Musings on Stack'n Whack

It's all I could do to stop
myself from heading to the local LQS to find more whackable fabric!
But...there's always E-Bay.

not to mention equilter.com and craftconn.com! ROFL

(enabler me!)

The Blessed Fiddy, Patroness Saint of the Disorganized
LC in Sunny So Cal
Personality Development Specialist (Full-Time Mom!)

Thank you, Mardi. I've been eyeing whacking and appreciated your findings.
Well, I _am_ going to ignore the part about addiction. I'm just going to
have to take the risk. Polly

LC aka Fiddy wrote in message
...
It's all I could do to stop
myself from heading to the local LQS to find more whackable fabric!
But...there's always E-Bay.

not to mention equilter.com and craftconn.com! ROFL

(enabler me!)

The Blessed Fiddy, Patroness Saint of the Disorganized
LC in Sunny So Cal
Personality Development Specialist (Full-Time Mom!)

I took a class from Bethany Reynolds a couple years ago - she says the same:
"NEVER WASH" the fabric - or spray starch it to within an inch of its
existance!

I try to take the layering one step further - I baste the layers
together.... go down through one well marked point and back up through
another close by point... tie the thread. Move about 5-8" away to another
well defined mark and do the same. Not only does that hold the layers more
securely, you don't run the risk of cutting over pins when you "whack", and
the cut parts usually have one of the basting points in it (eliminates the
need for pins!)

It is addicting! I love to use smaller prints and make wall hangings - just
as long as you have the 6 or 8 repeats you need.

ME-Judy


"M. Wetmore" wrote in message
...
After spending the better part of a day stackin & whackin, here are
some observations I have made:

1. Don't every try to stack & whack pre-washed fabrics. My bug
fabric was fresh off the bolt and whacked wonderfully. I had two
yards of a fabric I purchased on e-bay that I thought would make an
interesting quilt. It was pre-washed. I followed the instructions
and made a guide piece, lined up the guide piece to cut the second
piece and...wait...it was like trying to hit a moving target. I
finally got them all cut, but they were all slightly different. So, I
starched them (should have probably done this to start with). That
was a little better. But lining them up was a real pain. The fabric
wanted to stick together (because of the starch) and getting the pin
to an upright aligned position was very difficult. And, cutting a
stack of 8 pieces of starched fabric was a real challenge. I finally
succeeded though!

2. When whackin gives you lemons - make lemonade! The above whacked
fabric looked horrible cut for the 15" block - right triangles. I
then said to myself..."a half a right triangle is still a right
triangle"! So I whacked them in half again. And, that was much
better. The kaleidoscopic effect was much more pronounced.

3. Don't give up on a stack & whack as hopelessly boring until you
find a "wow" background and look at it through a reducing glass. The
above whacked and whacked again looked really boring until I put them
on a deep blue moda marble and looked at it through a reducing glass.
Wow, that made a huge difference. I think I'll make them into a wall
quilt or a table covering.

4. Don't ever, and I mean EVER try stack'n whack unless you are
prepared to become hopelessly addicted. It's all I could do to stop
myself from heading to the local LQS to find more whackable fabric!
But...there's always E-Bay.

Mardi
Real e-mail address spelled out to prevent spam. mardi at mardiweb dot
com.
____________________

My Quilting page: http://www.mardiweb.com/quilts/MardiQuilts.html
Paint Shop Pro tutorials: http://www.mardiweb.com/web
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I have always used pre-washed fabrics for the stack'n'whacks that I have
made, and have not found it necessary to starch. I suppose it depends on
how firmly woven the fabric is. I have probably just been lucky.

Julia in MN

M. Wetmore wrote:
After spending the better part of a day stackin & whackin, here are
some observations I have made:

1. Don't every try to stack & whack pre-washed fabrics.

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http://mail.chartermi.net/~jaccola/

I prewash EVERYTHING in hypoallergenic laundry detergent because of my
allergies. Spray starch is my friend.

Kim

Julia in MN wrote in message ...
I have always used pre-washed fabrics for the stack'n'whacks that I have
made, and have not found it necessary to starch. I suppose it depends on
how firmly woven the fabric is. I have probably just been lucky.

Julia in MN

M. Wetmore wrote:
After spending the better part of a day stackin & whackin, here are
some observations I have made:

1. Don't every try to stack & whack pre-washed fabrics.