Favorite Things Friday 9/30/11

One of my favorite things for fabric I find in the laundry aisle at my grocery store.  It is a box of Shout Color Catcher.  These sheets help me control the possible bleeding of color into surrounding fabrics in quilts. Especially reds and batiks!  When I buy new fabric, I take it down to the laundry room and fill a pail with very hot water - just enough to cover the fabric I have to treat.  I then add a tsp/yd of Retayne.  This sets the color so it will stay the color you buy.  I soak the fabric about 20 minutes and then pour the bucket into my washer and wash on the delicate cycle for 4 minutes with mild soap and one of these sheets of Shout.  Then I dry the fabric, iron it and put it into my stash.  I've done this since my third quilting project (many projects ago) to keep colors from migrating into each other and staining my quilt.  And after I finish the quilt, I will wash it one more time with a Shout sheet in the washer.

Now if you have never used these, I'm going to give away a sheet to two lucky commentators who leave a comment  to this blog post, and so they can try this niffty product.

Giveaway closes next thursday and I'll draw 2 winners on next friday.  Good luck! 

ps:  I'm in no way affiliated with Shout - hehe.

Go on over to my left sidebar and click on the Shay's Favorite Things Friday button and see what others are showcasing.

Applique Thursday 9/29/11

What with still going to Duarte 2 days a week, stomach flu and a achy hip, and various other time takers, haven't gotten too far on my owl, but here he is to demonstrate how I lay the pieces in the guide outline to get the placement right.

I find I have to plan the order these are cut out and placed down because I have to add a little fabric where one will lay on top of another.  For instance the right most wing needs some background for the body to be sewn onto, so I cut it out larger than its dimension on the left side.  The left wing is on the top of the owl body, so I will have to cut the body larger on the left side so that there will be some background on which to sew the wing.  Does that make sense?

My soul needs applique to calm it down during this hectic week.  Please share a link to your lovelies past, present or future.

WIP Wednesday 9/28/11

A new wip - actually this is the prototype block - may change a thing or two, but hope to make nine for a flimsey - this is 15" when sewn together.

What are you working on?  Click on Wip Wednesday's by freshly pieces and see what others are up to - ove on my left sidebar.