The PROBLEM with Sharpie

A few weeks ago I went to Staples to buy some markers to use on fabric squares I would be assembling for a Prayer Quilt for a dear Friend who had just announced she was diagnosed with stage 3 Ovarian Cancer.  I told the store assistant I was looking for permanent markers to use on fabric to make a quilt.  He showed me the marker section. The Sharpies had the sets with the most colors.  That would be great to have such a variety of colors. I have used Sharpies for years.  I thought I knew their product.  I got the biggest set.

Because my Friend said that the only thing she wanted were prayers, it seemed like the obvious thing for me to do was cut some pre-washed fabric squares so Friends could write their prayers.  I led 2 workshops.  The squares made were WONDERFUL.  Very colorful, creative and I thought just the thing to remind our Friend that she was loved and being prayed for.

Unfortunately, I did not test the squares for color fastness until after the second workshop.  I only did it then because someone sent in a square they had created which bleed volumes when it was submersed in water.  After that incident, I ironed all of my stack of creative squares, then tried them in water.  The water ran RED.  It was so horrible, I just wanted to cry.

Although all ran to one extent or another, here is what resulted from a few squares. 

In all cases, it is important to me that the person connected with this square not be identified.  Therefore, I did some editing in the squares to eliminate identification.

After emailing Sharpie from their site, I waited almost 2 weeks to receive this reply,  

"

Dear Ann, Thank you for choosing Newell Brands Office Products. We  appreciate your interest in our products. Unfortunately, our standard markers are not recommended for  fabrics. The only markers we recommend for fabrics are our  Stained by Sharpie markers. Any other makers can cause  bleeding and may not stay permanent after washing. If I can be of further assistance, please reply to this email  directly so that we can see all previous replies. You may  also receive a survey, regarding the service I've provided. Thank you, Katie Newell Brands Office Products" I replied that I thought the photos were misleading.  It has been  less than 2 weeks, so perhaps I will get a reply sometime later.   I will post it if I do. These are a few of the photos they post on their website. Most people are going to have to wash white sneakers.  All will  want to be able to wash their jeans.  These are the same  markers I used on the fabric squares except that the ones  I chose were Ultra Fine Point. This is far beyond disappointing.  Now I have to find  Washable Markers then ask people to do this all over  again.  That is of course after I have cut some more  squares.    . . . Shopping online:  I am now in the process of testing markers  made specifically for fabric.  Be alert.  Even some of these  have a caveat that he markers may 'bleed'.   I did not buy those. However, buying in a store is much harder because all of  the information  is not as easy to find.  I guess this is  one time that shopping online shows more needed  information. More to follow.

Book for a 1 year old = Kai

I am going to preface this with a quote from a recent Quiltart post.

Lorraine Edmond Nov 22 at 11:46 PM

quiltart@quilt.net

"I belong to an art quilt group that has an event called a Showcase (formerly show-and-tell, I think). If you bring a piece to show, you sign 
up on a clipboard, and check one of two categories. One category is “I just want to show you this” and the other is for (respectful) critique. Everyone knows what the expectations are. Skillful critique is something of an art in itself, but if that is not the objective, better that everyone knows it going in.

Lorraine"

Thank you Lorraine.  Sometimes I just want to share what I am doing.  Especially when, at this time, it is not a quilt, it is also not a work of art.  It is however very precious to me.  Hopefully to the recipient also.

I had multiple problems with making this little book.  Printing problems were helped with encouragement from Gloria Hansen.  Thank you very much Gloria.  The other major problem was that I did not have a working sewing machine.  Finally, I do have one machine that sort of works.  Not wonderfully, but it will sew a little.

This is a little cloth book for my first cousin twice removed = the grandson of my first cousin Tom.  He is my closest communicating relative so it is very important to me to keep up this conversation.

I carefully cut out each page as exactly as I could.  [However as you notice, the end product does have a lot of misalignment.] Then printed the images after they were 'worked' in both Picasa and Paint.  I have no typesetting applications because the typesetting I had on my old machine was on a 3.5" floppy disk.  This was frustrating because I could only look at a page at a time with no reference to text size.

This was however, a labor of LOVE.

The page edging is longer at one end to facilitate turning/finding a page.

The 'loop' at the top is for carrying the book around.  This is similar to the book I made for my other 'First Cousin Twice Remove = Alex'.  

https://designerann.blogspot.com/2016/01/first-birthday-book-for-alex.html

However, I found a lot more animals starting with 'A' than 'K'.

Back page - Cover page

Page 2-3

Page 4-5

Page 6-7

Page 8-9

Page 10-11

The Power of the Sun

I know the sun is a powerful means of creating energy in terms of solar energy.  I am very happy about that because we need to get off fossil fuels.

I also know/knew the sun had the power to take color out of fabrics.  However, I did not know how much until I went into a partially finished bedroom, only used for summer guests because coming to Maine in the winter is not on anyone's list of things to do. I used the fitted sheet to cover the whole bed. This way when visitors were expected, I could remove this sheet and use all the protected pillows, covers beneath it.

These last few years I've been battling some personal physical problem, so not any guests.  My dear cousin Tom and his lovely wife Carla, stayed at The Brunswick Inn which is only 2 short blocks from my house.  After their visit I thought I should take a peek at this room to see what was going on.

Pictures are worth a thousand words.  See below.

100% cotton sheet

It is faded in the center from the sun.  The edges are faded from a few washings. This sheet lost its color rather quickly.  As I did more investigation, it seems yellow dye does not last as well as others.  This is the first time I purchased dark colored sheets.  In the future, I will only use white fabrics in this south-east facing bedroom because of the sun fading.

100% Cotton Sheet

The fading here is where it was not covered by something else.

?% Not Cotton Fabric

This fabric has some amount of polyester because I did the burn test.  I do not know how much, if any is cotton.  What I found really interesting is how the dyes faded = yellow and orange disappeared.  However, bits of blue and brown remained.  I would love to know what pigments are in those colors on this fabric because my future bedroom has south-west orientation.

It looks like white would be the safest.  However, I am going to do a test on the blue linen fabric that I would LOVE to use.  Notice that the blue in this fabric is still visible even where the yellow values are gone.

I do hope this helps in your future fabric choices where the sun is involved.

I will NOT be hanging any art quilts in this room because of the probably sun damage.  Not sure what art I will use because any dye/color will fade.  I am thinking even the color of wood would/could be bleached out by the sun.

Does anyone have experience with fabric paints and their resistance to the sun?

Another Baby = Another 'I Spy' Quilt

My closest active family contact is my cousin Tom's wife Carla.  I think after 50 years of marriage, she is now my legal cousin.  So this family is very important to me.  On January 1, 2011, their second son, Andrew was married to Karen in Monterrey,  California.  On September 15, 2016, their first child was born; a 7 pound 13 ounce boy who they named Kai Cafferty.  This is the quilt I made for him.  Although sent long ago, I'm just now finding the time to post.

Hiles-Oster Baby Blanket [Quilt]

Detail 1

Detail 2

Detail 3

Detail 4

Because they live close to the beach in California, I made this a bit larger than the usual baby quilt.  It also has air as a filling, cotton flannel backing with very light 'quilting'.    All the seams were stitched down before the layers were put together.  I stitched the layers together with a multi colored thread, top and bottom. This will keep them nice and flat through all the washing a beach blanket gets.  I arranged them in groups of 4 so that it would not be a complete jumble.  The hope is that it will be easier to look at one square at a time so as to learn the names of the objects in that square.  Definition aids in this process.

Not great art.  Definitely great FUN for a child.

Connect

I started the top below and another similar one in 2013.  This quilt was developed from some of the 'reminder posts' I make, then post around my house.  I decided I would really like my 'reminders' in fabric rather than the paper or the sanded wood scraps that I usually use.  I know I posted it.  However, I can not find it on my blog.  The point is:  I liked some parts of it, but not the whole.  It has languished around since then.  In April, I decided to take it apart, and re-make it.

The 2013 Version

Saving the bits I like + adding the 'Connect'.

My Method of Working

The Final Final Quilt

I finished the 'Final Quilt' just in time to enter it in Houston.  I wanted to make it small enough to enter the 24" and smaller Art Quilt category.  I do not think it fits in any other category?  Unfortunately, for me it did not get it.  That version had the edges faced.  

I decided I would like to try binding, using some of the same fabrics I used in the quilt.  I got almost half way through with that, when I realized I was on the wrong path.  Now the side edges are cotton velveteen, the top edge is a heavy, dull fabric while the bottom is more trim over a thin black binding.  

The Final Final Quilt, detail

When the year started, I aimed to make an art quilt a month.  Medical issues + other responsibilities interfered.  Although I did spend over 500 hours on this tiny quilt. WAAAY toooo much time.   I need to find a better + faster way to get these done the way I want them to look.   Sometimes it is a difficult struggle to get the image in my mind sewn up the way I envision it.  

In my quilt count, this is my April Quilt.

I've been nibbling away at the other 'word' quilt.  I've been quilting on it off and on while I finished this little one.  Hopefully, I'll finish it this month at the latest.  Two weeks is my goal.