Congrats to the winners!! 
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Woohoo well done the winners
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Great way to end the first quarter! Congrats to the winners. And now diving into the 2nd quarter!
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Congrats guys!
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Oh gosh I forgot to respond here the other day. But thank you!!
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I MistressJennie , offer the scrappy Pinkstravaganza Quilt for April’s prompt.
This scrappy quilt top was sent to me by our very own Edel, about a year ago. We agreed to craft scrappy quilt tops with what we had on hand during the early days in the pandemic. It has been hanging out in my stash since then, waiting to be quilted. I’m so glad to have finished another project, and gotten something out of the pile! More info in the project post.
Meanwhile, I finished the Viking Adventure Baby Quilt a couple weeks ago, and kept forgetting to post it. So here it is! Again, more info in the project post.
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love them both. Warm and comfy.
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I’ve got this one all pinned out, and am ready to quilt it. But I have no idea how I want to quilt it… Free motion squiggles all over? Use the walking foot to outline the star shape? If I go with outlining, should I go right on the line, or beside it? Inside or outside?
What do you guys think?
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I would go diagonal in both directions…I don’t do stitch in the seam because I like to see the stitching and I never get all the stitches in the ditch anyway…diagonal would make nice little squares and still keep the star the focus, I think…
@MistressJennie I am in love with that colorful star. I,ve been doing a wavy diagonal, rather free quilting lately. It is easy and adds a nice contrast to a geometrical design.
And for my April prompt, a quilt square using left over fabric and a fabric patch I picked up at a festival years ago. I think it was made using a bleach technique. I must have been kicking this around for at least 10 years.
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Nice way to highlight a special fabric!
I love that!!!
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I’d like some advice on pre-washing fabric.
Whilst I was cutting out some batik fabric for a bed runner, I noticed dye on my fingers.
I figure I’d best pre wash the fabric. Do you use color catchers? How many? Can I wash the small square I’ve already cut out will that ruin them?
Seems like I did too much procrastinating and not enough planning!!
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I once had to wash a bunch of pre-cut squares but they were Jersey knit for a t-shirt quilt so curling was the major problem after washing. I’d worry more about fraying in your case. Maybe if you washed them in a lingerie bag?
I try to remember to prewash all my fabric when I first get it. I’m getting better, lol. I don’t use color catchers. 
I pre-wash large fabrics if I think they will run in the wash. I don’t do pre-cuts.
I would go ahead and put them together and then wash them once you have the bedrunner together…and yes, use a color catcher. One is good for each load…if it catches a lot of color, you may have to wash it again with a bit of vinegar to set the dye. The size will probably change if you wash the cut squares…
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I Homerof2 submit this as my April BOM entry.
I’ve made the Card Trick block many times so decided to try the alternate pattern @MistressJennie found and I like how quick it went together. But, there are triangles used for the background so the ‘no triangles’ is a bit misleading. This pattern came out larger than 12.5” so was easy to square up.
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@Cindy that is so fun. I love the red, white, and black theme. The holiday fabric is fun, makes me think of family dinners in December, playing cards.
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Lovely! I am going to try the alternate pattern as well!
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Yeah, it’s really not ‘no triangles’. It’s no Quarter Square Triangles.
Your block came out great!
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Try using Synthrapol. You add a capful to the wash when you’re washing something that might bleed dye. You can use it on actual dye projects, or on finished items that could bleed. One end of the molecule is hydrophilic, and one is hydrophobic. Meaning one side wants to attach to water, and the other is repelled by water. It ends up holding loose dye particles in suspension, so that they stay in the water, and don’t land back on the fabric. Dyers and costumers buy it in big huge jugs, but you only need a capful per wash load, so a casual crafter & quilter can get away with one of the small bottles.
Here’s a really short blog post about how it works from Manhattan Wardrobe Supply. (Scroll down, there’s something weird with the middle of their webpage.)
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