Pressing & Slicing: the Relaxation Factor

I spent a happy few hours last night relaxing with my iron and rotary cutter.


Sometimes, after working all day and attending to Household Chores That Must Be Done, I convince myself I'm too tired to fondle fabric.  That road just leads to frustration and stress, so I try very hard to avoid that mindset.  Usually with just a little mental urging, I find myself petting fabric in one way or another.


So it was last night.  I wandered into my sewing room, knowing I really needed to start cutting fabric for the current baby gift quilt.  I realized the quilt fabric needed serious pressing before cutting could commence and that motivated me, because I love ironing!  In fact, I really love ironing fabric now because I recently discovered my new favorite quilting tool:  Faultless Maxx Starch!

Living in South Louisiana, I was always resistant to starching my quilting fabric.  I was afraid if I starched and put the fabric away, it would attract bugs. We have plenty of those - no need to set out a welcome mat for them!  A recent venture into hand applique got me using Mary Ellen's Best Press as a means to prepare applique pieces for stitching.  That foray into starching quilt fabrics was a success, and the fear of starch began to recede.  A blog entry from a few weeks back (forgive me, I don't remember whose blog!) recommended the Maxx starch because it was inexpensive and had a non-aerosol sprayer.  Lo and behold, I spied the very thing on my next trip to the grocery store for the amazing price of $1.99!  Amazingly accessible (no trip to the quilt store required), no aerosol propellant to harm the ozone and cheaper than that other fancy starch!


My current method is to only starch the fabric before cutting - no starching and storing.  I apply a generous spray of starch to the area to be pressed, then use a dry iron to smooth away wrinkles and activate the stiffening properties of the starch.  I find the stiffer the fabric (and Maxx can make the fabric almost board-like), the smoother and more accurate the cutting.  I do not recommend using additional starch once the fabric is cut, as moisture of any kind tends to distort the fabric.


I proceeded to cut the ever-popular 2.5 inch strips from my Deep, Deep Sea fabric.  Of course, it would've been quicker to purchase a package of pre-cut strips for this quilt - but where's the fun in that?  There's just something elementally satisfying about fondling larger pieces of fabric and prepping them for slicing and dicing.  Even the repetitive motions of rotary cutting have a soothing rhythm - unless you're using a dull cutting blade!  


In just a short time, I had an interlude of relaxation therapy AND a stack of 2.5 inch cut strips for the baby quilt.  

Just wondering - how do you feel about using starch on quilting fabrics?  Starch-aholic or starch-aphobic?

Beginnings

Resistance is obviously futile.  I have resisted starting a blog for years now with varying rationales:  I don't have anything that interesting to say; I'll never be consistent in posting; I might get some nasty criticism; blah, blah, blah.  Yet today the inspiration has stuck (with a little nudge from a friend), so I'm jumping into quilting blogland and preparing to have a lot of fun!


Let's face it, quilting all by your lonesome can get dry and boring.  It's fun to showcase the latest quilt creation on Facebook for all your adoring friends and family, but they'd probably not be much help in previewing fabric choices or choosing a quilting strategy.  Blogging offers a community of quilters who bring different perspectives right to your laptop.


My plan is to share my quilts, my quilting experiences and my thoughts about quilts, quilting and even occasional non-quilting topics.  Most of all, I look forward to the fun and friendship quilting seems to inspire in all of us! 


In honor of Karen, the friend who gave me the blogging nudge, I offer a quilt that was a UFO for a very long time.  Many years ago, in another lifetime, I served as president of my local quilt guild.  The traditional "thank you" gift at the end of the term was a stack of blocks made by the guild members using the President's Path pattern.  The out-going president could request a style of fabric if she desired, and I requested "old-fashioned" fabric.  My blocks languished for years (I won't bore you with all the excuses), but I finally got motivated a couple of years ago to finish that President's Path quilt.  Once it was pieced I sent it to my friend Annie for machine quilting and I was thrilled with the amazing designs she stitched into my memories.  This has become one of my favorite quilts as I love the tactile reminders of my quilting friends. 

All the blocks were gifted to me in 1997, but the quilt wasn't completed until almost 10 years later!

The pictures above give a good idea of the quilting in the blocks.

More fabric and inscription detail.

Border quilting detail;  all quilting was done by my friend Annie, who does amazing free-motion quilting on a treadle sewing machine!