bias edges, and for low-fat machined quilting in sections! It's PERFECT for low-fat machine quilting in sections -- when you divide the batting, use Marti's Choice Fusible Tape to fuse the batting together again!

It's only necessary to tape one side of the batting. Really, it won't pull apart when you quilt. The tape is flexible so that you can't tell where it is once the quilt is quilted!

The tape costs $10 for 30 yards (2" wide style). I mostly use this method for baby-size or lap-size quilts.

I easily save the cost of the tape by using the cut-off batting from two or three quilts for one lap-size quilt.

From the desk of your

Sunday Stash

I scheduled some posts to publish while I am away from home. While writing them, I found this "old" draft that had never been published. 

Good thing fabric doesn't spoil, isn't it?

I can't wait until Ruth's Stitchery gets their order of Jen Kingwell's fabrics. Because I have this pattern, "Stardust" to make with it!

One of my nieces saw a quilt similar to this on Pinterest. This one will take some concentration!

I hate it when I don't get the printed selvage on fat quarters. I don't remember where I bought these fabrics, but I think they are from Free Spirit.

I know I got these purple deco weight beauties at Fringe in Salida. They had the cutest laundry bag made with these fabrics, and I'm adding them to my "bags" stash.

A few "candies" for giveaways for the monthly UFO Parade.

Did you know April is National Poetry Month? This is my favorite poem (I'm pretty sure I've shared it before!) by Mary Oliver, The Summer Day.

Who made the world?Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

I have enough new goodies to have a "Sunday Stash" every week for the next month! So I'll close now and write another post.


From the desk of your