Some things I feel like I should know, but I don't
09-27-2013, 08:18 AM
#42
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 17,739
QuiltE - it's funny, we seem to avoid a lot of things because they seem expensive (Aurifil is another one I hear all the time) and yet at the end of the day, it's not as bad as it seems and with the time saved, or frustration... why do we do this to ourselves? 
I've heard the Ontario winters can be pretty rough too. Yours because of moisture and ours for the lack of it. Of course a couple of years ago being the second coldest place on the planet for a day sure cut my patience for Alberta winters a lot shorter. I wouldn't complain about having to decorate palm trees for Christmas...
I've heard the Ontario winters can be pretty rough too. Yours because of moisture and ours for the lack of it. Of course a couple of years ago being the second coldest place on the planet for a day sure cut my patience for Alberta winters a lot shorter. I wouldn't complain about having to decorate palm trees for Christmas...
So go out and get yourself some Aurifil and it will soon be your thread of choice! Yes, our winters can be wicked. At the same time they can be not much. Then there are the ones that we keep flip-flopping on the seasons and from one day to the next (let alone within the same day) you hardly know what to wear! As for decorating palm trees and sand for Christmas ... NOT ME!! Christmas just has to have snow ... and when we don't, it just does not seem at all like Christmas to me! 
More on Vinegar ... skip the expensive cream rinses and hair conditioners. Put some vinegar into a spritzer bottle and spritz in the shower, then rinse off. When I couldn't get the conditioner I liked any longer ... and dreaded trying new ones because of skin sensitivities, I remembered my Mom using it when we were kids. A simple solution!
09-29-2013, 05:18 AM
#44
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Illinois/Wisconsin
Posts: 878
EasyPeezy - great idea! Can vinegar/water replace starch altogether? or it's just for the stubborn wrinkles?
Leakus - check. I will peel this board apart once I'm finished with this top. For now, it's "OK" but I'd like better. I know that the thin pads I had from commercial ironing board covers seemed to give me hassle (I'd get the pattern of the ironing board on the fabric), so I upped the layers, per some site I found online, but it's obviously not helping me.
Jan - Thanks for your well thought out response Re: the chemicals, I usually prewash, but for some reason my cousin made me promise not to with this one. When I expressed a concern about shrinkage, she said it would give it that nice bunched appearance. So, with a lesser quality fabric, washing it would potentially make it easier to iron?
I've been playing with EQ, I totally get what you're saying about a quilt telling you what it wants to look like. As it is, I mocked this quilt up in EQ, despite having the pattern, because I wanted to see how accurate EQ was for yardage, and while I was at it, I changed the borders, and distribution of colors (apparently my brain implodes if I use more than 3 or 4 colors in a quilt. 
)
DogHouseMom - In the fridge?
GailG - I'm glad my confusion helped you out.
valleyquiltermo - Check. The bed is my own, so I did the measurements, which luckily corresponded with what the Interwebs had to say. I would definitely agree that getting the measurements for a gift would be a must.
zozee - I'm not sure if the iron is getting properly hot. It's more than sufficient to burn me every time I iron, but that doesn't seem to be an indicator of whether the fabric thinks it's hot stuff. I suppose I could find out how hot it's supposed to be and use our digital thermometer thingy on it.
NJ Quilter - I normally pre-wash everything. This one has not been, due to a promise to my cousin. I have noticed that pre-washed or not, I seem to have this problem, which might be why I didn't think to mention it. What is the nesting thing? We have cats who do sleep in the bedroom, and a dog that doesn't.
I can't remember the last time I saw a pillow tuck, other than at a hotel. Most of our friends don't do it, that I'm aware of. That said, this one is for our bed, so it's all good. No pillow tuck for us either, even though it would look neater.
Tartan - thanks for that chart. That agrees with some of the sites online. So, the 108" is meant to be for the length then. That must be a pillow tuck? Otherwise, I can only envision one huge ruffle... I suspect you're right and I would have been happier washing this fabric. It would have been ironed right out of a cool dryer.
Charlee - Ha! Good point! We have a foot board, so the quilt is usually tucked in, but in this climate, in the next several months, I definitely want my toes covered!
toverly - this is a good point. We've been considering a different mattress. Maybe I won't "short" the dimensions, in case the new mattress is taller.
PaperPrincess - Thanks I think what I want to do is make it without the pillow tuck, then make some matching shams. I will adjust my borders accordingly. As it sits, the body of the quilt would just cover the surface of the bed. My borders will determine the drop / pillow tuck area.
Leakus - check. I will peel this board apart once I'm finished with this top. For now, it's "OK" but I'd like better. I know that the thin pads I had from commercial ironing board covers seemed to give me hassle (I'd get the pattern of the ironing board on the fabric), so I upped the layers, per some site I found online, but it's obviously not helping me.
Jan - Thanks for your well thought out response
Re: the chemicals, I usually prewash, but for some reason my cousin made me promise not to with this one. When I expressed a concern about shrinkage, she said it would give it that nice bunched appearance. So, with a lesser quality fabric, washing it would potentially make it easier to iron? I've been playing with EQ, I totally get what you're saying about a quilt telling you what it wants to look like.
As it is, I mocked this quilt up in EQ, despite having the pattern, because I wanted to see how accurate EQ was for yardage, and while I was at it, I changed the borders, and distribution of colors (apparently my brain implodes if I use more than 3 or 4 colors in a quilt. )DogHouseMom - In the fridge?
GailG - I'm glad my confusion helped you out.
valleyquiltermo - Check. The bed is my own, so I did the measurements, which luckily corresponded with what the Interwebs had to say.
I would definitely agree that getting the measurements for a gift would be a must. zozee - I'm not sure if the iron is getting properly hot. It's more than sufficient to burn me every time I iron, but that doesn't seem to be an indicator of whether the fabric thinks it's hot stuff. I suppose I could find out how hot it's supposed to be and use our digital thermometer thingy on it.
NJ Quilter - I normally pre-wash everything. This one has not been, due to a promise to my cousin. I have noticed that pre-washed or not, I seem to have this problem, which might be why I didn't think to mention it. What is the nesting thing? We have cats who do sleep in the bedroom, and a dog that doesn't.
I can't remember the last time I saw a pillow tuck, other than at a hotel. Most of our friends don't do it, that I'm aware of. That said, this one is for our bed, so it's all good.
No pillow tuck for us either, even though it would look neater. Tartan - thanks for that chart.
That agrees with some of the sites online. So, the 108" is meant to be for the length then. That must be a pillow tuck? Otherwise, I can only envision one huge ruffle... I suspect you're right and I would have been happier washing this fabric. It would have been ironed right out of a cool dryer. Charlee - Ha! Good point!
We have a foot board, so the quilt is usually tucked in, but in this climate, in the next several months, I definitely want my toes covered!toverly - this is a good point. We've been considering a different mattress. Maybe I won't "short" the dimensions, in case the new mattress is taller.
PaperPrincess - Thanks
I think what I want to do is make it without the pillow tuck, then make some matching shams. I will adjust my borders accordingly. As it sits, the body of the quilt would just cover the surface of the bed. My borders will determine the drop / pillow tuck area.I realize that this is much more time-consuming and if I am doing several fat quarters I just press with steam and lay flat. Most of the time, after cutting your pieces, you will not see the folds.
Thanks for the questions and answers. They have helped me with quilt sizes. Yolanda Wood River
09-30-2013, 09:22 AM
#45
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Not Here
Posts: 3,817
misseva - This is pretty close to the method I've started using. I've been starching the front, but I do pat it in. The canned starch I have says you're supposed to remove the nozzle and wash it out between uses. Good grief that sounds like work! Of course, because I don't, I get blobs and spurts.
QuiltE - Oh yes! I've been using Aurifil for a bit now. I even have *gasp* 2 spools of the same color open so I can set up 2 machines for different parts of the piecing process. I actually did a write up on my blog about thread cost a few months back, because I kept hearing about how expensive Aurifil is. It's actually half the price of Gutermann and Mettler. Yup. True story.
Winters here can be the same. I'm honestly thinking lately though that the hardest part of winter is fall! Getting used to the fact that the house is colder, and the furnace is on. That sitting on the step isn't comfortable anymore. Warming the car up. Jackets. No more sandals. Of course like this one this year, when it doesn't want to let go is tough too. I'm pretty sure I could "suffer" with no snow. We've had a few years here where we had a brown Christmas, but it was still colder than a person would want to be outside for. I can get with warm.
So what does the vinegar do with your hair? Detangle? Tame flyaways? I have wavy / borders on curly hair, so frizz is my biggest issue.
littlebitoheaven - 15 seconds... that's a good guideline, and I think possibly longer than I've been waiting. I will have to pay more attention later today. I have the borders of the quilt that started this discussion to cut. Much pressing and starching to do.
QuiltE - Oh yes! I've been using Aurifil for a bit now. I even have *gasp* 2 spools of the same color open so I can set up 2 machines for different parts of the piecing process.
I actually did a write up on my blog about thread cost a few months back, because I kept hearing about how expensive Aurifil is. It's actually half the price of Gutermann and Mettler. Yup. True story. Winters here can be the same. I'm honestly thinking lately though that the hardest part of winter is fall! Getting used to the fact that the house is colder, and the furnace is on. That sitting on the step isn't comfortable anymore. Warming the car up. Jackets. No more sandals. Of course like this one this year, when it doesn't want to let go is tough too. I'm pretty sure I could "suffer" with no snow. We've had a few years here where we had a brown Christmas, but it was still colder than a person would want to be outside for. I can get with warm.
So what does the vinegar do with your hair? Detangle? Tame flyaways? I have wavy / borders on curly hair, so frizz is my biggest issue.
littlebitoheaven - 15 seconds... that's a good guideline, and I think possibly longer than I've been waiting. I will have to pay more attention later today. I have the borders of the quilt that started this discussion to cut. Much pressing and starching to do.
10-01-2013, 06:39 AM
#46
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: East Arkansas
Posts: 2,534
We used vinegar as a de-tangler. I am so tender-headed (almost can't stand for hair dresser to fool with my hair) so mother would use a vinegar rinse - makes hair soooo soft. It also gets out all the shampoo.
10-01-2013, 07:24 PM
#47
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Join Date: Jul 2012
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Posts: 3,817
Thanks misseva!! I will try that. The hairdresser doesn't bother me (maybe a little when she says she should see me more than once a year...) but tangles are a real problem after a day on the bike. I will give it a try. I also think some of my scalp problems may be from left over shampoo bothering it, so it's a win win to try it.
10-02-2013, 07:37 AM
#48
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Omaha, NE
Posts: 1,618
This is a really excellent thread! Extremely informative.
I use Stay-Flo at a 1:1 ratio. I use a clear spray bottle purchased from a Home Depot type store because it's a clear bottle meant for mixtures of peroxide. It doesn't clog up the sprayer like it does some of the cheaper sprayers. I do not prewash my fabrics if I can help it, the only exception is flannel.
I have a chart somewhere of bed sizes vs quilt sizes and the sizes mentioned so far is what works. I'd rather my quilts be too big than too small. Wrinkles wise, I find clothes behave the same way as fabrics. I have some of my son's slacks that have to be pulled out of the dryer before dry so they can hang the rest of the way and prevent wrinkles. My ironing surface is just a pad since I don't have an ironing board. It's horrible enough when I have to press long seams, I certainly don't have the ability to press big yardages out. I too fold my fabric differently every time I get some out.
I use Stay-Flo at a 1:1 ratio. I use a clear spray bottle purchased from a Home Depot type store because it's a clear bottle meant for mixtures of peroxide. It doesn't clog up the sprayer like it does some of the cheaper sprayers. I do not prewash my fabrics if I can help it, the only exception is flannel.
I have a chart somewhere of bed sizes vs quilt sizes and the sizes mentioned so far is what works. I'd rather my quilts be too big than too small. Wrinkles wise, I find clothes behave the same way as fabrics. I have some of my son's slacks that have to be pulled out of the dryer before dry so they can hang the rest of the way and prevent wrinkles. My ironing surface is just a pad since I don't have an ironing board. It's horrible enough when I have to press long seams, I certainly don't have the ability to press big yardages out. I too fold my fabric differently every time I get some out.
10-03-2013, 12:44 PM
#49
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Join Date: Jul 2012
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Posts: 3,817
I found that when I did a peroxide solution to remove odor from a machine that the solution actually expanded in the bottle and started leaking all over the place. Would one of the HD bottles stop that too, do you think?
I definitely agree that too big is better. I auditioned this quilt (the dimensions I settled on were 95" x 95", and there's about 4" at the top of the bed I'm not sure where it's going to go, but I'll deal with that when it's quilted and bound.
I don't have a huge ironing pad either. I think it's about 32" x 22" or so. I just "process" big yardage by doing it conveyor belt style. I sweep the floor first, then let it fall before and after it's ironed on either side of the table it's on. Now if I could stop the cats and dog from trying to sleep on it when I iron, it would be nearly perfect.
I definitely agree that too big is better. I auditioned this quilt (the dimensions I settled on were 95" x 95", and there's about 4" at the top of the bed I'm not sure where it's going to go, but I'll deal with that when it's quilted and bound.
I don't have a huge ironing pad either. I think it's about 32" x 22" or so. I just "process" big yardage by doing it conveyor belt style. I sweep the floor first, then let it fall before and after it's ironed on either side of the table it's on. Now if I could stop the cats and dog from trying to sleep on it when I iron, it would be nearly perfect.
10-04-2013, 05:33 AM
#50
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Omaha, NE
Posts: 1,618
I'm not sure. They have several spray bottles available meant for poisons and other cleaning supplies. You might want to go to their website or give them a call. I find all the people that work there very helpful. Some spray bottles have a nozzle with a pressure hole in it so as the pressure builds it can escape. I would check with them.
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