COLOR CATCHERS -- WHEN YOU DON'T PRE-WASH

 Sometimes I pre-wash all the fabric for a quilt. Sometimes I don't.

 I used to pre-wash everything. When I discovered Shout Color Catchers I stopped pre-washing most of the time. Since most of my quilts have many fabrics, this saves a lot of time. When I am ready to start a new quilt, I just pull the fabrics from my stash and get started.

This quilt was made in 2006 and has hung on my living room wall pretty much since then, other than when I was teaching it:

The other day I decided to replace it with something else and wash it. I was pretty sure I had not pre-washed the fabrics. 

I always use at least one Shout Color Catcher when washing a quilt:

Since this quilt has a lot of red fabrics, I used two Color Catchers. Here is the result:

White one is new out of the box, two red ones after washing the quilt

After washing in the machine, I could see there was a bit of red staining on the back of the quilt but none on the front:

The smartest thing I should have done at that point was to wash it again with at least two more Color Catchers. Instead, I dried it. The next time it is washed, with Color Catchers, the red on the back may not come out. 

See how much red is on the label--which was white when it went into the washing machine:

The quilt looks fine on the front, lucky for me. I think we will use it as the Summer quilt this year. The pattern name is Summer Romance by Glad Creations. Seems appropriate. 

Everyone should have Shout Color Catchers in their laundry supplies. And every kid going off to college should be gifted a box and told how to use them. New blue jeans washed with white t-shirts can made those t-shirts gray/blue. 

I don't know how they work, it's magic, but they have saved me several times in the past. I have written about them before, check out those posts here:

Pre-Wash or Not?

Washing Quilts

What is your experience with fabrics that "bleed"?

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Changes and Dodging a Bullet

This is a quilt I made almost 25 years ago. It is an off-center Log Cabin, begun in a workshop with Jane Hall in 1995, finished in 1997. It's about 30" square:

The other day one of the Sunday Sew and Sews asked about it as it has been hanging on a rod in my studio for about 20 years.  I took it off the rod to show them and it was SO DUSTY! Embarrassing! This baby needed a bath.

After pulling a big collection of fabrics for a new project, I thought I'd better pre-wash the darkest ones. Here is the complete collection, give or take a few: 

Here are the darkest fabrics, after pre-washing:

What is the problem, you say? I washed the quilt in with these DARK fabrics and FORGOT to add a Color Catcher! I only realized that after the load was washed and I was putting everything in the dryer. I quickly grabbed the quilt and studied it for signs of bleeding fabrics on the white logs of the quilt. 

I must be living right because there was no bleeding anywhere and all the fabrics and  the quilt look fine. Sheesh! I won't try that trick again.

 I enjoy writing this Blog--begun December 31, 2011. It serves as my Diary/Journal and a way to teach what I know how to do to others who want to learn that stuff.

We are approaching 3200 followers. Most of those follow by email--using the built-in email subscription service that came with Blogger, the base platform for blogspot.com blogs. Recently, we were notified that in July 2021, Feedburner, that subscription service, would be going away. 

Thousands of us who use Blogspot.com to publish our blogs are looking for solutions. Some come at a cost to me--something I don't want to use. I have not monetized this Blog, so there are no ads for you to close or skip past, and I don't want there to be. But if I had to pay $50-100/month to provide access to an email subscription, that money would  have to come from somewhere.

So, at the moment, this is what I know are your options if you currently follow this Blog by email:

1. Use Bloglovin.com to follow all the blogs you like to follow. I use this and have been very happy with it. Daily I get an email showing me a few of the blogs I follow that have a new post. I go to My Feed on bloglovin.com, an account I set up there, and can read through any new blogs that are posted. I can see the info in a simple format or open the Original Post to have access to all the sidebars and Comments section. Free to me and the bloggers. I have a link right here for you to use to go to Bloglovin.com. Currently, almost 740 of you follow this Blog that way.

2. Use Feedly.com--the same process as Bloglovin'. The free version allows you to have 100 blogs in your account. I have not used it but almost 100 of you do.

3. If you have a Google account, like if you use Gmail.com, you can follow with Blogger--there is a Follow link right here for that. Currently, over 270 of you use this method. I don't know much about it but am guessing it's very similar to the two methods above.

4. OR you could remember to come to this Blog every Wednesday and Sunday, when I usually post, to read the new Blog. Personally, since I follow at least 50 blogs, that would take me a lot of time to do. Some of those post daily, some weekly, some hardly ever. Most I would forget to go look at and would surely miss a lot of quilt-related information I don't want to miss.

As new solutions become available, I will let you know about them. Until July, those who follow by email won't see any change. After July 1, POOF!--I might be gone from your inbox and I would truly miss you. 

Any of you who know of solutions to this--which will effect many thousands of Bloggers who use Blogspot.com, please Comment Below with your suggestion. Thanks!

Let's quilt.

Barbara

SIZZLE Fabric Selection and Preparation

This is an exciting time--selecting and preparing fabrics for SIZZLE--the 2019 Block of the Month from The Quilt Show.

Here is the Cool Kit I will be using, it looks so neat, tidy and pretty all packaged:

Here are the fabrics, separated into lights, greens, and blues:

Then I separated them into lights/darks, relatively speaking:

While I don't usually pre-wash my fabrics, the instructions recommend pre-washing so I'll do it  to as part of this process:

I snip off a small corner of each fabric before pre-washing to cut down on raveling, especially if I plan to wash fabric with clothing. The other advantage to this method is I always know these fabrics have been pre-washed:

Shake out each fabric flat, don't put into the washing machine folded. I used the Express Wash cycle, it's not dirty, after all, and just a bit of Orvus Paste, a mild soap I use to wash my quilts. AND I added a Shout Color Catcher to each load. Do not use hot water, cold or warm is fine.

Here is the result of the Color Catchers: light load on the left, dark load on the right. There is some color loss in each load but not enough to worry any more about:

After drying the fabrics, I intended to smooth them flat and press them before using each one, as the instructions recommend. I found the solid woven shot cotton fabrics really needed pressing now and fabrics just look so much more scrumptious pressed flat so I pressed them all.

NOTE: Great tip from one of the Sunday Sew and Sews--hang the shot cottons to air dry on a rack--don't put them in the dryer--much less pressing to do.

MY BEFORE shot cottons:

AFTER.  I recommend not letting your fabrics get bone dry, about 99% dry is best, they press nicely then:

The hardest part for me now, is to NOT start on this--Christmas needs some work at  my house; otherwise...:

Last week I helped a few students select their SIZZLE fabrics at Huntsville Sew Creative:

Sheila started with the small piece of batik on the lime and pulled fabrics in those colors

Peggy is going black, white, gray and Royal Blue

Terri is working with this lovely palette

Several other people stopped in to ask questions and see my additional palette--I am also making a Cool/Warm combo version:

Some of these fabrics are more than 10 years old--the colors are perfect for me. Here is my fabric inspiration, I went heavier on the purple, less of the darker blue:

Kauai Rooster

Class begins January 5 at Huntsville Sew Creative, 256-536-3757. There is still some room in this year-long adventure, call today to secure your spot. You will learn so much, I promise. No sewing in class, I lecture/demo/help you for two hours each month, you do all your sewing in the comfort of your home. I hope you'll join us.

Here is a 10 minute conversation with Becky Goldsmith, the SIZZLE designer and well-known quiltmaker, author and teacher--she will get you excited about our new journey too:

Becky Goldsmith Video

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Pre-Wash: To Do or Not to Do, That is the Question

Quilters can be pretty set in their ways and this is one of those topics that often gets conversation going, online and in person.

I used to pre-wash everything--it came from my car to the laundry room before it went to the studio.

 Some years ago I stopped that and for the last ten years or so I have basically pre-washed nothing. Using a Color Catcher when the quilt was done was enough insurance for me. This is a miracle product, every kid going off to college should be given several boxes and taught to use them. It's magic:  any color molecules that bleed off the fabric into the water are attracted to the color catcher sheet, not the surrounding fabrics:

I did not pre-wash the 59 red and white fabrics used in my Red and White--By the Numbers quilt. When asked how I could bear to sell that one, my funny reply was always: "I had to sell it before I had to wash it.". Can you imagine the fear in putting a quilt like that in the washing machine? No, me neither. I would probably have used an entire box of Color Catchers. And held my breath until the cycle was done. I did sell it so I never had to experience that level of fear and trepidation.

Today I pulled 40 fabrics from my stash, mostly batiks, for a 40th anniversary Block of the Week quilt from a local shop, to celebrate 40 years of the quilt shop being in business, with the same owner. Patches & Stitches has been my "home away from home" for 30 years and the "happy place" for many, many quilters. There will be lots more info about the quilt coming--don't ask me, the details, I don't know all the ins and outs yet--but we will all know soon!

I am not a Hoarder. I am the "Curator of an Extensive Personal Fabric Collection". Here are the fabrics I pulled in just 10 minutes from my considerable stash:

As I looked at those really dark batiks, especially the reds, purples, and dark blues, I thought I better pre-wash all this fabric, including the stark white with white dragonflies. I separated the fabrics into darks and medium/lights and did two loads.  Here are the Color Catcher results:

You can tell which came from which load. I probably should have washed those reds and purples again but I didn't. I was really surprised how the yellows bled. But the white fabric is still pristinely white, no problems.  I will be sure to use a few color catchers when washing the completed quilt, and will continue to use them until fabrics in the quilt no longer bleed.

Here are my fabrics, pressed and folded, just waiting for the first block instruction:

I'm sure this is enough fabric for two or three quilts so I'm already thinking of another project or two to use them in. I want to USE my fabric, not STORE it.

Do YOU pre-wash? Any horror stories to tell? I'm glad I took the time to pre-wash these--it didn't take very long, less than 2 hours to wash, dry and press both loads. I used the Express Wash cycle as the fabrics are dirty, just new.

Let's quilt!

Barbara