Quilting question

I have a friend who for years pin basted with safety pins but left them all open. She was always scratched up after quilting. I asked why she didn't close them and she said "the teacher said to never close them" I suggested that perhaps the teacher meant when taking them out of the quilt to not close them so they are open and ready for the next one but she didn't buy it. Eight years later I notice she does close the pins; don't know what made her change, don't really want to ask because it's likely something bizarre. :-)

marcella

Oh no! We have to breastfeed our quilts now?? I managed through two babies (two years each), but the "old girls" ain't what they used to be. And besides, I can barely remember to turn off my sewing machine at the end of the day (Dh made me buy a self-turning-off iron for safety). I can just imagine that now I'll be starving my poor quilts. I'm thinking solids will just have to do. ;)

sunny

Kathy Applebaum wrote:

Get over here and clean off my monitor! ROFLOL

Debra, when using this little tool do you have still baste it to the floor, I have carpet in all my rooms and I would hate to have it stuck to my carpet. Remember I am new at this if this sounds stupid. I am going to look for a US source because I have been treading this step, due to the arthritis in my hands.

Jacquel>>

Debra, do you know where you can find the pasting gun in the US and the Tack b gone. I hate to pay overseas shipping but I can't find them here in the US.

Jacqueline in KY

This should have been I have been dreading this step forever.

Jacquel>Debra, when using this little tool do you have still baste it to the

On the other hand.....

1. That study is a few years old. Formulations change and so on. For example, Sullivan's has a new "Archival" basting spray available.
2. My biggest problem with the study to begin with: These tested samples were not washed before testing. Most of us wash quilts. Often soon after being finished. We like the look and the fact is that by the time we have finished the quilt has probably been on the floor, the QIs have "I'd" it, and so on. Especially if the quilt is to be given away we tend to wash it. (Some wall hangings may not get washed often, but they probably get some sort of cleaning at least occasionally.) Nothing was done in the testing to see how much difference there is in using any of the spray products if the quilt is washed before aging/light exposure.

I use the 505 Basting Spray from Spray and Fix. It works well, and I can even hand quilt through it easily. I have no problems with residue on the needle, and the sewing machine tech does not have a problem. (Believe me he would say so if there was a problem. Blunt spoken he is. There are some of the sprays he does not like.) I also occasionally use Solvy kk2200, but it dissipates with heat, is meant to. The contents are volatile at regular ironing heat.

Pin basting and thread basting are long standing traditions. I would love to be able to use them but my hands/fingers will not allow me to do pin basting (even with all the gadgets available to help). I do occasionally thread baste. Have a vintage top, made by my grandmother, thread basted. (It needs more and will get a lot more of it when I mark it. I know, it should have been marked before basting, but there were other circumstances involving showing the quilt top. Figured it would be a lot more stable to baste it to batting and backing before hanging it for a few weeks. ) I also do not in general expect my quilts to be heirlooms. I have no one to really pass them on to, although my nieces and nephews do appreciate them. And I want them to be used. If they wear out then they were most likely well loved.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

Pati, > Very interesting reading! OK, that's it, I won't even bother trying to find

Jacqueline, Check at Jo-Ann's. they should carry the basting gun, tacks and remover.That is where I got mine. Do try to find the newer finer needle/tack one. Many of the quilt shops also carry them. You can always google for "quilt basting tacks/gun" You can also buy a plastic grid that slides under the quilt to raise it up and allows you to tack easier. It looks like the grids that are often used in dropped ceilings where the lights are above the ceiling tiles.

Pati, > Debra, do you know where you can find the pasting gun in the US and

John, When I did one of my first quilts, a small one, I used straight pins. Never again. Not only can they fall out they are dangerous. Especially for those of us that are, uhmmmm............ "generously endowed"> Those pins can really be painful.

Basting should be done with safety pins. Curved ones may help make it easier to insert and close.

Pati, > The responses that relate to pining brings up the question of whether

could of also meant not to close 'any' til you've got them 'all' pinned, so you can double check they are where you want them with no puckers etc...then close them all at once or perhaps close them in sections as you work but all before you start quilting. i'd venture a guess she got a wee bit lost in pinning and didnt quite hear the rest of the teachers instructions, lol. :) cheers, jeanne

Vote B'fly for President '08 san-fran at ihug dot co dot nz nzlstar > I have a friend who for years pin basted with safety pins but left them

Jacqueline, I got my basting gun and tacks at Walmart. Mom got hers at JoAnn's. When we baste a quilt we put the layers on an old fashioned 4 board quilting frame and tack it with the basting gun tacks. Then we remove the quilt sandwich from the frame and machine quilt it. This way we don't have to crawl on the floor, and we don't have to have a huge table. We have set the frame up in several places, sometimes propped on chair backs, sometimes suspended from a ceiling, and a couple of times outdoors on my deck. The boards store easily. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Debra, they have the gun at Joann's but not the refill tacks nor do they have the remover. I can't find them anywhere on the net.

I don't live near a Joann's nor really do I live near a Walmart, as a matter of fact I don't live near anything but a rural clinic and a Food City.

Jacquel>On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:24:26 -0500, Jacqueline in KY mountain-breeze dot com> wrote: >

I don't have a grid for mine. I put the needle through the quilt at an angle and the bring it up a short distance away, like putting in a pin, and then pull the trigger. That way both ends of the tack are on top of the quilt. I think I got my gun at JoAnns. There are various places to buy them online; google for quilt basting gun. Some people like a basting gun, others don't. I find it is easier on my hands than pinning, even with a Kwik-clip. You can google the archives of this newsgroup for a number of discussions on basting guns.

Julia > Jacqueline,

Howdy!

Okay, now you've done it, John!!! : "look at the latest rap video" -- goodgodhavemercy!! I refuse! I won't! Can't make me! *shudder*

Ragmop/Sandy--turning up the volume on Metallica to banish The Very Idea!!! LOL ...it's hard to handquilt when I'm this transgressed upon 8->

Metallica & quilt> My comment on pissing contests was relating to the Needlepoint forums

Howdy!

How come?

Is this another personal preference? Marking first? 'Cause it just never occurred to me... well, that's what makes this whole quilting shindig so fun, huh? All the different ways we do and can do things. ;-P

Ragmop/Sandy-- wondering how far Pati is from Scottsdale...?

i probly got this wrong but what the heck, can always check a map to verify or wait for Pati or Ms B to respond. iirc, Scottsdale is NE side of downtown and Pati is due W of downtown. i should check the addys first i suppose, oh well. i got to chat for quite a while on the phone with Ms B the day before i left town. would of been great to see her but they were way busy then and i had no transport of my own that week. :( it was really really good to catch up with her again, even if only on the phone. i still owe her more hugz when i see her next time. :) cheers, jeanne

Pati darlin, you are talking to a fella. "generously endowed" maybe needs a qualifier.

Yo! John! Uncross your legs dude, she meant us females who are "very mammalian", "born to breastfeed", "have mounta>John, When I did one of my first quilts, a small one, I used straight

but sunny.... that's what the chocolate is for!