Tips for Working with Waterford Linen

Welcome to napkin week!  After all my projects last week I promised tutorials this week.  I've made three different sets of napkins all featuring Waterford linen by Robert Kaufman.  This 100% linen is incredibly soft and has beautiful drape.  I got mine at Quilter's Way but it's also available at Purl Soho.  Working with linen is a little different than quilting cotton so here's what I learned...

Wash your linen, it's going to shrink.  I washed mine in warm water and dried it on medium.  It helps to take it out and press it while it is still slightly damp but if not just use some pressing spray to get the worst of the wrinkles out.

I LOVE Mary Ellen's Best Press but it doesn't seem to be as effective on linen.  To return it to it's nice crisp finish after washing I used good old Niagara spray starch.

If appropriate use spray baste. I prefer to sew baste because I'm freaked out by the chemical smell of basting spray. There's no quilting on these napkins but when quilting my Easter table runner I ended up ripping out all the sew basting and redoing it with spray baste to give it more body.




Pin twice as much as you normally would.  Linen isn't "sticky" the way cotton is so it shifts a lot more when sewing. 

If you happen to sew through your thumb you can get blood out of white linen with hydrogen peroxide.  It is prudent to put a band-aid on before removing the blood or you may have to repeat the process: )  Another joy of quilting moment!

Edited to add:  Napkin week tutorials are now available...

Self Binding Napkin Tutorial

Wavy Applique Napkin Tutorial

Bound Edge Napkin Tutorial

Wiped Out

This week has been all about making cloth napkins which seems appropriate with Earth Day coming up.  Statistics say the average American uses approximately 2,200 napkins per year — about six a day.  Switching to cloth napkins is an easy way to make a difference and use up some fabric.  I started with some "practice" napkins for the kids using these prints from the organic Lorax bundle I got at Quilt Market last fall.  My kids love these but I still have to remind them to wipe their mouths: ) 

After a few adjustments to my design I made up this set to go with my Easter table runner so I'll be all set for next year.

From there I moved on to these watercolor applique napkins. These are part of a set I'm making with a coordinating table runner and coasters.  They are made with an assortment of batiks leftover from my Keeping It Together quilt and some lovely Waterford linen I picked up at Quilter's Way.  The linen is a bit heavier than Essex and super soft.  I've already gone through the 2 1/2 yards I bought so I'm going to have to pick up some more: ) 

New design so another prototype, this time with Moda Crossweave and Anna Maria Horner Little Folks voile.  These are sooo luxurious, I almost hate to use them!

And finally I got to the real reason I was making napkins in the first place.  I've never done a swap but when I heard the adorable Amy of During Quiet Time was hosting the Table Top swap I had to sign up.  My partner asked for brights so I hope she likes these.  They're are also made from Waterford linen with some Amy Butler Lark and Oliver + S City Weekend.  The napkin rings are of course Flea Market Fancy.  The fabulous Aimee of Salt Marsh Designs has a pattern for these cute little napkin rings in the upcoming issue of Modern Patchwork and I was lucky enough to get an advance copy.  Since I was a bit ahead of schedule I made some to send along also.  These are so easy and work up in a flash!  The new issue is due out next month and there are so many cool projects.  You are definitely going to want to check it out!

I think I went a little overboard;-)  Despite all the tutorials out there on making napkins (including the ones we were supposed to use for the Table Top swap) I ended up coming up with my own ways for making all these.  Three sets of napkins, three different techniques.  Check back next week for tutorials showing how I did these in case you want to try something new.

Edited to add:  Napkin week tutorials are now available...

Self Binding Napkin Tutorial

Wavy Applique Napkin Tutorial

Bound Edge Napkin Tutorial

I am so done with napkins after this week but it's nice to have lots to show for Friday finish link ups!

Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Up Friday

Confessions of a Fabric Addict Can I Get a Whoop Whoop

AmyLouWho Sew and Tell

Easter Zig Zag Table Runner

It's an Easter miracle that I finished this table runner in time for our holiday brunch!  I started making this in January so I should have had plenty of time to get it done but as so often happens I finished the top and let it linger.  Somehow Easter snuck up on me and it was still sitting there without a back waiting to be quilted.  The realization that Easter was this Sunday pushed me in to action so Wednesday I tracked down more white linen for the backing, sew basted it, and started quilting all those zigzags.  I got half way across the center section and realized it was a big wonky mess.  Linen is so soft and I used Dream Orient bamboo batting which also has a lot of drape... the result was like trying to quilt a wet noodle.  Too make matters worse, I had used masking tape to mark the zigzags and along the way they shifted.  I slept on it and in the morning it was still a complete disaster!  Friday morning I was whining to the amazing Aimee of Salt Marsh Designs and she had the brilliant suggestion to spray baste it to give it some stiffness.  I get all my best ideas from her: )  Anyway, I ripped out 2 days worth of work and started over.  The spray baste gave it some heft and I decided to make a paper zigzag template which I taped down with each row to keep my zigzags consistent.  Suddenly I was on a roll and I made it all the way across the center section when another miracle occurred... 

my zigzags matched up exactly with the patchwork.  I was worried I'd have to fudge the spacing to make the rows fit when I got to the other side.  The spray baste would have let me adjust my top but it was totally unnecessary, a perfect fit!  As luck would have it, Saturday I found myself with a few extra hours between decorating eggs with the kids and our dinner reservations so I finished quilting the patchwork zigzags.  Since I actually do follow my own advice I'd already made my binding so I squared up my top and sewed on the binding with enough time to dress for dinner.

Another miracle, I had just enough binding.  I'd like to say I planned it this way but really I just got lucky!  So after dinner I watched a movie and tacked my binding and was ready for Easter.  I'm totally loving how this came out and know it will decorate my table for years to come: )

TGIF

Thank goodness for Finish it up Friday... it gave me the push to get these X blocks sewn together. It was harder than I expected getting the vertical rows to match up. Fortunately the chains float so it's not really obvious where things were off. If I make this pattern again I'll paper-piece it.  As usual I'm debating if I'm going to quilt this one at home or schedule time on the longarm.  If I'm smart I'll just make the appointment now and get this quilt completely finished!

Another Friday finish so I'm linking up with :

Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Up Friday

Confessions of a Fabric Addict Can I Get a Whoop Whoop

AmyLouWho Sew and Tell

W.i.P. Wednesday: Oops, I did it again!

I found yet another way to make zig-zags; )  Sorry for being such a tease last week, I just didn't have anything more to show.  I've been waiting to use my Verna jellyroll for a long time!  I love the fabrics in this line but was having a hard time finding a jellyroll pattern to use.  I almost never read quilting magazines anymore but I stumbled upon this gorgeous Chain Reaction quilt flipping the March/April 2012 issue of Quiltmaker magazine.  I was immediately drawn to the secondary zig-zag pattern and since the Xs are made with 2 1/2" strips it's perfect for a jellyroll.  It wasn't until I was putting the blocks together I realized the pattern was created by Lee, the wonderful hostess of W.i.P Wednesday at freshly pieced.  I've been lurking there but never linked up.  Obviously I'll have to today: )

This works up really quickly, the hardest part is keeping your squares going in the same direction when you cut so you end up with a big triangle and a small one.  I've just started sewing the vertical rows together.  I'm pinning on the intersections and will try to trim the whole strip at once before joining it to the next.  I'm just a little compulsive about getting my points to match;-)

Now do you see the zig-zag?  If you're really paying attention you'll notice there's more than just Verna in there.  I did all the right sides with Verna but pulled most of the left sides from stash...  Hope Valley, Carmen, again with the Nicey Jane, some Sweetwater Pure, California Girl, various Joel Dewberry collections and a few other random things I found.  It's an eclectic mix but I think it's working

Pure Doneness

I don't think I can express how happy I am to be done with this quilt.  This is another one that I started almost a year ago and I was as ambivalent about it now as I was then.  Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful quilt but I really can't take credit for any of it.  This is a total rip-off of the Pure Baby Boy quilt the fabulously talented Teaginny Designs created for Moda Bake Shop.

 

What changed my attitude was reading the fabulous book "Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon.  My favorite quote, "Modern art = I could do that + Yeah, but you didn't."  Sure, everyone is impressed by a traditional quilt with a million tiny pieces and quilted feathers everywhere.  Modern quilts look deceptively simple but as anyone who's made one knows, it's really hard to get them right.  When less is more the less becomes really important! 

Looking back I see copying this quilt as part of my transition to modern quilting.   I definitely went through a phase where I was making other people's patterns with precut collections.  I made a lot of quilts I don't love because they aren't really me.  What I realize now is how much I learned from those quilts: how to use negative space, how to mix fabrics and effectively use solids, free motion quilting...  it's almost like I was in grad school using the mechanics I already had to explore the artistic aspects of modern quilting.  With so much input from blogs, flickr and pinterest there's no shortage of inspiration but that also makes it hard to find your own vision.  I'm starting to notice a shift so hopefully now I'm "graduating" and I can apply those lessons and ideas to jumpstart my own creativity and get back to making things I absolutely love: )

Another Friday finish so I'm linking up with :

Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it Up Friday

Confessions of a Fabric Addict Can I Get a Whoop Whoop

AmyLouWho Sew and Tell

Work In Progress Wednesday

I was too busy having fun at the BMQG retreat to start something new but this week I'm finally cutting in to this Verna jellyroll.  It definitely goes with the spring weather we're having here!