Four more samples to work up and I am done!

I have to quilt and bind my last 4 samples and I am caught up! Hooray! Then I need to spend some  time cleaning up my sewing studio. YIKES! There is about 4 projects that were on going in there along with the "batting explosion", I can't find a thing! Never mind think in this confusion. I am posting photos of this mess to shame myself into getting it straighten up.

A garden chair

The freezing cold has found its way to the Sunshine State. All of the shrubs in my yard are frozen. Not  a pretty sight.  These things usually only last a day or two at the most here, this has been going on for days with worse in the forecast. Yesterday I found a little tree frog near deaths door frozen on my driveway . I took him inside and ran warm water over him, I felt him stir ever so slightly in my hand. We were on our way out so I left him in the laundry room sink in the warm house. I came home to find him completely revieved and he is now happily living in my garden chair (which is inside the house until the freeze passes) behind the welcome sign. Maybe he bring me good favor and I won't have to do much of that frog sewing this year... rip it rip it!

What do you think????

I received some wonderful comments from Marit in Norway and she has what I thought were some great ideas, she said "I even wonder if it would be fun to do a quilting sample swap: quilt a sandwich, wash it, cut it up and send out to the swappers for inspiration / building a sample "library" (adding an unwashed piece of batting for reference)" and I started thinking I have leftover batting every time I make a quilt as I imagine all of you do too and this would be a great thing to do with those scraps. So I decided to put this out there to see if any of you would be interested in having your own "library" of quilted samples to refer to. I think a lot of you must be like myself and never throw away a scrap of anything even batting and maybe you already have a stash of batting scraps??? The problem will be did you save them in the bag they came in so you know for sure what brand it is?
 Anyway I am putting this idea out there to see what kind of response it receives. In Harriet Hardgraves book "From Fiber To Fabric" on page117 she recommends making your own batting samples and on Harriet's website she even sells a set of samples. Maybe we could form some sort of ring around the world of quilters that share samples made by a certain set of guidelines?
Well, let me know what YOU think!

Happy New Year

I am posting a photo of some roses I picked in the back yard this morning. I know a great many of you are in the grips of winter and I thought you might like to enjoy them with me. Wishing you all a GREAT New Year with much happiness and good health and if you have things to do once in a blue moon tonites your night! The second full moon in a month called a hunters moon or blue moon! Happy New Year! Be Safe as your celebrate!

Interesting- link to a visit to a batting manufacturer

I was surfing around different blogs sites and came across this blog about a visit to a batting manfacturer
I thought you all might find interesting too. I know I did…
Thanks Karen for posting these great photos of the processes!

Thanks Crispy

Well I see that Crispy at Crispy Quilts has been testing quilting on the sample piece of Quilters Dream Orient batting I sent her. Sorry the piece was so small Crispy but thats what they sent, pre-cut pieces.
 She liked the way it needled after she got it sandwiched between two pieces of fabric she could pass a needle through. :) lol (I have been there, done that, after buying yards of such a fabric for a backing, getting it layered and basted, only to discover the only way to pass a needle through it was if I shot it from a cannon!)
 I have to ask her how she hooped it? I had so much trouble trying to figure out how I was going to do the hand stitching on these little samples, the small hoops kept getting in my way- I ended up using a border hoop. Wonder what Crispy used??
 Thanks for taking the time to test this little sample Crispy!! Oh I forgot to ask if she laundered it when she was done so she could see how wonderfully it puckers up! You can learn more about Orient here. If I make a quilted garment of any kind this is the batting I would choose for it drapes so nicely.

Working up the samples from MM and Warm

Well I think I have enough samples ( I have 54 and will have around 60 when I am done) and materials to begin bringing this information to quilt guilds. Good thing because I believe am starting to get a repetitive task injury in my shoulder from all this machine quilting. It hurts when I am quilting and then later in the day on the days I have been quilting, my hand starts to tingle.
 I still have to buff and fluff my hand out materials, but that and the completeing of the samples will have to wait for the new year as I want to enjoy every second of my holiday. I don't plan to blog this week so I wanted to take this opportunity wish all my readers a wonderful and joyous holiday! I'll be busy making memories with my family, watching my grandchildren delight in the wonder of Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Hugs
Debra

Wool - Usually associated with fiber or fabric made from the fleece of sheep or
lamb. However, the term "wool" can also apply to all animal hair fibers, including
the hair of the Cashmere or Angora goat or the specialty hair fibers of the camel,
alpaca, llama, or vicuna.

The Warm Samples Arrived!

Finally got the samples from the Warm Co. I know what I'll be doing tomorrow

Batting Terminology-Word of the Day

Wicking - The ability of a fiber or a fabric to disperse moisture and allow it to
pass through to the surface of the fabric, so that evaporation can take place.

Finally!!!!

The batting samples from Mountain Mist have FINALLY arrived! They are going to be a real challenge to work with because they are  only about  5" (so small) I am going to have to piece 4 together to be able to cut the them the same size as all the other samples which is finished 8 1/2" because quilting "takes up" some in the process. They did send samples as handouts for my guild so that will be nice when I do the presentation for my TAS chapter in July. I'm off to start quilting. Maybe the Warm Co. package will arrive this week.

Batting Terminology-Word of the Day

Thermal Bonding-Typically the batting fiber has a binder mixed/blended in it that melts at a lower temperature than polyester fiber. The blended web then is passed through an oven where the low temp melt fibers will flow and bond to the surrounding polyester fibers. Problems with this type of bonding are the surface fibers are not secured and allow for migration. They cannot be dry cleaned and break down with regular washing faster than resin bonded products. This type of bonding is sometimes referred to as Glazine.

Batting Terminology-Word of the day

Tencel- A natural, manmade fiber. It is the trade name for the generic fiber Lyocell. Tencel is made from cellulose wood pulp, which is harvested from farmed eucalyptus trees grown on land unsuitable for food crops or grazing. This fiber represents milestones in the development of environmentally sustainable textiles. Used in blends it imparts new softness and drape. You will start to see tencel in sheets, exercise wear (as it wicks moisture away), and winter wear insulation, as well as batting.

Batting Terminology-Word of the Day

Splitting a batting-This refers to the peeling apart the layers of a batting into two equal sized batting pieces. The problem with doing this is if the batting is bonded or resin treated once it is “split” only one side is treated and the other size can now beard and migrate.

Thank you SEW much for your comments!!

Thank you for your posts about what battings you have tried, I really appreciate hearing from you all. Finally got the box from Mountain Mist!! I'm off to quilt~
Debra

Batting Terminology-Word of the Day

Spinneret - A metal nozzle type device with very fine holes used in the spinning process of manufactured non woven fibers. The spinning solution is forced or extruded through the small holes to form continuous filament fibers. The holes in the spinneret can vary in diameter to produce fibers of various denier.

Batting Terminology-Word of the Day

Giving  you a few today to make up for yesterday-
Silk Fiber-A fine strong continuous filament produces by the larva of a silkworm when constructing its cocoons. Silk is noted for its strength, resiliency, and elasticity. The major sources of silk are Japan and China.

Size- Batting is available pre-packaged, cut in standardized bed sizes or on rolls in several different widths, by the yard.

Standard pre-packaged sizes: Include- Craft 34X45, Crib 45 X 60, Throw 60 x 60, Twin 72 x 90, Full 81 x 96, Queen 90 x 108, Super Queen 121 x 93, and King 120 x120.

Under the weather...

So sorry I did not get the terminology word of the day up yesterday I have been sick and did not have the strength or inclination to do it. I started antibiotics yesterday and got a good night’s sleep so I am feeling just a little improvement over yesterday. This weather doesn't help one day I have the A/C on the next I am burning a fire in the fire place.
I would love to tell you I am working on samples but I still have not received the samples from Warm Co. or Mountain Mist. It has been two weeks since I called. This is so frustrating to me as I have written 3 letters and sent at least 3 e-mails and called and was told they were on the way 2 weeks ago.
 I have added a few more words to the terminology so they will be coming at you out of alphabetical order here real soon. Would love to hear from any readers who have had issues with any brands of batting or have tried any of the new battings appearing on the shelves with your opinions.