Friday, August 15, 2008

Bamboo Batting & More!

I finally used the bamboo batting I purchased months ago.
It is actually 50% bamboo and 50% cotton, made by Fairfield, and is the silkiest feeling batt I've ever had! You can learn more about it on their website
: www.poly-fil.com/

This is the package! Hey, Fairfield...I'm giving you a free plug!

This batt is a bit pricey, but you can always use that Big Box Store coupon, and I hope the cost will come down eventually. I love the size: "Art Quilt/ Generous Crib" 60" x 60", and it even has a cute graphic that shows the loft size (it's a low loft, under 1/4").

I know you are now saying, "Move that package and let me see the quilt!"
So here it is, "Quirky Bits", from a design by Cherry-Cherry and using more of those 3" blocks that "Perky Old Men" is making famous! This is the before-washing picture

I had to try this batt out for you...it claims 2--3% shrinkage, which I think is fine. I like that crinkly comfy texture, but if you are making a wall hanging or want a smooooooooth look, there are instructions for pre-washing.

I am hoping to get a decent spot for photography in the near future!

Hmmmmm, I don't think you can see the slightly crinkled texture. But it did not shrink up very much. The un-pieced squares are a bit puffy, and technically could use a small quilting motif (the whole thing is just stitched-in-the-ditch along the blocks, not inside).
But who has time for that now?????

My husband spent last week at the John C. Campbell Folk School as an assistant for a wood-turning class. While he was away, I turned the family room into a studio so I could sew & quilt all day and night while watching old movies on TV.

Husband's nightmare...quilting takes over the entire house!

I thought I'd leave it up until the Olympics are over...and maybe the political conventions. He hasn't said a thing yet.
Do you think that's because he had the dining room taken up with a major woodworking project for 6 months? Like this:

Not the Death Star from Star Wars!

This is the group project done by his woodturners club, and it won an award at the AAW Symposium in Richmond, VA. You can see the finished sphere and read all about it here.
I don't usually post anything about my family, but I know that many quilters are married to (or otherwise closely associated with) woodworkers.

And back to the quilting....the one in the machine is the Personalized Mystery Quilt from the Crossroads Quilters in Perry, GA. Hope you-all are going to send me some photos of your finished quilts! I'll be posting a picture of this one soon.