Saturday, March 27, 2010

Handing in my report card

It's Saturday and I've been out all day on a little day trip with Mr Q. I wish you could have come with me but I took photos so I can share but you'll have to wait until next time or this post will end up being huge.
I am reporting in with my klosjes for the week,  they look like these spools, not much room for thread.
Only twelve this week since I've been so busy. Any number over zero is good in my book.
I think I have the grand total of sixty five so far, not too shabby for three weeks.
I'm reporting back on the fusible products I was testing for applique on my last post.
Wash Away and Floriani Stitch n Wash Fusible are the two products. First of all, they need a medium heat with the iron and to be rinsed in warm water. They all have a percentage of soluble fibres which differ from one product to another.
For the Stitch N Wash it's 50% soluble and 50% non soluble fibres. They were ironed with a medium low heat and I stitched both products onto a piece of fabric.
I also sandwiched a piece of the Wash Away and stitched around it since this is what would represent the applique piece.
Here you can make out the amount of fibres for the Wash Away dissolving in the warm water.
If you click on the photo below, you can read the labels better.


Finally, the Stitch N Wash Tearaway. I should say that both products came out soft, contary to my first experiment but this tearaway has a little bit more body. Interestingly, the Wash Away didn't dissolve as many fibres in the piece that was sandwhiched but I dare say that after a few washes, that you'd get more fibres out.
I prepped this block ready to stitch using the Tearaway and I'll slit the back after washing to remove it. I used a glue stick to adhere the seam allowances. It pays to keep wipes and a handtowel on hand.
I should say that I'm a tried and true needle turner with a toothpick but I may use this method for difficult shapes. I like to have options and this was an interesting excercise.
Thanks to Miriam from Yellow Roses for giving me this lovely award which is so kind of her. Now, I'm rubbish with passing these on because I'm afraid I'll leave someone out. I visit so many inspiring blogs so I can't pick just twelve. To all bloggers who are out there putting their inspiring work on a blog, consider this awarded to you.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for letting us know the result of your experiment.

antique quilter said...

Interesting results :) oh the spools look so pretty and well that block is beautiful!
Kathie

Shirley said...

Well done Janet. A*. Go to top of the class.
Love Shirley.x

Valentina said...

Really lovely klosjes, Janet! I love the picture with all of them together, I can almost 'taste' your quilt!
Thanks again for the experimenting... Very interesting pix! hummm, I think I should give it a try!
And of course you deserve awards and A*!
xox
Valentina

Sue-Anne said...

Thanks Janet for your very thorough testing and informative results.

I love your little wooden spools - they are so cute, and your Klosjes are looking very nice too. You will be finished in no time, with the progress you are making.

Crispy said...

Thank you for going for the extra experimenting and letting us know the results. I love reading these kinds of posts.

You are going great guns on the spools!!

Congrats on the award too :0)

Crispy

Cathie said...

what a great little experiment - and you did all the work for us. i love this little applique block - what interesting patterns and colors you've selected and the shapes of your ovals and leaves - perfection!

Ruth said...

I love the spools - both wooden & fabric! It is very tempting to start a spool quilt, but I dare not right now. Have you ever heard of 007 Bo-Nash Bonding Agent? We saw a demo at the Dallas Quilt Show and were so impressed that we bought some. It works for applique and lots of other mending. Their web site is www.bonash.com. I haven't tried it yet, but hope to try it with some applique soon.

Karen said...

I like your comment about anything more than zero being good. I will have to remember that.

Those little wood spools interest me. They look short and stubby.

Betsy said...

Janet I love your spool blocks, it is nice to see how they are growing and growing. Your applique block is to die for!

Bunny said...

Hi I love the fact that you tested all those stabilizers. I use them for machine embroidery. I am not much of an appliquer but I am doing the wedding ring quilt with applique borders. I use freezer paper and baste by hand, I have done the glue thing LOL but I usually have so much glue I almost glue myself to the couch. LOL. I also must try your little tut on that cute little bag when I come home after Easter.

Terrie Sandelin said...

The little blocks are lovely -- they are so light, they make me think of summer. Thanks for the close look at the stabilizers. It looks like the Wash Away did go further. Did you draw any conclusions as to which you would use?

Juliann said...

Thanks for sharing your results. I have some of the wash away that I got for my Joseph's coat blocks but I am pretty committed to needle turn too.

Carrie P. said...

Congratulations on your award. You definitely derserve it.
Not shabby at all, lots of spools done and they look so great together.
Thanks for sharing your test results. I think I will stick with what I know already but it is nice to know there are more options in applique.

Lori said...

The spool blocks are so cute all together and you have a lot fo them done!!
I love seeing your experiment. I guess I still don't understand what the advantage would be of using one of these products.
Is it like freezer paper underneath to be a guide for applique?

Marieke said...

You're on a roll with your klosjes: they look great all together! Your quilt is going to be beautifull. And I love the little real life klosjes on your first picture. Good weekend!

alobsiger said...

Your posts are always a treat, Janet! Lovely work and such great information on the stabilizers! Congrats on your award!

Anonymous said...

Your little spools are adorable.
The info on the various products is extremely helpful. Thank you for going the extra mile. You deserve the award.

Ann Champion said...

Your little spools blocks are beautiful! It's nice seeing them together.

I love your applique block. As usual, your fabric selection and your skill at choosing just the right place on the print to cut your piece from shines in this stunner.

Thanks for doing the extra testing on the wash away products. It's always so helpful to know how these products work in real life applications.

Barb said...

Your spool are coming along nicely, thanks for the info on the wash aways....and congrats for the award.

Janet said...

I love your spool quilt - You're making great progress for 3 weeks - Wow! Thanks for the report on the wash away products. I've never tried them before - it was interesting to "see" your results.

Nedra said...

Your applique is always stunning, so I appreciate all your suggestions. Thanks for experimenting for us so we can learn from your efforts.

Julia said...

Thanks Janet for your very thorough testing of thos products..good to get your opinion on these..
Pretty spools...any at all is good, all adds up!
Julia ♥

Thimbleanna said...

Ooooh, I just love your pretty spools -- your colors are just perfect! Your work is always so inspiring! Thanks for the info on the stabilizers.

Quilts And Pieces said...

Wow, that is really interesting. I would think they would disolve more. But it is good to now they are soft!

Cathi said...

Your spools are so beautiful -- lovely fabrics! Interesting report on the dissolve rate of those stabilizers.

Pine Valley Quilts said...

Hi

I have been testing these products also as I have been playing with invisible machine applique. I fins I like the starch method as you don't have any foriegn bodies left in your quilt, although the wash away is great for blanket stitch applique, I usually cut the center of the wash away piece out and then iron it on the wrong side of my fabric cut out your piece and baste onto your background with roxannes glue and you are ready to stitch, I find fusibles always come apart on me and this is a great alternative.

Love your spools
pinewood

Robin said...

Very interesting results. I have to say, I would have thought more fibers would have washed away. It really seems like there are still a lot in there! But knowing that it really softens up is definitely good.

Happy spools! All that in 3 weeks + everything else you've been doing? I'd say you're doing awesome!

Barb said...

OOOOhhhh, the more you make, the more better it is! I love it --

Sonja said...

Thank you for this very intersting benchmark!!!!
I use the Wash Away Appliqué Sheets:)