Deep, Deep Sea is Done, Done, Done!

The Deep, Deep Sea baby quilt is done!  I spent a marathon day watching movies and hand-stitching the binding.  As soon as the binding was stitched, I washed and dried the quilt to get rid of the spray starch and pet hair.  It also helped achieve that well-loved quilt look!  We will probably go by to visit the new bambino and deliver the quilt tomorrow after the Saints game.

Quilt after the binding is stitched; washed & dried.

Back of the quilt featuring the Deep, Deep Sea panel.

Prior to stitching the binding, I snapped a couple of pictures of the quilt and the cradle my DH made for Baby Jourden.

The cradle has already gone to Baby Jourden's house, or I'd have a picture of the cradle AND completed quilt!

I'm thrilled this quilt is finished; this is the second baby quilt I've made in the past 2 months.  I'm ready to devote some time to other quilting projects!

Quilt Details:  Deep, Deep Sea fabric by Studio E

Snuggly Squares Baby Quilt pattern by Melissa Corry

Machine-pieced, machine quilted

Finished size:  42" x 42"

Baby's Due Date Is Near!

I have been distracted by other events lately, and progress on the Deep, Deep Sea baby quilt has been slow.  I did spend some quality time with the quilt last weekend, so there's a good chance the quilt will be finished before the baby arrives (he is due in late December).

As I was piecing the squares, the thought occurred to me this pattern would make up nicely using some of the coordinated Christmas fabric collections that are now so widely available.  In fact, Kate Spain's "Flurry" came to mind!  (BTW, I have no affiliation with The Fat Quarter Shop, I'm just a happy customer)

I've decided to use the Deep, Deep Sea panel as part of the quilt back;  I'll piece it with some additional fabric as it's not large enough alone.  

I'm auditioning binding fabric:  Caribbean green with a little turquoise here.

Solid blue, more of a royal blue, here.

Decisions, decisions...

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?