The colors in this block are comforting and as a family we decided to keep this one. I told my Robert it’s his.
Boersma’s pinwheel
He makes eggs in the cast iron pan for himself and our youngest on his work-from-home days, so it will be well loved.
Instead of quilting the top to the InsulBright and the bottom to the batting, then combining them, I thought I’d try quilting the whole, squooshy thing together.
The pin basting almost made me give up on that idea. While you can’t tell how mooshy-squooshy it is on the front,
Extra Sandwich Front
you certainly can tell from the back:
Extra Sandwich Back
That scared me.
I put on my walking foot, and kept the same Aurifil 50wt in, I think it’s ‘slate,’ on the machine. It was a bit squirrelly. You can see I marked some lines…but it was still squiggly.
Quilting lines
Here’s the top finished. The shifting wasn’t too bad, but some of those lines are wonky.
Top Quilting
Here’s the back:
Back QuiltedBack Quilting Close Up
I did the self-binding from the back…I probably should have changed thread color here to the purple or used bias tape for a cleaner finish, and if it was going as a gift, I certainly would have redone that part, but for home use, I’m good with it.
Self Binding
Here’s some shots of the Pilot FriXion pen (again) that was brown used on gray Kona to show it ironed out:
Ironed FriXion Markings
I sound like I’m not happy with it. I am…I just know I rushed it and I was tired, you know? It’s very pretty still.
Have you seen these Pilot FriXion pens in the fabric or quilt shops? I bought this multi-pack on Amazon, but the blue and the black can be found in some shops:
Pilot Frixion Colors
That’s, from left to right, brown, hot pink, blue, orange, black, purple, green and red. I got this multi pack from Amazon for $13.58.
So, originally, I heard about this pen that was made to be an erasable office pen, but someone figured out that the friction caused by the FriXion rubber top to erase could also be duplicated with heat…or maybe that was how the engineers who designed originally came up with it…I may never know…either way, a quilter and/or sewist got the info and somehow it got to me and here I am.
The info I had gathered was pretty vague. When you iron it, it disappears. I tested this, and it’s true, although on white fabric you can detect a slight, almost residue line. There was a rumor that it comes back if you freeze it. I’m not in the habit of freezing quilts, nor do I plan on moving anywhere that it may be necessary to brave the elements with only a quilt, but people do leave quilts in cars on cold nights, so ok.
This muslin sandwich nor any of its components have been washed prior to the alliterated graffiti.
Here, the B on the right has been ironed:
Right B Ironed
You can see a little bit of residue there…the photo doesn’t pick it up as well…the photo makes it look like it’s an impression from the pen, but it is most certainly residue or some ink left behind. I used an Oliso Pro on high with steam.
So, I threw it in the washer (cold, mild ‘free and clear’ detergent) and into the dryer (permanent press setting).
I spaced taking a photo, but both Bs were gone! Seriously, duh, Becky, the dryer heat. Anyway, more importantly, the residue was gone! That’s the best part.
I got too excited and just threw it in the freezer to kill this silly freezer rumor.
Hoarding Quilts In Freezer
Priorities in my freezer: Chocolate chips, Chocolate ice cream, meat and quilts. What.
This shot was me pulling it out of the freezer…my man thought I was nuts taking a photo of the inside of our freezer. You can already see it here….
Sure enough, that ink does come back! I totally thought it sounded like some woo-woo rumor, like some skunk-cabbage-voodoo-Aleister-Crowley spell or something but it really does come back.
Close Up After FreezingThey Come Back
So, I thought….if it’s already ruined, so be it…it was a test. But what if….I pressed it again…
Iron After Freezing
Look at that! Not a hint it was ever there. I put a quick iron to it and it’s gone again. So if you’re that person that leaves quilts in cars over night in Alaska, you’re golden – just toss it in the dryer for a quick spin and the ink will disappear!
This is exciting. You have no idea how many times I’ve ironed over ink you’re *not supposed to* iron over! Or maybe you do and you’re as excited as I am.
Honestly, they’re missing out on a market here!! Crazed sewers unite! We have a pen!
I can’t think of any other way to test them. I didn’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets or oxyclean or anything other than just plain Costco/Kirkland detergent, but I wouldn’t anyway in my normal use so I’m safe. I have used them so far for making quilting marks and for garments and they have been great.
Hope that helps you if you’ve been afraid of trying them too! I’m splitting this batch with my mom, but if you are lucky and have a local sewing circle, this would be a bargain.
Pilot Frixion Set
No one paid me for this in any way, shape or form. Opinions are my own. Of course, Pilot, if you want to send me a check, please email me from the contact page.
