We're stacking 'em upward similar cordwood hither at the Three Cats Ranch. I'm talking virtually quilts, of course. You didn't intend stacking cats was possible, did you? So I receive got to start correct out alongside a retraction. Yesterday I said I had 12 flimsies for sandwiching. As it turns out, I was including the ane quilt remaining on the quilts-to-be-quilted pile...this Lucky Charm quilt.
It's at the plough over of the quilts-to-be quilted pile now, together with it owes its characteristic hither to beingness at the bottom of the pile before. It all industrial plant out inward the end, doesn't it? Even niggling quilts receive got their hateful solar daytime on plough over of the pile.
Getting dorsum to the cordwood, I spent all of yesterday sandwiching quilts...eight inward all...and at that topographic point are iii to a greater extent than to exercise today. Friend of the blog, Quiltshopgal, asked me to say a niggling virtually my "sawhorse table" method, together with thence you lot tin mail away blame her for this. Let's only say it's ane agency to larn your husband/partner to purchase quilting supplies for you, thinking all along that they're for him.
Before I choke on, I desire to say that methods for sandwiching quilts are truly a affair of personal preference. Each quilter is going to receive got his or her ain favorite method for doing this based on physical ability, environmental factors, quilt considerations, together with the like. What I'm virtually to say hither is neither tutorial nor recommendation...it's only the agency I exercise it, together with it industrial plant best for me. You may receive got other ideas that go amend for you, together with you lot should only maintain on keepin' on. I've tried thread basting, but constitute that to live impossibly tedious. Also, it was the ane quilt I've ever made that ended upward alongside puckers quilted into the back. Also, I've tried pivot basting, but constitute it unacceptable for a diverseness of unlike reasons. Spray basting industrial plant best for me, thence hither nosotros go.
To begin...get yourself a distich of 4 x 8 plywood sheets. Mike picked upward unopen to prissy lineament sheets that receive got been sanded shine to minimize roughness together with splinters. Set upward side past times side, they give me a workspace of 8 x 8 feet.
You'll also demand iv sawhorses. Mike uses all of these items for other purposes, together with thence we're both happy niggling clams, thinking all this materials belongs to us. Actually, it belongs to me, but shhhhhhhhh.
It takes the 2 of us to seat it all up. Then, because it's all been stored inward the garage, the tabular array plough over gets both swept off together with wiped off to create clean it all upward earlier starting. I'm doing this inward our garage. Living inward a moisture climate, it's the exclusively agency I'm going to live able to convey my procedure outdoors. In a minute, I'll tell you lot why that's important. For now, only know that I go at ane corner of my "table." Along the edges, I occupation wheel clamps to concord the edges of the quilt back. At the far reaches of the quilt, I record it downward alongside masking tape...or bluish painter's tape...call it what you lot will. This quilt was a prissy pocket-sized size together with rattling cooperative. It exclusively makes sense. There are cats, together with everyone knows that cats are rattling cooperative.
The side past times side quilt was a niggling larger. It exclusively extended to the contrary border of ane plywood sheet, together with so...
it's slow plenty to slide the 2d canvas to the side, allowing me to achieve the contrary side of the quilt back.
In only a distich of minutes, Going Bananas is a quilt sandwich. I'll likely quilt this ane fairly shortly because I know the Quilts for Kids folks are inward demand of boy-appropriate quilts correct now.
Next upward was ane of the larger quilts. And, yes, if you've been paying attention, you lot mightiness know that this quilt was a finished flimsy at Christmas inward Tybee Island, Georgia, last year. So fifty-fifty if you're a large together with traveling quilt, you'll withal larn your hateful solar daytime inward the sun. Just live prepared to receive got patience.
As long equally we're talking virtually this, I mightiness equally good say something virtually my tools. I similar these pair of scissors specially designed for cutting batting. I got mine from Massdrop, together with that was also the rootage house I saw them. I catch this was only unopen to other gimmick to entice me to pass my money, but actually, these are rattling helpful. They receive got a prissy long blade, together with they're shaped thence that the blade slips nether the batting piece keeping one's paw seat ergonomically friendly.
Pause hither for a minute to admire the lineament of my clothing. Yes, the cuff of my sweatshirt is frayed all the agency around. Like gardening, I detect this is a project best done piece making one's worst fashion statement. I'm also wearing unopen to former glasses. I worry a niggling virtually getting that spray baste on my electrical flow pair.
Like the bandaging pair of scissors a nurse uses, the pair of scissors receive got a blunt point. I similar them because I tin mail away cutting the batting to size later it's been seat out on the quilt backing fabric, together with I worry a whole lot less virtually truly cutting into the fabric.
This is the production I prefer for spray basting. (The label was late redesigned.) I've heard unopen to folks occupation the cheaper Aqua-Net hairspray, but my preference is to occupation a production specifically made for fabric. I don't know if Aqua-Net is rubber to occupation on fabric, together with I don't truly desire to examination that theory. I'm willing to pass a niggling to a greater extent than inward companionship to worry a lot less.
And here's why this production must exclusively live used inward a well-ventilated environment...preferably outside. It's flammable, together with besides, I don't truly desire to live inhaling it.
I've done my spraying alongside quilts together with batting hanging from a clothesline, but constitute it to live too breezy to live rattling practical. I've also done it on the concrete nether a covered patio, together with that worked, except for all the bits of pino needles together with leaves that larn stuck to the batting. So similar a shot I'm inward the garage where I receive got shelter from the rain, together with where I tin mail away opened upward up the large garage doors for plenty of ventilation together with breathing room.
So moving along, the flamingos are cook for quilting now...
together with the pumpkin pie...
together with the cardinal. It was adept to meet him spread out again. I dearest this quilt.
Now here's where the shortcoming of this method truly shows itself. The Dream Big panel was too large for me to achieve the far corner, together with yet too pocket-sized for me to achieve from the contrary side of my 8 x 8 pes table. Also, it extended past times the mid-point of my 2 plywood sheets, together with thence sliding ane canvas to the side didn't go either. I could shine everything out, but I couldn't achieve to this far corner.
In that case, I exercise what I tin mail away reach, together with thence unclamp the quilt together with slide it toward me inward companionship to achieve the other side.
This was the largest quilt I needed to sandwich...and yes, it's been finished for almost a twelvemonth equally well. This ane was thence big, it covered the entire table, together with thence I used wheel clamps all around.
I rootage smoothed everything out together with used my handy batting pair of scissors to cutting the batting to size. Then, I folded dorsum ane one-half of the batting together with the quilt top, sprayed the quilt back...
thence folded together with smoothed out the batting. Then I sprayed the batting, together with thence folded the quilt plough over over that together with smoothed it out.
Then I did the same thing on the far side of the quilt.
When I was finished, I had ane rattling large quilt sandwich.
I should say hither that I ever flip the quilts over together with shine out the dorsum equally well. You mightiness detect unopen to puckers there. If you lot do, you lot tin mail away shine them out working from the middle of the quilt outward. As the puckers go their agency to the border of the quilt, a adept tug at the cloth volition larn rid of them completely.
And here's where quilts choke cordwood. There's a prissy stack of 8 newly-sandwiched quilts awaiting their plough nether my needle.
There are iii to a greater extent than to destination off today, together with I'll receive got myself a prissy stack of quilts to live quilted inward 2019. Smitty volition appreciate the extra padding.
Things are winding downward inward 2018. If I tin mail away larn the quilt sandwiches finished fast plenty this morning, I'll larn dorsum to the McKenna Ryan farm together with the cow. There's also a pile of laundry to do. You mightiness say it's a hateful solar daytime for working on piles...building them upward together with vehement them down. It rained long together with difficult yesterday, but today's atmospheric condition is looking pretty nice.