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Thursday, March 19

A Change of Plans & Prewashing Shot Cottons

Now that he has set out on his own, our son Sam has been developing his own ideas about decorating and he has decidedly modern tastes.  Sam's Woolly Flannel quilt, which I was "working on" (read "half done and put off too many times") is no longer in tune with what he likes most.  People and circumstances are ever changing.  

So, in order to aid Sam in choosing what he wanted for his quilt... I got him to go on Pinterest.  (Cue woman laughing maniacally in the background.)   He chose a picture that someone had mistaken for a quilt.  It is a painting by Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings.   He asked if I could make a quilt like that.  Since I had made a diamond quilt once before, for our daughter Kaitie: Definitely not DeKaffe, I said "Sure!"  How hard could it be?  (Cocky-over-confidence-jumps-up-and-bites-me-in-the-fanny-hard, that's how hard.) 

The first thing I did, was to make a mock up using EQ7 and then I "painted" it in shot cotton fabrics from both the Oakshott and Peppered Cottons lines.  


This is the EQ7 Mock Up - not a real quilt yet!

I'm hoping it will look pretty close to this when all is said and done.  Each diamond block measures 5" by 20" when finished.

This week started of with a massive fabric pre-washing day.  Are you a pre-washer?  I mostly am now.  Shot cottons shrink and wrinkle quite a lot more than regular quilting cottons, so I am very glad I did not skip this step.  

Maryse (Maryse Makes Things) and I have been having a very interesting discussion about shot cottons.  We both were curious to see how they would turn out after washing.  I found that the Oakshott wrinkles much more than the Peppered cottons, but that both can be pressed back to looking great.  It helps a lot if you do not let it dry all the way in the dryer, then iron it while still slightly damp.  Even that did not remove all the wrinkles though.  It took some Mary Ellen's Best Press to do that.  To give you an idea, here is a photo of some Oakshott, in the process of being ironed:


Shot Cottons are very wrinkly after washing!

To me, all this work is totally worth it, because I love the look of these fabrics!  It is my hope that the worst of the wrinkling will have been gotten out of the fabric's system and that it won't be as bad when the whole quilt gets washed.  Do you think it would help if the quilting is closer spaced?

(Edit: I just read on the Oakshott Cottons website that they do not recommend that you put their fabric in the dryer.  I just assumed it was like the Peppered cotton, and she does say to prewash and partially dry the fabric.  So I wanted any new readers to know this and I will also mention this in my next post.  However, I am glad that I did it anyway - most quilts will eventually get tossed into a dryer.)

All the fabric is washed and ready to use!
Penny wants me to play with her - she was running back and forth tossing that toy the whole time I was draping fabric over the railing!
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So, it turns out that sewing a half rectangle triangle (HRT) is nowhere near the same as sewing a half square triangle (HST).  I don't know what I was thinking, but at first I ended up with this.  (It was midnight, what can I say?)


Keep this up and I can make the NBC Peacock jealous!

Even when I got it right, it wasn't right.  The points will not hit the seam allowances at the right places.  I don't know why I didn't have this trouble with the Kaffe Quilt.    




I found a tremendously helpful HRT tutorial over at Jamie's busy bee quilts.  (Hello fellow bee!) She addresses the very issues that were puzzling me.  It still took some trial and error, but with her insights, I was able to change up things to the sizes I needed.  Getting the angles and measurements right was difficult.  I switched to using ugly fabric with old sheets for test trials.


  
Yet, even after finding the right measurements, I could not get consistent results.  Those HRTs are going to finish at 2.5" by 10" and that long skinny shape means errors are easy to make.  So guess what I did.  I paper pieced them!  (Yup, there's a surprise.)  Ahh... lots better!


Paper Pieced Diamond Blocks
These could still stand some improvement.  I need to be more careful with matching the center seams in the diamonds.  (I ironed seams open, perhaps if I iron them to alternating sides...)  And when I sew the diamond blocks together, a scant 1/4 inch seam would help with that problem you can see in the center of the photo, where the side points are vying for space.  

But anyway - it is nice to be on my way to getting this quilt made for Sam.  Maybe this one will be finished before he marries a woman with completely different tastes, LOL.  


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One last sweet thing!  My cousin sent me a wonderful photo of her little girl with her Goldfish Bowl Pocketbook.  She said her little girl was thrilled with her fishy big sister gifts! :)  :)  :)  So I thought I'd share the picture here, because she is just too adorable for words!





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39 comments:

  1. Oh wow, I had no idea that shot cottons were that wrinkly! I just bought the whole range of kaffe fasset fat quarters to give them a try. I'm usually not a prewasher, but maybe I should do that.

    Lately I've seen some rulers for cutting hsr's. I haven't given them a try but the reports have been positive.

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  2. Beautiful! That quilt is going to be spectacular! I love shot cottons too and usually prewash. Thank goodness for Best Press.

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  3. That before and after ironing shot is almost comical! But boy will that be a gorgeous quilt when it is done!

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  4. That is going to be a gorgeous quilt! Glad you hit on a good method for those long skinny HRTs! I've not yet worked with shot cottons. Good to know about prewashing and pressing.

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  5. Lara, this quilt is going to be all kinds of awesome! I didn't pre-wash my shots but you know they were soaked in starch before I started ;) As for wrinkling after the quilt is finished, yes to the closer quilting - I have made 4 quilts with Kaffe, Oakshott and Peppered shots, the ones that are more densely quilted definitely wrinkled less.

    OMG your cousin's daughter is adorable and looks so cute with her Goldfish Bowl Pocketbook!!

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  6. Interesting to read about your adventures with your latest quilt - the paper piecing looks liek a good solution - I hope your son is enjoying watching it come together :-) There's a lesson somewhere there about unfinished quilts!! The original one was beautiful too! Very cute Penny and your cousin's daughter is gorgeous!

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  7. Wow. The shot cotton is really wrinkly. I love the inspiration for this quilt. Paper piecing seems like an excellent solution. If you do densely quilt this, will it take away from the clean, modern lines?

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  8. Well, now you've lit a fire under me to finish quilting my son's quilt before his tastes change! This new diamond quilt you are making for your son is going to be stunning! I haven't worked with half-rectangle triangles, but the design possibilities are intriguing... I haven't used Best Press, either, but it certainly seems to tame the wrinkles well. I'll keep that tip in mind.

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  9. Such a great post - as informative as it is entertaining. That was ME laughing about having him look around on Pinterest...ha ha ha. He did choose a very elegant and tasteful design that you will work up into a masterpiece.

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  10. Your cousin's daughter is such a cutie, she looks so adorable with her Goldfish Bowl Pocket Book. So cute!

    Great picture of the Oakshotts on the railing ... I must say that the Oakshotts that came from the fat quarter bundle (colorshott bundle), despite using Best Press and ironing them damp, I wasn't able to totally get rid of those stubborn creases. On the other hand, the ones that were cut from the bolt came out OK after intense ironing.

    Sam's quilt is going to be fabulous, I love the colors you picked and the design is fun and modern. Can't wait to see its progress!

    Cute signature, by the way. :-)

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  11. ohhh...your cousin's daughter is so sweet Lara! This quilt is going to be amazing!

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  12. Doesn't that little cutie holding your purse make you day!!! I too think Sam's quilt is going to be great....I don't prewash so it's easy to say I admire your patience! LOL!!

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  13. Your quilt for your son is going to be stunning! Sewing HSR's is a challenge! I am not one to prewash fabrics, but I do with the shot cottons... especially the Kaffe shot cottons. Those shrink a lot! Your cousin's daughter is just too precious for words!!

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  14. Www away a sweet mom you are. :) I'm always careful about what quilts I say I can do. Your paper pieced blocks look great! (But not something I would enjoy.) I look forward to seeing your progress. And remember, "perfect isn't flawless. Perfect is finished."

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  15. Your quilt is going to be gorgeous! Sam is sure to love it! Wow!

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  16. I have this pinned as a quilt idea as well on Pinterest. My nephews wife chose this design so I have been considering how to do this and my final thought was paper piecing as well.
    Glad you figured it out. Can't wait to see yours all done. Oh, my nephews wife wants all neutrals. And she was very particular on what neutral colors as well.

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  17. Wow. You worked out lots of problems. Thanks for all the insights and references. I love the way you write! And from personal experience, getting quilts for (even grown) kids finished quickly is important. His future wife will definitely have different tastes if it's not done.

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  18. This is going to be such a great man quilt. I love the colours and you're using shot cottons which means there'll be lots of lovely subtle changes and variations. I love how you work out a problem too - your paper pieced blocks look very neat.

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  19. Adorable she sure is, and that fish purse looks adorable on her arm. You are so thoughtful, Lara. Sam's quilt is going to be spectacular. How unusual that both kids picked triangles. (You know the ancient powers, symbolism there I'm sure.) Great idea to paper-piece them too. Great tips on the washing, pressing, assembly, wow, so much good useful information you are sharing here, and sharing your wonderful sense of humour - snort, ("cocky-over-confidence..." and "read half done and put off too many times" - ha been there, still livin' it) Penny is just too sweet. Love the expression on her face!

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  20. That's going to be fantastic! And I too have a difficult time getting the HRTs to turn out just right. :/ I'm hoping getting my die cut machine will help with that. Also...how cute is that little girl?!

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  21. You have really been busy Lara and how cute to see little Penny wanting to play. Sounds like paper piecing was the right way to go and it will be beautiful!

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  22. Haha, nothing like making quilts two or three times for the same person. It is looking wonderful, the paper piecing definitely gives it the correct look. Not to mention it will be so much easier to sew together if the blocks are all the same size! Loved your comment about his tastes changing again! LOL better hurry with this one!

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  23. I have never done any work with shot cottons before. So I really appreciate you sharing your experiences. I am not a prewasher except for flannel. Your hrt's look fabulous and I'm sure you will master them as you progress. Cute, cute dog you have there! And a super sweet big sister with her new bag and book! Thanks for sharing those pics!

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  24. Thanks for sharing your process! I've had my eye on this block as well. I can see it's not as easy as I thought! Your quilt will be great!! The fishy picture is ADORABLE!!!

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  25. Love your idea and seeing it come alive!!! Cannot wait to see the finished quilt!!! Have Fun!! :^)

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  26. Yes, people are ever changing... I have 2 metres of rainbow fabric sitting on a shelf. I was supposed to use it for a quilt for a boy (at his request), but he changed his mind. I think the change came with the realization that there's a pink stripe in that rainbow. No amount of persuasion from me could make him believe that pink is find for boys too. lol
    Will you continue to work on the flannel quilt? I went for a look at your flannels and they are quite beautiful. And the pattern that was chosen, combine with those flannel, makes a great fall/winter quilt. Or a great log cabin quilt (the real cabin, not the pattern...).
    The diamond quilt will be gorgeous too. It will be possible to use it all year round as it will be made of cotton in lighter colors. That was very clever of you to make a pp pattern for this shape (no surprise there). It would for sure help me with the points. (Not at midnight, thought. Nothing could at this hour.) To me, your centre seams look perfectly find. Once quilted, I don't think anyone would notice if 1 mm is missing or not.
    I personally wash every pieces of fabric when it enter my house. I prefer it if the fabric distort or bleed before I start using it. And I know that every single piece on my shelves has been washed and can be used together.

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  27. I love how your diamonds turned out! That is one thing I have not tried out because I know mine would not turn out very well.

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  28. This post is full of sweetness! Penny is adorable! Your cousin's daughter is cute as a button!

    I had no idea shot cottons wrinkled so much, so I'm really glad to have seen your post. They pressed out nicely too. I absolutely love that pattern you've created in EQ7. I also love that you can paper piece those blocks!! Have fun creating that quilt... it's going to be fantastic!!

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  29. That is interesting how paper piecing saved the day, good tip too. Thanks for sharing your process for the HRT. The quilt is going to very striking! I also had no idea that shot cottons wrinkled so much. That is good to know in advance as I'm not a pre-washer of my fabrics.

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  30. Your son has excellent taste. It is going to be a beautiful. I usually don't prewash my fabric so I'm glad you are sharing your experience with oakshott cotton. Thank you. By the way Penny is soooo cute!
    I can't wait to see more of your progress.

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  31. Fantastic tips, using shot cottons for the first time and will remember to not dry all the way!

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  32. I love the quilt and it will be gorgeous when finished. I use tons of shot cottons and always prewash them. They do wrinkle a lot, but starch and an iron work wonders. I haven't had any trouble washing a quilt made with shot cottons. Sometimes there is a little 'pilling' but they wash great. And if you can pull them out of the dryer before they are dry! I have never used oakshott...one day. Peppered cottons are gorgeous!

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  33. Yes, she is adorable as is her bag! I really like your modern design quilt and I don't usually like modern. Can't wait to see it done.

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  34. really like the colors you're using

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  35. I love this pattern and I think it looks fabulous! My son is going to college soon, too and I want to make a quilt for him. I like that you had yours pick out his own pattern, even if it's proving to be a challenge - I think I'll do the same for mine (gulp). It will be interesting to see what he comes up with...Thanks for sharing. Oh, and love the colors you chose as well..

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  36. Your quilt is awesome! I am not much on solids but this is spectacular!

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  37. This is going to be great! I don't think I would like the paper piecing of it all but the result is grand!

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  38. That mock up looks great! It sounds like a lot of work to me though :) Good luck with all those points! Plus a cute pic!

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  39. I just found your blog and love your work! I'm new to blogland and quilting. Your mock up for Sam's quilt is fantastic and I had exactly the same sewing experience as you when I first pieced that type of block. LOL, I was so confused......but now, as long as I don't try and hurry they come out better. But I am still struggling with those points. I had no idea how wrinkly those shot cottons were. I've got a stash of Kaffe shot cottons, some Oakshott and Peppered Cottons, too. I favor the weight of the peppered cottons best - but the shimmer in the others cannot be denied!
    I think I'm going to give your block a whirl in the near future. I just love the pattern. Thanks for sharing.

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