This may well be the saddest quilting story ever told.
Can you see what this is? Maybe a closeup would help:
This is a beautifully pieced jelly roll quilt, which was washed before it was quilted and bound.
Now before you laugh, and say "Why would anyone wash an un-quilted quilt top?" listen to the reasoning behind this trauma.
You bring home new clothes from the store, and wash them before you wear them, right? So shouldn't you wash your quilt top before it is quilted?
Oh, the humanity.
But you know what? When I read the class instructions for my Jelly Roll Party at
Ruth's Stitchery, it included the instructions to bring "wash and pressed fabric."
Noooooo!
Some quilters prewash, some don't (I don't!). But precuts should not be pre-washed -- especially strips! Because the manufacturer is cutting many, many layers of fabric in one swipe, precuts are rarely "on grain." So they tend to fray -- sometimes, a lot!
So please, don't prewash your precuts!
Here are two of my favorite strip pointers.
First, have you ever opened a roll of 2½" strips and immediately been covered in tiny bits of fabric lint? Try this: before removing the rubber band or ribbon that holds the strips in place, roll the cut sides with a lint roller.
You'll be surprised at how much "lint" comes off on the roller! If you can't find your lint roller (hint: it's on the shelf above the clothes dryer), try using the nozzle of your vacuum cleaner.
Second, have you ever carefully pieced a block using 2½" strips and had it come out too small? It could be your seam allowance -- or it could be that the strip isn't a true 2½" wide. Especially with strips that have "pinked" edges, measure them before you sew!
Sometimes the 2½" width is at the "outside" of the pinked edge, sometimes it's at the "inside" of the pinking.
And sometimes, the strip isn't a complete 2½" wide at all!
Sometimes, the strips are 2½" wide at one end, but narrower at the opposite end. Measure before you sew!
Do a Grouch a Favor today. Do it and make the world a better place.
Everyone has been a grouch at one time or another. Some people are seemingly grouches all of the time. It's in their nature. Others are occasional grouches, influenced by events in their lives, lack of sleep, the weather, etc. A few people are good at disguising their grouchy mood. But, they still need cheering up.
Look around for someone who is in a grouchy mood today. Then, do him or her a favor that will cheer up their day. There's plenty of grouches out there to practice on. Try it on all of the grouches that you see today, and watch the results!
Happy Do a Grouch a Favor Day!
From the desk of your
