Quilt Marking Tools Put to the Test

So after an interesting conversation on Instagram, I decided to throw all my cares to-do-list to the wind, and conduct another (non) scientific test of the tools I have and like to use.

This is BY NO MEANS a comprehensive test, this is just me messing around, sharing my not-so-scienfitic results with you.

This pictures shows the fabric and the tools I used.

I used Kona White and Kona Charcoal as the fabrics (because they were close), and the tools were: blue Mark-B-Gone pen, white Crayola colored pencil, white Dressmaker's Marking Pencil, yellow Crayola colored pencil, black Frixion pen.

In this picture, I simply spritzed the fabric with water to show what disappears. Or smears... :)

Here I scrubbed the fabric to simulate washing. Obviously it would be a bit better with washing, but I didn't want to take the time to do that. :)

You can see the white marks disappeared from the Charcoal fabric, and the yellow and black Frixion marks smeared and did nothing.

Here's a close-up after scrubbing to show that the yellow was almost gone, and that you can't see any other marks - colored pencil or Frixion pen. Remember that...

Oh, I ironed it! Lookie lookie!

And here it is after being in the freezer (or a cold car in the winter) for 5 minutes:

Hmmm....not the best results....

And then I ironed it a second time:

So, I didn't take process pictures, but I decided to see what would happen if I scrubbed and rubbed it with soap, trying, mostly, to get the yellow colored pencil out.  I then ironed it (to dry it, really), and froze it again. Here it is after 10 minutes in the freezer:

I think all the marks are much less noticable after this, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I will say this. Last February, I made a quilt for Kelly's baby, Tucker, and used the Frixion pen to mark all my quilting lines -- then hardly sewed directly on them at all! And I used it to figure out what I was going to write on the label, then changed it. I thought the Frixion pen would disappear forever at that point, but learned later that it doesn't. I asked Kelly yesterday, and she said she hasn't seen ANY marks on Tucker's quilt, and she's washed it multiple times. She lives in Florida, though, so the quilt probably hasn't seen freezing temperatures... :)

So, that's it!!

PLEASE feel free to share what kind of marking tools you like to use, and why. I know all 12 of my readers will be happy to find a good one! :)

{WiP} Wednesday ~ 24/52

I love sewing. Really I do. I just don't feel like I get to do enough of it!

Or, maybe I should say that I don't feel like I get to do enough enjoyable sewing. And it feels like whatever free time I do have is spent doing something other than enjoyable sewing!  It's just not fair!! :)

But this weekend, I had the chance to spend some quality time with my sewing machine, and a WiP that has been languishing on my design wall for quite some time. Quite. :)

You'll recognize it. From March!  This was my quilt for the Faith Circle of the do.Good Stitches bee of March. I got most of my blocks back in March, but there were a couple of people who didn't send them until well into April. And by the time I did get them and was able to sew a couple of rows together, it was May and things got cray-hay-hay-zee!!  ;)

So...I finally got to take it off my design wall and put it together on Sunday.  Unfortunately for me, I didn't quite remember what I had done the first time, and so I had to spend a little time figuring out where to go next. No big deal. It's sewing...I can figure it out. :)

Except I didn't do a very good job of figuring it out.  See that big X there on the left? It's not supposed to be there! And because it's there, that whole column is off, making the entire look of the quilt...off.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm NOT a perfect quilter. No way, no how.  I rarely even seek perfection! I seek quality construction (don't want it to fall apart in the wash!), and I seek a good visual image, but I don't seek perfection!  If only this little block was turned, and the rest of the rows of wonky zig zags looked fine, then I would totally leave it! But it ruins the lines of the whole quilt, I think.

So, thankfully it's on the end, I just ripped out 3 seams, and now I have to flip it around and sew it back together.

The right way. No biggie.  :)  I had hoped to have it quilted in time for our Front Range Modern Quilt Guild meeting on Saturday, but I highly doubt that's gonna happen. Maybe I'll just show them the flimsy.

Other than that, I've got a couple of bee blocks to make, and I really want to start a new quilt from my 13 in 13 (quilts to make in 2013) list. I've made 2. And it's June. Well...3, once this one is finished, but it's not on my 13 in 13 list! 

Oh, and I currently know of 5 of my friends who are pregnant, so I guess I best be figuring out how to...wait. Scratch that. 6. Six pregnant friends. I need to be busting out some baby quilts, man!  :)

You know what? Summer is busier than I thought it was going to be! Having 3 active little kids to entertain all day every day is exhausting!