Pressing and Cutting Paradigm Shift needed

" Ellison" wrote in message
...
Sounds to me like you have too much fabric for your area;
I have a spare room, now; you have my address, and sending
fabric is cheaper than a plane ticket. ;-D

Smoooooth!

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting, Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

OK, now that's not even a subtle beg - but then, nobody ever accused you of
subtle! G

But the hanger idea is worth trying. Thanks! And thanks, Martha!

Too much fabric indeed! I think somebody needs their mouth washed out with
some Orvus. Harumph.

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
De-Fang email address to reply
" Ellison" wrote in message
...
Howdy!
Yeah, what Martha said.
Those padded hangers, little cardboard tube along the bottom
that holds pants/slacks, just a bit sticky to keep things from sliding
off,
are perfect for strips I've cut, as well as for large, ironed pieces of
fabric.
There are over-the-door hanging racks, like a big triangle bracket
(also used for plant hanger),
or single bars like the swing-out arm on the washroom door here,
that also come in handy, and I don't have to
make space in the closet. g Fold-away clothes rack works, too.
for instance: http://www.hingeit.com/?source=google
http://www.instahanger.com/
A second ironing board w/out iron can be set up near the
cutting area to drape fabric over until you're ready to cut it;
nice broad, flat surface, inexpensive, too.
Sounds to me like you have too much fabric for your area;
I have a spare room, now; you have my address, and sending
fabric is cheaper than a plane ticket. ;-D
Ragmop/Sandy
"Martha in IN" wrote in message
...
Wendy, Do you have any closet space you can use to hang your fabric? I
often
will hang mine using the clip hangers and folding the fabric so that it
fits
the hanger. Sometimes I have ironed it and sometimes I haven't but I,
too,
have that cat problem with anything left flat or horizontal.
Martha in IN

Wendy, dear, you need to talk to a slob here. I have a BIG house all to
myself- so that has absolutely *nothing* to do with it. I bring home
fabric. I wash the fabric. I neatly fold it into pieces about 4 in. X
10 in. and store it standing on it's side. When it's time to cut, I
open it up, shake it out, then line up the selvedges so that the fold
hangs neatly. THEN. I lay it on the cutting mat and smooth it with my
little hands. I grab the next piece, line up the selvedges, etc. and
stack it on the previous piece. Continue. Notice I NEVER mention the
curse word. whisper "iron" Then I cut. Then I sew. My QUALITY
fabric comes from the dryer in such a condition that it is perfectly
"safe" to smooth by hand, fold and store. And smooth by hand, then cut.

Been doing this for years. Do press seams during construction, do
square up several times during construction of the block. Have won many
ribbons and much praise. ;-)))

Leslie, The Laziest

The HairyFacedOnes 'N Me

RCTQ- Houston 2004..... A good friend will come and bail you out of
jail.... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...
that was fun!"

Obviously, you've never taken your QUALITY fabric out of the dryer because
the dryer was needed for 17 billion pairs of tiny underpants, stuffed it in
a laundry basket, forgotten all about it because somebody spilled milk, then
life continued on, days or even weeks pass, then folded it the best way a
toddler can, stuffed it into bins sloppy from multiple rootles.

Besides, ironing is zen-like. It quiets me.

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
De-Fang email address to reply
"The HairyFacedOnes 'N Me" wrote in message
...
Wendy, dear, you need to talk to a slob here. I have a BIG house all to
myself- so that has absolutely *nothing* to do with it. I bring home
fabric. I wash the fabric. I neatly fold it into pieces about 4 in. X
10 in. and store it standing on it's side. When it's time to cut, I
open it up, shake it out, then line up the selvedges so that the fold
hangs neatly. THEN. I lay it on the cutting mat and smooth it with my
little hands. I grab the next piece, line up the selvedges, etc. and
stack it on the previous piece. Continue. Notice I NEVER mention the
curse word. whisper "iron" Then I cut. Then I sew. My QUALITY
fabric comes from the dryer in such a condition that it is perfectly
"safe" to smooth by hand, fold and store. And smooth by hand, then cut.

Been doing this for years. Do press seams during construction, do
square up several times during construction of the block. Have won many
ribbons and much praise. ;-)))

Leslie, The Laziest

The HairyFacedOnes 'N Me

RCTQ- Houston 2004..... A good friend will come and bail you out of
jail.... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...
that was fun!"

Is she good or what???
Martha in IN
"Kathy Applebaum" wrote in message
...

" Ellison" wrote in message
...
Sounds to me like you have too much fabric for your area;
I have a spare room, now; you have my address, and sending
fabric is cheaper than a plane ticket. ;-D

Smoooooth!

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting, Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

Wendy, I may be a card-carrying sloth. There. I've confessed. Confession is
supposed to be good for the soul and I hope my soul feels better. That said,
I do not wash my quilt fabric and I do not press it. I store it very gently.
So far, I haven't had any problems.
I guess I would mend my ways if I were doing something in red and white.
Assuming that you belong to the "wash first" group, maybe you could grab
it out of the dryer and place it flat and smooth to cool, and fold softly.
That might save you some pressing time. However, membership in the "don't
wash" club always has an opening for one more busy quilter. When the Quilt
Police drop in, we just fix them something chocolate and have a nice visit.
Polly

frood wrote in message
.com...
I need to fundamentally change the way I prepare fabric for cutting. My
current system is time-consuming, and keeps me from doing mass cutting at
a
time.

Currently, I:
- Gather the fabric to be cut
- Press it, one or two pieces together if they are the same size
- Lay it over the half-wall in the bathroom (my pressing area) or on my
bed
(for large pieces)
- Take the pieces to the dining room for cutting

The problem is, if I want to do a lot of cutting (like I have this mad
hair
about cutting strips from each of my fabrics), I don't have enough time to
do all the ironing at once, then do all the cutting. If I just do enough
ironing to match the amount of time I have for cutting, (say I have 30
minutes {well, just pretend!} I can spend 15 minutes pressing, and 15
cutting) this does not get much done.

I cannot think of a way to store the fabric after it is pressed to keep it
wrinkle free enough to cut it another day.

I'm looking for ideas here. How do you do this? Press and cut as you go?
Devote an entire day for it? (in my dreams!) Have a QI-free sanctuary for
pressed fabric?

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply

Darned those people for getting hungry! Seems even if you find a flat
surface it fills with junk around here. When I am doing a lot of
sewing I leave my large fold out table up and that is pretty helpful.
We are pretty casual so it isn't a big deal. That table has worked out
really well. I use it to cut, pin quilts, sew and feed the extended
family when they come. Taria

frood wrote:

I just don't know where to stack it so it is mostly flat, and it won't be
disturbed. I don't have a lot of flat open spaces, except for the dining
table. Unfortunately, people seem to want that for eating 3 or 4 times a
day. ;-P

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
de-fang email address to reply

frood wrote:

I just don't know where to stack it so it is mostly flat, and it won't be
disturbed. I don't have a lot of flat open spaces, except for the dining
table. Unfortunately, people seem to want that for eating 3 or 4 times a
day. ;-P

I'm lucky in that I have fewer folk to accommodate on laps for eating,
and they are all old enough to manage! I also have a convenient
cupboard in the dining room, just the right size and shape for the big
cutting mat. I use that area for quilt cutting and for small garment
pieces.

I have the little ironing board and the small cutting mat up in the
sewing room, and the big ones downstairs, so wherever I am I can press
and cut all in one session if I want to.

At present the dining table is occupied by selected pieces of plastic
tanks, as DH and the Son and Heir to the fambly debts are building tanks
together for entering a competition.

Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Kathy Applebaum wrote:

" Ellison" wrote in message
...
Sounds to me like you have too much fabric for your area;
I have a spare room, now; you have my address, and sending
fabric is cheaper than a plane ticket. ;-D

Smoooooth!


Very neat! Like it!

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

frood wrote:

Obviously, you've never taken your QUALITY fabric out of the dryer because
the dryer was needed for 17 billion pairs of tiny underpants, stuffed it in
a laundry basket, forgotten all about it because somebody spilled milk, then
life continued on, days or even weeks pass, then folded it the best way a
toddler can, stuffed it into bins sloppy from multiple rootles.

Besides, ironing is zen-like. It quiets me.

ALL my fabric gets that treatment! I iron fabric but not clothes!
Shopping and ironing the laundry are DH's chores. The fact that the
ironing pile is 4 feet high and the bottom layers have fossilized is NOT
MY FAULT!

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!