Welcome to Learning QAL's October Sum Up.
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| One of the views from Banff |
Life is good here! I'm writing this post from the beautiful town of Banff, within the Banff National Park in Alberta.
As you can imagine, last weekend was a frenzy of activity at my sewing machine, getting my samples ready for this post and getting ready to leaving for Banff.
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| Quilt blocks lounging in the grass in Banff! |
Quilt Tops
First things first - to test the batting, I had to create some quilt tops. I wanted this to be as painless as possible - so I chose to make some scrappy improvisational pieces. These are, for me, the easiest things to piece since matching points and such is not my strength.
I looked through "Quilt Improv" by Lucie Summers for some ideas on new improv blocks to make.
It was really fun putting together a half-square triangle block. Since I had many half-square triangles left over from other projects, this was the perfect way to use them. I must admit that it's my favourite of the blocks. I also tried a variation of her X block.
I already had a log cabin block that I just added strips to, as well as a block that Lucie calls pieced squares. These are the improv blocks that I usually make.
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X Block with
silk-poly batting |
Here they are, sandwiched and pinned, before quilting.
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Half-square Triangle block with
cotton-wool batting |
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Pieced Squares block with
bamboo-cotton batting |
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Log Cabin block with
cotton batting |
Batting
Here are the four different batting I used.
- Tender Touch bamboo-cotton (50%-50%) with scrim
- Warm 100 Cotton with 100% cotton scrim
- Hobbs Tuscany Collection cotton-wool (80%-20%) batting with resin bonded
- Hobbs Tuscany Collection silk and fine polyester (90%-10%) with resin bonded
Taking these different batting out of their bag, I was surprised by the stiffness and stickiness of both Hobbs products, although in the end, this didn't affect the quilting.
Something else that I noticed when I made my quilt sandwiches, is that the silk batting didn't stick to the fabric at all, even after being ironed. Again, I don't think that this affected the quilting, but it was unusual.
The bamboo batting was the softest and most supple while the all-cotton also felt great and was a little thicker than the bamboo-cotton.
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| Quilt blocks lounging in the gazebo |
The Quilting Process
For consistency, I used the same backing fabric for all of the pieces, a Kona solid in pink. I put a new Superior Topstitch 90\14 needle into the machine. I also used Superior Threads, King Tut thread (40) for both the bobbin and the top. The bobbin was a grey thread while the top was a light variegated. I ended up running out of both of these on my last block!
I started by quilting-in-the-ditch each block. The cotton and bamboo-cotton batting were great. The cotton-wool batting adds loft (puffiness) and did feel a little thicker. It was also great to quilt. I was surprised with the silk batting. It is the thinnest, was a little stiff and it almost felt as if there was no batting.
Free Motion Quilting (FMQ)
After doing some in-the-ditch quilting, I then went back to complete the FMQ of each block. I started with the cotton-wool batting. Wow! It was really great to quilt and I definitely saw the added loft while quilting. I did have to be more careful about puckers, just because of the added loft.
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| FMQ on the cotton-wool batting (block size 16" x 16"½) |
After quilting the cotton-wool batting, the silk batting felt really thin. I did have to adjust the tension on my machine since it was so different from the cotton-wool. It did quilt well.
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| FMQ on the silk batting (block size 14" x 14"½) |
I didn't really see or feel much difference when quilting the cotton and bamboo-cotton pieces. They were both great - but this is what I'm used to quilting.
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| FMQ on the cotton batting (block size 16" x 16") |
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| FMQ on the bamboo-cotton batting (block size 15" x 15"½) |
I didn't get to finish the FMQ on the bamboo-cotton piece. I ran out of both bobbin and top threads. It is about 80% quilted.
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Back of the X block
(silk batting) |
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Back of the Half-Square Triangle block
(cotton-wool batting) |
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Back of the Log Cabin block
(cotton batting) |
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Back of the Pieced Squares block
(bamboo-cotton batting) |
The experiment is not over...
Overall, I was really impressed with the cotton-wool, bamboo-cotton and cotton batting. I was a little disappointed with the silk batting, just because it was a little stiffer and so thin. But the experiment is not over!
I still have to finish quilting the bamboo-cotton piece (after I buy more thread), and then bind each of them so they can be washed. That could make a difference in the end result.
I will also do some more experimenting with these batting - so if you're interested, follow my learning adventure next month. I'll be posting the details of Batting - Part 2 in my goal setting for the November Learning QAL on November 1st. I also hope that you'll be learning along with me!
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| Quilt block enjoying the view |
What I learned
- I was working hard to not be biased in regards to the silk batting because I was sooo looking forward to using it. It was difficult to not be disappointed.
- In defense to the silk batting, it is known to be very lightweight but warm. I will reserve judgement (on all of them) once they have been washed.
- In reality, the experiment can only be over once a whole quilt has been made and used to really get a feel for their properties as quilts. This experiment may last a long time :-)
- I was impressed by the cotton-wool batting. Only 20% wool made a big difference in the loft. I'm also glad that there is only a little bit of wool since I do react to wool - even the softest makes me itchy. I had no problem working with this batting.
If you've had success, or not, with a particular batting, feel free to share with readers and me in the comments section!
Related Links
Linking Parties: I will be linking up to these great parties. Please check them out!
Let's Bee Social,
Linky Tuesday,
Midweek Makers,
Design Wall Monday,
Main Crush Monday,
Quilter's Monday,
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?,
Oh Scrap!,
Finished or Not Friday,
MOP Monday,
Free Motion Mavericks,
Off the Wall Friday,
