maggieszafranski wrote:
Maggie, I learned (the hard way) that if you drop a pencil, frequently the lead inside breaks in one or more places. Then, when you try to sharpen it, it's already broken and you end up with short bits of lead that seem to break as you use the pencil.
Brita

well, i have learned from Sharon Schamber very good tips for most of 'challenges'.
1. draw with the most inexpensive regular technical pencil that you can find, the load is so poor that it is very simple to get rid of with simple rubber.
2. i do sandwitch my quilt with spary glue, as well from the inexpensive stores, it works just fine

Hmmmmm. Eileen, do you know if they tested the Marvy Air-Erasable pens that most long-armers use now? That would be interesting!

I spoke to Deirdre McElroy(Roxanne's daughter)a few years ago. She told me that her company did a test, simulating years of aging on quilts, for many different quilt markers.
The blue wash outs came back as light brown. I stopped using them on customer quilts as well as my own.

Another source, I don't remember who, told me to never use the blue wash out markers on any red fabrics. Apparently, it doesn't work well with the red dyes. I've told my friends and customers about this for several years.

eileenkny

As far as removing marks, I've had good luck with a product called Sew Clean. Of course, test first to see how your marks react with it.
http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?Store_id=242&page_id=23&Item_ID=1007

I spray pencil marks with it and let it soak for about 15 minutes, then blot the marks away with a wet washcloth. Please check for these products with your local quilt shop. We need to help them stay in business so they will be there when we need them!

And about basting....When I machine quilt on my domestic sewing machine, I pin baste my layers together close enough that I can not put my hand (fingers slightly spread open) anywhere on the quilt without touching at least one safety pin, and always have a few extra in the borders to prevent shifting layers.

You might also want to consider hiring a long-arm quilter to baste your quilt together for you using Superior's Ultra Vanish thread. After you've done your quilting and wash the quilt, all of the basting threads just wash away! Cool, huh!

For getting a really good fine line on dark fabrics, I have been pleased with the Clover White Marking Pen. You can't see the line until the "ink" dries, but then it shows up really well. The really cool thing I like about it is that you can get rid of the marks easily with a hot iron (steam or just heat) or with water. :shock: With that said, it is a fairly new product, and I have no idea what will happen with these chemicals in the fabric in 100 years, but that is not an issue for me, and I always wash my quilts when I've finished quilting them.

http://www.clover-usa.com/product/69424/517/_/White_Ink_Marker

I also hate the way the blue wash-out markers don't seem to last very long. I have had success for years using the CRAYOLA WASHABLE markers. They come in lots of colors, and are lots cheaper. I always take special care to remove the marks when I'm finished, and like the blue markers DO NOT expose the marks to heat.

For any quilt that I have marked, I put them in a washer full of tepid water for an hour our so, then spin all that water out to remove the water soluable chemicals. Then I refill the washer and use Quilt Soap (Orvus Paste available at the farmer's co-op!) to wash it, then dry it flat to block it. If it's a cuddle quilt, I often throw it into the dryer, which makes it softer, but the heat does cause some fading.

I never can get a chalk pencil to give me a sharp point without breaking! GRR! I wonder if it is the sharpener that I am using?

Maggie in E. Central Illinois

My only problem with the General pencil is that it isn't sharp enough to do a thin line. When I sharpen it to a good point, it breaks off.

Has anyone tried the General's chalk pencil that was featured on one of the TQS shows? I bought one Saturday ($1.40 ea). They only had it in white. It looks like it will do a good job of marking on darker fabrics.

Shirley

First let me say I did not make the TQS BOM quilt but I do a lot of BOM challenges and sampler quilts for my guild. Right now I have a collection of over 40 blocks ready to be put into a quilt.

Have you tried MARY MATSUTA's method of quilting using a walker foot. I am doing something similar using contact paper templates and doing free hand around them. I like not having to pivot and turning the whole quilt around but using the contact templates as a guide. This method takes a lot of practice but then all skills take a lot of practice. Mary's method was featured on TQS second series. I like it because it was a mark free method.

We are approaching the start of the 2010 BOM, I understand that these two quilts will deal a lot with the quilting part of the project. I would like to make a list of suggestions or topics that might be covered, if possible. These are problem areas, that I'm running into while quilting the 2009 BOM.

1. What's the best method of marking the quilt - especially on patterned fabrics?
a. Washout blue markers. They run out of ink fast and are no good on dark or patterned fabrics.
b. I just purchased the SewLine pencil product in dark and white and used to mark the 2009 BOM. What I found is that by the time I got all the outlining done, the white lines have disappeared. The dark lines I cannot get rid of. Neither work on patterned fabrics.
c. Thick tissue paper. This is what I currently am using. I trace my design on the paper, pin to the quilt and sew over the lines. This is easy to remove on large designs, next to impossible on tiny ones.

2. Whats the best way to secure the quilt layers. The 2009 BOM, I did a combination of pins and basting and thought I had done a good job. But, by the time I got to the quilt corners of the outer most long strip in-the-ditch quilting, I had puckering and I had to make a little fold. This happened on all four corners. I used a walking foot.

These are just two large problems I have. I'm sure others have more.