Thanks Margo for the advice. I finished piecing my Stars for a New Day today. I am so excited! I am hoping to find someone to quilt it with a long arm. I have my fabrics picked out for the new BOM. I appreciate all of you. I have learned so much from reading everyone's post. I hope to get to quilt more this year. Happy Valentines Day everyone. Paula

Tina- My mind was largely elsewhere when I wrote that reply about the "min" design boards so I wasn't specific enough. They are not for quilt tops but to be used during the block piecing process. They do not fold down. I have these in many sizes for different bins. A board needs a stiff material for the base and a fuzzy material for the front. Back--art core board, super heavy card, anything similar. The front--flannel, flannel backed vinyl tablecloth, felt, warm and natural batting. Glue or staple the two together. Sorry, obviously not what you were looking for.

I recently read that someone (I have forgotten who) gets unused pizza boxes to store her projects in. Of course, the kids may think there is actual pizza in there, so you may have to train them.

Spitfire wrote:
Tina, I may have spoken too soon. I've never noticed a fragrance when I'm spraying the diluted starch, but I just went down and smelled the concentrate, and there is definitely a fragrance. You might want to see if you can borrow enough for a diluted bottle to try before you purchase a big ole jug of the concentrate.
Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks Margo! Diane's recipe sounds super simpe, but since I definitely don't want buggy critters finding my quilts, that method will have to wait until I know I can sew and finish a quilt in a timely manner (read: the kids have moved out ). I haven't tried Sta-Flo. When I first bought starch, I bought whatever I could find at my grocers -I didn't know one brand from another - and I've had it forEVER. But since you say Sta-Flo doesn't have a smell, I'll definitely try to find a small bottle of that and give it a go. I love having a guild - you're the best!
-Tina

No, Tina, there is no smell to the Sta-Flo starch, but there are preservatives in it. For that reason, Diane Gaudynski prefers to use Argo cornstarch to make her own. She cooks hers, but because there are no preservatives, it has a short shelf life. Here is her recipe from her web site:

Try my recipe for spray starch for all your pressing/piecing needs. Remember, you can adjust any of these amounts to suit your own needs, and also don't keep this for more than two weeks max. I make up a batch when I need it, then dump it out when I'm finished. It produces a super flat stable quilt: Dissolve half a teaspoon (or one teaspoon for a stiffer starch) of regular Argo cornstarch (in your cupboard probably) in a few tablespoons of cold water in a heat proof 2-cup measuring pitcher like Pyrex. Add boiling water to make one cup, stirring constantly. Then add cold water to the 2 cup line. Let cool and use in a pump spray bottle. Shake it every time you spray. You may have to dilute it a little if it is too thick or builds up white flakes. Lasts a week or so as there are no preservatives, no chemicals, no nothing that harms us or the environment, and it’s practically free, except for the spray bottle! Don't starch fabrics for storage as it will attract critters such as centipedes, and mice.

I've also heard that you can just mix a couple of tablespoons of Argo cornstarch in a pint of tepid water and shake until dissolved before using. The ratio can be adjusted until you get the stiffness you want. I haven't tried either of these methods, but it would be worth a try if the prepared starches are a problem for your migraines.

Agnes, I would love to see your design wall system. I'm always willing to learn something new. I don't have a blank wall in my house for a design wall and I've thought about a free-standing one, but I don't really have a place to store one of those when not in use, either. So keeping one in a bin might be an option. How 'mini' is it? How does it stand up or 'display'? Do you have to keep it out until the quilt it done? Can I use it for a queen-size quilt?
As to the quality of fabric, I find that it doesn't really matter where I buy my fabric from - I still get frayed edges. Maybe batiks don't fray, but I don't buy a lot of those.
I don't have to crank out quilts. Between the family commitments and migraines (I get a LOT), I really only sandwich a few quilts a year. Last year, I sandwiched 3 small quilts, that didn't require any snipping, and 3 lap-size or larger, that needed some snipping. That really isn't that much snipping time in my life. If I was doing a quilt a month or a quilt every 2 weeks, it might be an issue, I guess.
And Margo, when making your own starch, is there an odor at all? I think that's one of the things that's kept me from using starch, too. The store-bought starch stinks. My migraines make me extra sensitive to certain smells. And the thought of smelling it while spraying it, drying it, ironing it and sewing it - ugghhh. So before I brew a batch of homemade, I want to know what I'm in for... Thanks.
-Tina

Agnes, you are going (or already are) a real asset to those of us still developing our particular 'style of management.' tee hee

And I agree with you. I have some of those fabrics, and they indeed, are not worth the saving in the long run. Am no longer tempted when I see one that "visually" looks like I must have it -- if once I 'see' it is inferior or loose weave, I'm no longer tempted. Has taken alot of time to get that firm in my resolve.

Lynn

My knowledge for today is from Margo's Post: I find that if I starch the backing fabric, the quilt actually slides around better on the machine. I shall try the starch on the backing of my next lap quilt.

I also realize everyone uses the price point/quality of fabric they are happy with for performance and economy. I was involved with a group that raved about the "quality for the price" fabric of a certain internet company (not quilting name brand manufactures) so I ordered a small stack of 10" squares to see both actual color and quality. I was most unhappy with the fraying that happened just handling these pieces to decide on colors and placements in various designs. As a result much as some of the colors were going to work for me I will not be getting any of the fabric and will be spending more to finish these "economy" quilts. If you find cleaning up quilts quality time I say go for it.

I give the following advice under advisement that I get accused of being too organized. A little hint that might help for those that don't have a design wall and work off the dining room table along with the kids, cats, meals, etc is to use "mini" design boards that fit into bins. I don't have cats or kids and work but I work off a limited sewing machine table. I will have to post separately after I get the right photos chosen to show you my system.

paulan wrote:
Paulan, I don't wash my quilt until the binding is finished. Of course, mine are machine quilted, not hand quilted....that would be a consideration.

When machine quilting on my domestic machine, I find that if I starch the backing fabric, the quilt actually slides around better on the machine. I mostly use my Handi-Quilter mid-arm machine now, and like the fact that the starched top and backing have much less distortion than softer fabrics.

If you will be hand quilting, I would recommend sewing a line of stay-stitching around the entire perimeter of the quilt top and gently soaking it in tepid water to remove the starch. It may take a couple of water changes to make the fabrics soft again. I have done it in the bathtub so that the fabric doesn't have any agitation, which would cause some fraying and loose threads to deal with.

Spitfire wrote:

Gotcha! It's probably nice to sit down and get to know the project again after a while! Don't you just love how the starty/stoppies prevent the machine from eating the first couple of stitches or making bird's nests when you start sewing!

Oh, and just to clarify - I don't spend an ENTIRE two days snipping thread . Just some time watching movies while the kids are in school or after they go to bed. My sense of time is off, I guess, because that's all the 'free time' I get in a day sometimes, so I count that as a 'day'. I could crank it out faster if I really wanted to. Just don't want to - don't know when I'll get a chance to sit down and watch a good movie uninterrupted again - ha!
-Tina

My "threads" that I'm snipping are rarely actual sewing threads. I ALWAYS use a starting and stopping piece of fabric (I just get a better stitch that way) and have very little thread tails. That's not a problem at all. But I do have lots of frayed edges. I work in my dining room. That means that stuff gets moved around a LOT. Kids move things. Cats move things. Dinner moves things. Juggling between projects moves things. My quilt tops see a lot of handling before they're ready to sandwich. I don't have the luxury of leaving a project out on a design wall until it's ready to sandwich and quilt - I seriously don't even have room for a design wall. So my quilts crawl on the floor with me and get pushed and pulled and straightened while I figure out layouts and measure for borders. And my mind doesn't work well on one project at a time - I need lots going on. So I get frayed edges. I deal with it. -Tina

Many of my threads come from frayed edges, lots of handling (uh-oh) and seams that have a bias edge or are not cut perfectly on grain. which would explain the non-matching aspect if it gets stuck behind a lighter fabric and would show thru