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Nancy Prince |
Keeping You in Stitches |
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Houston Going to Quilt Festival in Houston is always an adventure. Nowhere in the world are there as many beautiful and unbelievable quilts as in Houston. As Americans, we are so fortunate to have this quilt show basically in our back yard. The quilts this year, as in previous years, were amazing. I would love to have the mindset of the art quilters whose inquisitive minds each year dream up unbelievable ideas to express on their quilts or have the patience and skill to create the precision piecing and appliqué of some of the traditional quilt artists. Oh, well, maybe in my next life!! In the last newsletter I mentioned that Pete's Limousine could pick you up at the airport and take you to your hotel for a nominal fee. According to Pete, a bunch of you called for reservations. Below is a photo of Pete and me when he picked me up to take me back to the airport. It was so nice knowing I didn't have to fight the crowds to get back to the airport.
Obviously, if I recommend someone I would like to make sure that they received the same service as me. There was one glitch in one reservation that I heard about and would like to hear from anyone else that might have had a problem. Everyone that emailed me was happy, but I just want to make sure there were no other problems before I make my recommendations again next year. Anyway, teaching in Houston is always a joy and a challenge at the same time. Hopefully I will be back next year and will see some of you in one of my workshops. Tips for You - Printing on Fabric!! I receive a lot of questions at workshops and in emails on how do I print on fabric. Now I am most definitely not on the leading edge of fabric printing compared to some of the authors that write books. However, I do have a bit of information I think might be of interest to you. What type of fabric do you need to print your designs on? You will need a pretreated paper backed fabric in a size to fit your printer - most printers being 8 ½" x 11" - or you can pretreat your own with Bubble Jet Set. There are many good brands of pretreated paper backed fabric on the market some of which are Color Textiles, Printed Treasure and Jacquard. I personally use Color Textiles poplin for most of my printing needs, but I have used the other brands as well with good results. Color Textiles and Jacquard both offer fabric in sheets and on rolls. The rolls are more economical but very few of the standard office supply store printers are equipped to handle rolled fabric. The one beautiful thing about fabric to print on - you don't have to use a quilting type cotton. There is also silk, linen, canvas, twill, denim, broadcloth- just to name a few. Varying the different fabrics in your quilt can give different texture and dimension to your quilts. Most fabric manufacturers have sample kits you can purchase to see the different variety of fabrics to choose from. Bubble Jet Set is more economical but does require some extra work on your part. The fabric is immersed in the Bubble Jet set which treats the fabric so it will accept the ink. Once treated, the fabric is then ironed to freezer paper before running through the printer. Read the manufacturers recommendations for exact instructions. What type of printer do I need? You will need an ink jet printer. Most ink jet printers are 8 ½" x 11", but if you are looking for a wider format printer, Hewlett Packer makes a 13 wide printer for around $350. Of course, wider paperback fabric would be in order here, so you need to consider if you need that capability. What type of inkjet ink printer should I look for? Ink for ink jet printers is either dye-based or pigment-based. Most of the home based printers are dye based ink. This type of ink is not waterfast so the fabric must be pretreated before printing or the ink will run as soon as water touches it. Dye-based ink is absorbed into the fabric and any ink that the fabric can't absorb needs to be rinsed out. So the fabric must be rinsed before use to remove the excess ink. Pigment based inks on the other hand are waterfast. Pigment ink sits on the fibers rather than soaking into them. It is not necessary to wash the fabric after printing. However, the fabric should sit for 24 hours to let it completely dry before use. Curb the desire to iron the fabric before it has had a chance to dry as ironing can degrade the fabric. Epson currently has the most printer models that have pigment ink. Look for DURAbrite® or UltraChrome® in the name. Most of the Hewlett Packer printers are ink jet although the one exception is Vivera pigment inks. Some things to think of before you print on your fabric:
I know I have been saying forever that the first thread painting video is just about ready. Well, my enthusiasm outweighed my ability to get the job done. We were ready to release the video and then decided at the last minute to change the way the project is offered to you. Basically, the change is in your best interest, and I think the extra time it is taking will be worth it. Below is a photo of the project called Seasons in My Garden.
The seasons are obviously summer, fall, winter and spring. The first season, Spring, is an hour long video with the remaining seasons consisting of snippets in a condensed video. Seasons in my Garden - Spring can be completed in about 6-8 hours with the remaining seasons in less time as you get accustomed to the project. I think the 4 seasons make a "just too cute" quilt, but if you are looking for some other ideas, then consider these:
I hope you will give the video a try!! - Is your computer running slow?
- A cool site if you like Sudoku
I Leave You with This... My husband and I are leaving next week for Philly to visit my oldest son and his family. I am looking forward to a lot of small size hugs and kisses and a special time with my granddaughter talking with her until she falls asleep at night. I know that many of you will be driving or flying to visit loved ones for Thanksgiving and I hope that your travels are safe. I plan on eating way too much, spending too much money and getting up to the sweet smells coming from someone else's kitchen. I hope you plan on the same. So from my house to yours, have a joyous and happy Thanksgiving!! Thanks for spending some time today with me. "See" you online. Till the next newsletter. Happy thread painting!! Keeping you in stitches,
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Volume 1 Issue 6 What's In This Issue?
Upcoming teaching events -
Mancuso Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival
I would love to hear your feedback on the Newsletter or the new website. |
