Alicia's Attic

News and Events
Appearances - 2010
Jan 3-10
Mexican Rivera Quilting Cruise with Lori's Country Cottage
Workshops

March 2-3
Byrne Sewing Connection
New Britain, PA
Lectures

March 17-18
Piecing Partners Quilt Guild
Colorado Springs, CO
Lecture and 3 hour Workshop on Beginner's Delight and Thursday Doubledipity

April 15-17
Naples Quilt Guild
Naples, FL
Lecture and Workshops

April 21-24
AQS Paducah Quilt Show
Paducah, KY

April 26-27
Rouge Valley Quilt Guild
Ontario, Canada
Lecture and Workshop

April 28
Markham Quilt Guild
Ontario, Canada
Workshop

April 28-29
Region of York Quilt Guild
New Market, Ontario
Lecture and Workshop

April 30 - May1
Country Concessions
Cookstown, Ontario
Workshops

May 3-4 
Quilters Cupboard
Uxbridge, Ontario
Workshops

May 3
Port Perry Patchers Quilt Guild
Uxbridge, Ontario
Lecture (PM)

May 4
Durham Trillium Quilt Guild
Oshawa, Ontario
Lecture

May 5-7
"The Clearview of Quilting" Teacher Certification
Uxbridge, Ontario

May 6
Markham Quilters Guild
Markham, Ontario
Lecture

May 8
Durham Trillium Quilt Guild
Oshawa, Ontario
Workshop

May 28 - June 6
Saskatchewan Stitches Conference
Muenster, SK Canada
Lecture and Workshops

June 8
Longmont Quilt Guild
Longmont, CO
Lecture

June 12
Longmont Quilt Guild
Longmont, CO
Workshop

June 23-25
The Clearview of Quilting - Teacher Certification
Loveland, CO

July 20
Pieceable Friends Quilt Guild
Evans, CO
Lecture

July 22-24
Nebraska State Quilt Guild - Quilt Nebraska 2010
North Platte, NE
Workshops

August 26-28
Quilters Corner
Grand Junction, CO
Lectures and Workshop

September 9-10
Village Quilters Quilt Guild
Louden, TN
Lecture and Workshop

September 16-18
Emerald Valley Quilters
Eugene, OR
Lecture and Workshop

September 25
Pieceable Friends Quilt Guild
Greeley, CO 
Workshop

October 1-3
Make It Sew
Broomfield, CO
Workshops, Lectures, Demos

October 13-16
OSQE- Georgia Quilt Show
Atlanta, GA

October 29 - Nov 1
Fall Quilt Market
Houston, TX

Nov 2-4                                                                                                                                    North Pittsburgh Quilt Guild (Nov 2-3)                                                                                       Lecture and Workshop
Beaver Valley Piecemakers (Nov3-4)
Beaver Falls, PA
Lecture and Workshop

Nov 13
Wings Falls Quilters Guild
Glen Falls, NY
Lecture and Workshop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                    

 
 
Book - “Not Your Grandmother’s Log Cabin”

Our latest book, “Not Your Grandmother’s Log Cabin” by Sara Nephew with Marci Baker, includes a great set of designs and we want you to know about them. Sara may have retired from the labor intensive parts of being a self-published author, but she is by no means retired from designing. Her eye for color, value, and design comes through in these 34 beautiful creations. Everything from quilts with one block overall to more intricate patterns with up to 7 different blocks provides something for everyone.
Read more... [Book - “Not Your Grandmother’s Log Cabin”]
 
To Tear or Cut, To Wash or Not
Thursday, Oct 8, 2009:  Heading to Houston for International Quilt Market.  I met a shop owner in the terminal as we waited for our delayed plane to arrive. We started discussing whether to tear fabric or cut it as a shop owner. She prefers to tear the fabric because it gives a straight grain on the cross grain. However, she is tired of the customers who complain about the torn fabric. They think they are going to lose fabric, because they only know aligning the fabric with the selvages. I told her I would put together a video that discussed the different grains and how to use all of the fabric no matter  if the shop cut or tore the fabric.

She also said they teach pressing fabrics with starch to stiffen them, whether they have been washed or not. She has found that this helps minimize the problems that quite often arise when quilters don’t know how to use their iron with steam.  I’m not sure what amount of time this adds to her quilting process.  For me, this would take more time than I can give to a project.

I have deleted steps that I was taught when I realize that the step does not diminish the quality I need.  I determine what the project is for and what level of perfection (or non-perfection) that I require. Most of my projects are made as samples for a book. They are not used except to display at shows or at guild presentations. They are not washed very often and remain folded on shelves when not packed in suitcases for trips. I like the finish of unwashed fabrics for the quilts. They have a new look to them for longer. So my fabrics are rarely washed prior to cutting and sewing the quilt. This saves me time in getting the project ready for photography. However, I do wash flannels which I use quite often for backing. They are washed because flannels tend to shrink more than regular cotton fabrics.

I also realize that I risk having dyes running. If I have a fabric that has excess dye or unset dye, I will use Shout Color Catchers. (You can find them in the laundry detergent section of some stores.)  I recently had a fabric that was running significantly and I kept the used Color Catchers to demonstrate the amount of dye that can be caught. Here are some photos of what happened with each wash. I have had a few projects where the dye was running. With Color Catchers I was able to get the remaining dye removed by washing several times with multiple sheets until the last sheet was almost clear.

The shop owner recommended Retayne, a chemical used for setting the dye. She said the Color Catchers do only that – catch the dye. The fabric may continue to bleed depending on the situation and Retayne will stop the running.

Try to determine what amount of time you want to spend on your project at the beginning or end. You can wash all of your fabrics, none of your fabrics, or anywhere in between. I recommend that you choose what works best for you rather than what I or anyone else says is THE RULE.

The shop owner also said she teaches stretching the fabric and pressing the fabric to have both grains aligned. I would be concerned as to what this will do to the quilt when it is finally washed, because from what I have seen, the fabric will go back to what it was originally. I’ll have to do some tests on this to see what the results might be. I’ll keep you posted on this issue.

I was taught to tear the fabric on the crosswise grain and align this for cutting strips. Most shops would tear the fabric because the rotary cutter was not available. Tearing was faster than cutting across with scissors. If the fabric was well made, both the crosswise grain and the lengthwise grain would be aligned. However, most fabrics don’t align that well. So you can have one grain or the other but most likely not both.  The only benefit I have found for aligning the cross-grain, is that the strips do not ravel as much as I work with them as strips. Once they are cut into smaller pieces, the edge that is not aligned on grain will ravel more.


 
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