Quilters Dream Angel Batting: A baby quilt for Ivanka.

I made this baby quilt for Ivanka, she works in our warehouse, mainly handling international orders. She has worked with us for 12 years! And in those 12 years shes never been gifted a quilt :(

She is expecting her first grandchild early in the New Year... what a perfect reason to whip her up a quilt!  I had a bunch of baby fabric from scrap packs I purchased from Hawthorne Threads. Their scrap packs are incredible!  They usually send about a 1/4 yd of end of bolt current fabric.  Hawthorne has such a great selection on modern fabrics.  I came up with a nautical theme for her grandson to be. Added in Carolyn Friedlander Widescreen in Crosshatch White for the background.

Nautical scraps.  Orange chevron fabric for contrast.

Atkinson Designs Texas Two Step blocks.

I went with Atkinson Designs Texas Two Step  for the pattern.  I love this pattern! Includes all sizes from Baby - King and is sews up quickly.  From start to finish ... cutting, ironing, layout, sewing, quilting and binding - exactly 12 hours - not too shabby.

Texas Two Step layout.

One day, I will have a design wall.  For now, I use the floor... or the bed :)

I chose our Dream Angel Flame Retardant batting in Select Mid loft.  I have never worked with our Angel Batting before.  I'm pretty much just a cotton or poly girl.  I was blown away by the Dream Angel! It has very smooth, almost silky hand.  Check out the picture below.

Dream Angel is made of fibers that are specially engineered to be flame retardant.  The fibers are inherently flame retardant with no chemical additives and no PBDEs;  And because the flame retardancy is extruded into the fibers, not sprayed or added on to the surface, you can wash your quilt as needed without degrading the flame retardant quality of the fibers.  

Dream Angel has been tested by an independent laboratory and meets both international standards and the NEW DRAFT CAL 604. 

To pass the Cal 604 draft - a quilt sandwich was made using cotton fabric and one layer of Dream Angel batting.  The sandwich was laid on and elevated screen.  The top layer of cotton fabric was set on fire.   To pass the CAL 604 Draft the Dream Angel had to act as a flame barrier - to which it performed beautifully!   The bottom layer of cotton fabric used in the tests were not burned and did not catch fire!

Dream Angel Select Loft.

Which backing.

These were the contenders for the backing: Shannon Fabrics Cuddle Dimple in Beige, Angela Walters Textures fabric in Crosshatch Silver, or unknown stashed flannel.  I really wanted to use up the flannel, but the color was all wrong and I just didn't have enough.  Went with the Cuddle Dimple. The contrast of the beige backing on a mostly white quilt worked perfectly.

I quilted two rows of simple straight lines to outline the blocks. 

Stitch in the ditch Acu-feed Walking foot.

Machine sewed scrappy binding (time constants!)

Finished!

Share with us your experience with Quilters Dream Angel,  we'd love to here from you! If you'd like a complimentary sample of Quilters Dream Angel, please contact us at quiltersdreambatting@juno.com or toll free 1-888-268-8664.

Featured #battgirls (August): Judy Martin & Lana Corcoran

Meet our August #battgirls 

Quilt designer/author:

Judy Martin

Judy began making quilts in 1969 when she was a college student. After that first quilt, she couldn't go into a fabric store without coming home with an armful of fabric for another of her quilt ideas. She jokes that she had to become a professional quilt maker in order to justify her fabric stash. In 1980, Judy wrote her first quilting book as an editor of Quilter's Newsletter. Since 1988, Judy and her husband, Steve Bennett, have been self publishing Judy's books. To date, Judy has designed and published 996 original block and quilt patterns, many of them in her 22 quilting books.  

In November, Steve and Judy published Judy's latest book, Extraordinary Log Cabin Quilts. The book has comprehensive information and helpful tips for making Log Cabin quilts, as well as patterns for 15 stunning new variations of this timeless favorite. 

Main Street Log Cabin
Designed & pieced by Judy Martin
Quilted by Lana Corcoran

See if you have what it takes to
become a Master Quilt Maker
Game available soon.

This summer, Steve and Judy's  quilting game was published by Rio Grande Games. The game, Quilt Show, was a winner of the Rio Grande Games Design Contest. Game play is intuitive for quilters, who will love it whether or not they consider themselves gamers. 

Over the years, Judy has made more than 250 quilts; designed several fabric lines and rotary cutting tools; written scores of magazine articles; released several Electric Quilt pattern software products; recorded quilting videos for YouTube and Quilter's Newsletter TV and an episode of Simply Quilts on HGTV; and had a one-woman show of 30 of her quilts at The National Quilt Museum, where one of her quilts is in the museum's permanent collection. Judy Martin Books is active on Pinterest and Facebook, and Judy offers a free newsletter and Block of the Moment patterns on her web site: http://www.judymartin.com. 

Judy does a little hand quilting for gifts, and she likes using Quilters Dream Cotton (Request loft) because it allows her to make small, even stitches. In order to complete quilts in a timely fashion for her books, Judy has them professionally quilted. Because Judy designs and pieces the quilts as well as writing, typesetting, and illustrating her books, time constraints do not allow her to quilt the projects in her books. Instead, she entrusts the quilting to talented longarm quilter, Lana Corcoran. 

Lakeshore Log Cabin.
Designed & pieced by Judy Martin.
Quilted by Lana Corcoran

For years, Judy has specified Dream Cotton (Select) Loft as her batting of choice in her quilts that are finished with machine quilting. Judy usually discusses her vision for the quilting with Lana, but she trusts Lana, listens to her ideas and suggestions, and is comfortable scrapping the original plan if Lana comes up with something better. 

Meet longarm quilter:

Lana Corcoran

It’s hard to believe that I started quilting for others more than 11 years ago. The time has flown by and I’ve enjoyed every minute.

Like many long arm quilters, this is not my first career. My first was as a photojournalist; my last years as a photographer were spent in Washington, D.C., covering the President as a White House Press Photographer with a major wire service. I changed careers after earning an MBA, working with Fortune 500 companies doing business process engineering. Both of those careers have helped me as a quilter. From photography, I learned creativity, artistic composition, balance, and patience. From the business world, I know that successful businesses provide excellent products, services, and value to their customers. I've tried to apply lessons from both careers to my long arm business.

Aspen Log Cabin
Designed & pieced by Judy Martin
Quilted by Lana Corcoran

About 10 years ago, one of my customers brought me a package of Quilters Dream batting to use in her quilt and I've been a big fan ever since. Quilters Dream products are my favorites for my own quilts as well as my recommendation for my customers. It is important that batting is high quality, which means that it is consistent in thickness, is “clean” with no specks of cotton seeds that can leach oil onto the quilt fabric, and doesn't beard. My experience is that Quilters Dream meets all those criteria.

It’s important to me to have options to offer my customers to meet the intended uses of their quilts. For most quilts, customers choose Cotton Select, in either white or natural. It drapes beautifully, no matter how densely it is quilted. 

Those who like a loftier look and want a quilt that “breathes” love, I recommend the Dream Wool. For baby quilts, Dream Angel is the choice for its flame retardant qualities. For show quilts, a combination of Dream Wool on top of Dream Blend gives a look of trapunto without the intense labor of stuffing or cutting batts.

Dream Wool layered over Dream Blend
Designed by Nancy Sullivan Jacobs
Quilted by Lana Corcoran

Whichever one I choose, the quality is always consistent.

There are so many talented quilters. It is a pleasure and an honor when one of them trusts me to quilt their quilts. Over the years I have developed special relationships with many of them, both personally and professionally. Judy Martin, for example, has had me quilt the quilts in her last three books, including 12 for her last book, Extraordinary Log Cabins. I have quilted thousands of quilts for customers, and have won dozens of ribbons, including Paducah and MQX. I’m also very proud of the fact that I still quilt for my very first customer, despite the fact that we are over 1000 miles apart!











You too can get Lana's digitized longarm patterns available for download on Intelligent Quilting's website!

We hope you enjoyed reading about our August #battgirls and feel inspired to try some of their work. We will even send you some 10 X 10 size samples of your batting choice for you to play with. Just give us a shout! Until then, we are always on the hunt for the next Featured #battgirls....will it be you?


Happy Quilting,
The original

888.268.8664
quiltersdreambatting@juno.com

Batting University (Part 3) Dream Blend and Dream Angel Batting

This week we are delighted to continue Batting University with a look at Quilters Dream Blend for Machines and Quilters Dream Angel batting! We hope you enjoy a closer look at what makes each batting unique. If you have any questions or you would like free samples, call us toll free, 1-888-268-8664, or email: customerservice@quiltersdreambatting.com

Quilters Dream Blend for Machines available in Select (mid-loft) quilts up beautifully!

QUILTERS DREAM BLEND BATTING For Machines

"Soft to hug, yet takes the tug!"  Dream Blend is the only batting we make that has a scrim base (similar in look/feel to a cheesecloth) that adds stability for tugging, pulling, and general abuse.  It consists of 70% cotton and 30% polyester that is needle punched through the ultra-light scrim base.  Dream Blend was developed  for machine quilters who need more strength and stability, especially for use on the longarm machine.

Quilters Dream Blend Batting with the reinforcing scrim layer peeled back from the batting.

Advantages:

• Some shrinkage (1-3%) for the slightly puckered look

• Has a light scrim, so it will not stretch at all nor leave hand prints from pulling 

• Can be stitched up to 12" apart! 

• We used the lightest weight scrim available to it still has a nice drape and does not feel stiff.

• 70% cotton, so it will wick moisture away from the body to keep you cool in the summer  

• Very long fibers – no lint in your machine or in the air!

Disadvantages:

• Slight Shrinkage (1-3%) after washing
• Scrim can reduce the breathability of the batting slightly
• Holds a slight crease over time (can be fluffed out in the dryer, though!)
• Not a 100% natural product (some man made fibers)
• Due to reinforcing scrim layer, Blend Is not recommended for hand quilting.

QUILTERS DREAM ANGEL BATTING

Dream Angel is heavenly because it is made 100% from flame retardant fibers. 

The fibers are specially engineered to be flame retardant without bromides or other harmful chemicals.  Dream Angel Batting is needle punched to create a soft, cozy,

breathable batting with a natural look and feel.

Advantages:

  

• Made from proprietary blend of two different flame retardant fibers. Has passed the California 604 test for flammability (A cotton sheet is placed on top and on the bottom of the batting.The top was set on fire, and the bottom remained undamaged!! Wow!)

• Needlepunched man made fibers mimic cotton fibers, so you get the look and feel of cotton

• Available in Select loft for hand and machine quilting
• Some shrinkage (1-3%) for the slightly puckered look
• Will not hold a crease, even if it is folded up for months
• Does not absorb moisture, so it dries very quickly and will not hold a stain
• Breathable – there are no scrims or other barriers that would inhibit airflow
• Very long fibers – no lint on the machine or in the air!
• Fine denier microfibers bend when in contact with fabric, so they resist bearding

Disadvantages:

• Some shrinkage (1-3%) for the slightly puckered look

• Does not wick moisture away from the body like cotton

• Is a man made fiber

• Cost

Please come back soon for part 4 of our Month Long Series: Batting University.  We will continue with Dream Puff, Dream Wool, and Dream Fusion Battings!

Happy Quilting!

Quilters Dream Angel- Flame Retardant Batting

QUILTERS DREAM ANGEL BATTING

The first quilt batting made 100% from Flame Retardant Fibers.

We have had quite a few calls and emails lately inquiring about the unique feature of our Quilters Dream Angel batting. It may sound as if this wonderful product is made from feathers and clouds but that might make a mess of a quilt!
Although the process of creating Dream Angel is our trade secret, we are excited to give you a little more inside knowledge!

What is it made of?

Dream Angel fibers are neither cotton nor polyester - they are specially engineered fibers created to be flame retardant. These man-made fibers contain no PBDE's, bromides or chemical additives. You cannot rub or wash off the flame retardant quality due to the fibers being inherently flame retardant. We have spent years of research in developing this proprietary product. We did not take any 'shortcuts' on this batting and use ONLY Flame Retardant Fibers.

Gidget (office mascot) showing off the Dream Angel

What makes it flame retardant?

Dream Angel is self-extinguishing. This means it draws oxygen away helping to extinguish a flame. When in contact with flame the batting will not melt or assist to 'kindle' or support the flame. The Dream Angel fibers have met international flame retardant standards.

Test results were….?

Dream Angel's test results were exceptional!
During the testing by an independent testing laboratory, the batting was placed between 2 layers of cotton fabric and elevated on to a mesh rack (to promote airflow). The top layer of fabric was caught on fire and the batting formed a barrier preventing the bottom layer of cotton from being damaged at all! Dream Angel passed this difficult test standard: the California Dept. of Consumer Affairs - Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Draft - Technical Bulletin 604 for Filling Materials Component Test Open-Flame Resistance.

Why would I use this?

The Dream Angel is very soft and breathable and quite easy to handle and use. This lightweight cream colored batting washes and handles similar to the Dream Cotton but has the added feature of being made from Flame Retardant fibers. Safety can never be guaranteed, but we feel that Dream Angel is an excellent choice for children/baby quilts, teen and college quilts, nursing homes, Christmas tree skirts.

Want to see for yourself? Give us a call for a free sample. 888.268.8664



Happy Quilting!

~The Dream Team