Featured #battgirl Toby Thompson

Toby Thompson

 Toby Thompson

     I began quilting after graduating from college in 1976 inspired by my grandmother's hand quilting. After my first-hand stitched quilt,  (completed with her help), I pivoted to machine quilting.

     In those days, my favorite was making log cabin quilts.  Just a few years after that however, my career path & children took all my time and sewing went on hold.  30+ years passed.  I retired from teaching in 2015 & had inherited my mother's Bernina machine in 2013.  

     The machine intimidated me until this past fall when I desired to make each of my 3 grandchildren (ages 1, 3 & 5) a cozy, flannel quilt for Christmas to wrap them in my love despite our being 525 miles apart.  Yes, 3 quilts to make simultaneously after 30+ nonsewing years!  Because I was so "rusty,” every step in the process required a lot of thought, research, and input  from more experienced folks - selecting patterns, fabrics, batting, techniques, & even basics of how to use my mother's machine, starting with how to load the bobbin!     

 I chose two baby quilt patterns that I found online (Fluffy Pinwheels and Lazy Logs) and enlarged them both.  I selected flannel fabrics online and from an incredible Amish fabric store, Miller's Dry Goods, about 50 miles from me in Charm, OH.  Acquiring all the fabric, cutting, piecing & sewing 3 quilt tops took time!  As much of an accomplishment as it was to finish three quilt tops, I knew I was a long way from being finished and Christmas was quickly approaching.  I wanted to finish each quilt with a warm, lofty batting & either hand-tie or stitch-in-the-ditch to a minky/cuddle fabric backing to keep the quilts flexible and cozy for the children to wrap up with and read their beloved books.

 

     The batting choices in today's marketplace are overwhelming!  I was leaning toward another well-known brand's cotton batting until I read on the internet about Dream Puff batting by Quilter's Dream. I even called them to discuss the appealing description of Dream Puff for my project. I received super-helpful, personal advice & was even provided a list of stores in my area code that carry Quilter's Dream Puff, which included the Amish fabric store where I had bought some of the fabrics. Whew!  

     The quilts exceeded my hopes of being soft, lofty, warm, & cozy. My grandchildren love them, and I've made my presence in their daily lives much more frequent than the miles allow.  I'm getting ready to make another quilt, but only ONE quilt at a time. lol 

Quilters Dream 80/20 Batting

QUILTERS DREAM 80/20 BATTING

 

Quilters Dream 80/20 is our newest Dream Batting, which debuted at Spring Quilt Market 2016.  It is made with 80% high grade long staple USA cotton fiber blended with 20% fine denier poly microfiber for a soft, silky batting that drapes beautifully and breathes well.  The long staple cotton fiber reduces shrinkage and adds stability so that the stitches can be up to 8” apart.  The poly microfibers add a loft and resistance to creases/wrinkles.  

There are no scrims, glues, or other binders to resist the needle, so this fine batting can be hand or machine quilted with ease.  It is available in natural, white, and our exclusive “Dream Pink!”

 

Dream Pink is an 80/20 Dream Batting made with pink poly microfibers to support breast cancer.  Quilters Dream Batting donates 10% of the wholesale sale of Dream Pink to late stage metastatic breast cancer research.  Our pink poly microfibers are extruded pink so the color will not run or bleed, and the pink fibers lends a fabulous blush pink coloring to batting.

Advantages:

• Minimal shrinkage (1-3%) for the slightly puckered look
• Available in white, natural, and “Dream Pink” to support late stage breast cancer research
• Can be stitched up to 8" apart! 
• Soft and silky, with an excellent drape that hugs and flows
• Excellent for both hand and machine quilting. (Not recommended for tied quilts)
• Wicks moisture away from the body to keep you cool in the summer
• Breathable – there are no scims or other barriers that would inhibit airflow
• Fine denier poly fibers bend when in contact with fabric, so they resist bearding

 

All of our battings are proudly made in the USA. 

Each batting is hand cut and hand inspected to insure superb quality is consistency.  Quilters Dream is not sold in big box discount stores and always encourage our customers to support their locally owned quilt shop or quilting business!  There are a lot of advantages to using Quilters Dream Batting and with the wide variety of lofts, fibers, colors& sizes available, we hope that you find the choices to be to your advantage when choosing the perfect type of batting for your quilted treasure!

Also try:

Dream Cotton, 100% cotton batting with no scrim glues or binders

Dream Poly, 100% poly microfibers that mimic cotton in feel and breathability

Dream Angel, made 100% from flame retardant fibers

Dream Blend, 70% cotton and 30% poly with a light scrim stabilizer

Dream Green, made 100% from recycled bottles

Dream Orient, a luxurious blend of cotton, bamboo, botanic Tencel, and silk

Dream Puff, a warm and cozy polyester with 1/3-1/2” of loft

Dream Wool, a thermally bonded cuddly wool batting with 1/3-1/2” of loft

Dream Fusion, a one sided fusible batting excellent for small quilts and crafts

Featured #battgirls (January) If These Threads Could Talk/ Jackie O'Brien

Featured #battgirls (January)

 If These Threads Could Talk/ Jackie O'Brien

If you read our last blog, you'll know that Jackie O'Brien used to work with us at Quilters Dream. She took her quilting talents and spunk with her when she moved from Virginia to New York. 

Known as the "Quilt Ninja", Jackie has made over 200 quilts since her first in 2004. She has also quilted over 50 One Block Wonders and is proud to be a Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor.

 "I love taking something that has no form and giving it form. There is something about making a quilt that makes me feel as though I’ve created something special."

Jackie's statement rings true to us in the office as well. Knowing how much Neva loves Wizard Of Oz, Jackie surprised her with this adorable tote....just because! Neva loved that she added a famous line from the movie in embroidered letters too. 

 If you ask Jackie what her favorite Quilters Dream Batting product is, she will tell you...

"I’m a cotton girl so I would say my go to is Dream Select.  But if it is a special quilt I absolutely love, I'll use Dream Orient. It is so soft the quilt just drapes in your arms."

Read on to check out some of her amazing work. You can also click each title to read in more detail about each quilt on her blog!

"Twister" - quilted with Dream Green

"Wish Upon"- quilted with Dream Orient

"Blue Goose"- quilted with Dream Wool

"Georgia"- quilted with Dream Poly Deluxe

The new year looks busy for Jackie. Waiting for a new frame for her quilt machine, she already has 7 quilt tops lined up to finish. 

Keep Up with If These Threads Could Talk/ Jackie O'Brien:

Blogs & Tutorials: http://ifthesethreadscouldtalk.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifthesethreadscouldtalk

Instagram: http://instagram.com/quiltninja

The City Quilter & Grand Central Station Centennial Quilts

Quilters Dream Batting is found exclusively at independent quilt shops and specialty quilting businesses! Please join the #BattGirls in celebrating and supporting our local quilt shops. They are the heart and soul of the quilting industry.

Nestled In the heart of Downtown Manhattan, you will find a rare jewel!

An oasis for New York City quilters and tourists alike, with over 150 classes a year, 4,000+ bolts of fabric, and a gallery displaying beautiful art quilts for sale. City Quilter's dedicated shop owners, husband and wife team, Dale Reihl and Cathy Izzo epitomize the entrepreneurial and creative spirit of NYC small business owners. 

In addition to the overwhelming duties of their shop, Cathy and Dale have taken it even a step further! With Cathy's design concepts, they have developed a fabric line inspired by 'all things New York'. Be it the spired architecture, the famous skyline, the city lights, clock towers, the lines and signs of the subway system, or the bright yellow cabs; New York City icons are artistically captured in City Quilter's beautiful unique fabric lines.

So when Dale, discovered that 2014 is the celebration of the 100th year anniversary of Grand Central Station, he knew the City Quilter had to be a part of this historic event. With creativity and inspiration flowing, Cathy went to work on designing a line of fabric that captures the grandeur, history and beauty of Grand Central Station, even down to the detail of matching the Pantone color of Grand Central's famed aqua dome celestial ceiling!

Coincidentally, Dale noticed that American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine (APQ) was celebrating their 20th anniversary. Realizing this was a perfect fit, Dale presented his idea to APQ of honoring Grand Central's Centennial with a national quilt challenge. APQ embraced the idea as did the NY Transit Museum and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. With everyone 'on-board' the Grand Central Station Centennial National Quilt Contest began.

Using City Quilter's newly designed stunning Grand Central fabrics, eighty quilters from 20 states, submitted an array of beautiful impressionistic quilts that pay tribute and idealize Grand Central's Centennial in ways that only quilters can!

Of the eighty unique quilts entered, the top thirty finalists' quilts are on display from now until July 6 in the Grand Central Station museum.

 

The quilts made such an impact that NYC news, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal wrote articles featuring the event (don't you love when quilting makes the national news)!

So, if you are in New York City or planning a NYC trip, be sure to take time to add Grand Central Station's quilt exhibit to your itinerary.

From there, a shopping trip to the City Quilter quilt shop is a must. City Quilter is the only shop in the world that sells their exclusive fabric lines.

While shopping at the City Quilter... don't forget to purchase your favorite quilt batting ... because you guessed it - Quilters Dream Batting is available at The City Quilter.

Meet Dale, Cathy and their amazing staff at the City Quilter located at 133 West 26th St in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, NewYork. In addition to classes, fabrics, quilt gallery, gifts, patterns,notions and Quilters Dream Batting... City Quilter is also an authorized Bernina and Handi Quilter dealer.

Can't get to New York City? Don't worry, the fabrics are available for sale on the City Quilter website at www.CityQuilter.com and a link to City Quilter's and APQ fabulous Grand Central Quilt Exhibit is below!

www.Cityquilter.com

More Photos of GrandCentral Station Quilt Exhibit

Wall Street JournalArticle: Piecing Together a Grand History

#cityquilter #grandcentralquilts #battgirls #quiltersdreambatting #bernina #handiquilter #AmericanPatchwork

 

Batting University (Part 4) Dream Puff, Dream Wool, and Dream Fusion Batting

This week we are delighted to continue Batting University with a look at Quilters Dream Puff, Quilters Dream Wool, and Quilters Dream Fusion 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: QuiltersDreamBatting@juno.com

 

 

QUILTERS DREAM PUFF BATTING

Dream Puff is 100% polyester batting that has been thermally bonded for a wonderful loft and warmth.  It is lightweight and breathable, but has a high thermal value making it even warmer than down.   

 

 

Advantages:

• 1/3-1/2” of loft to show off your quilting, designs “pop” out at you!

• Very warm, yet light weight.  (For even more warmth and weightiness, double the Puff or layer the Puff on top of the Dream Cotton or Dream Poly – WOW does it ever make a warm and absolutely gorgeous quilt!)

• Cozy and cuddly – children and teens especially love this batting

• Loft is excellent for T-shirt quilts or quilts made with varying material types

• Loft can hide some of the imperfections in piecing

• Can be stitched closely and holds the drape, then pops out in less quilted areas for a faux trapunto look.

• Although it is lofty, it flattens out for ease in hand quilting!

• Does not absorb moisture, so it dries very quickly and will not hold a stain

• Inexpensive

• 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 bonded microfibers bend when in contact with fabric, so they resist bearding

 

 

Disadvantages:

• Thermally bonded, so it can become stiff it put into contact with heat (Even on low heat, the drum of some dryers become hot enough to cause a problem), so we recommend air drying or drying with no heat. Absolutely no ironing!

• Does not wick moisture away from the body (like cotton)

• On occasion, holds a slight crease over time (can be fluffed out in the dryer on cool setting, though!)

• Is a man made fiber

QUILTERS DREAM WOOL BATTING  

Dream Wool is another warm and lofty batting that has been thermally bonded- it is one of my favorites for cozy snuggling on cold nights!  The U.S. wool is scoured and super-washed for cleanliness and to eliminate shrinkage, then blended with low melt poly fibers for thermal bonding.  Our unique processing creates wool batting that is light weight, machine washable, has very little shrinkage, and resists bearding.

 

 

Advantages: 

• 1/3-1/2” of loft to show off your quilting, designs “pop” out at you!

• Uses the soft and silky wool of U.S. raised merino and domestic sheep

• Very warm, yet light weight.

• Wool wicks moisture away from the body to keep you cool in the summer

• Cozy and cuddly – children and teens especially love this batting

• Loft is excellent for T-shirt quilts or quilts made with varying material types

• Loft can hide some of the imperfections in piecing

• Can be stitched closely and holds the drape, then pops out in less quilted areas for a faux trapunto look.

• Although it is lofty, it flattens out for ease in hand quilting! (Dream Wool is the favorite of many hand quilters!)

• 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

• Bonded fibers resist bearding

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

 

 

Disadvantages:

• Thermally bonded, so it can become stiff it put into contact with heat (Even on low heat, the drum of some dryers become hot enough to cause a problem), so we recommend air drying or drying with no heat. Absolutely no ironing!

• Occasionally holds a slight crease over time (can be fluffed out in the dryer on cool setting, though!)

• Wool fibers used, but also includes a man made poly fiber, so it is not flame retardant

 QUILTERS DREAM FUSION  

 

With Quilters Dream Fusion, enjoy the wonderful quality and consistency of Quilters Dream Cotton and Quilters Dream Poly with the convenience of a one sided fusible. Unlike most fusibles, Dream Fusion does not become stiff and sticky when used - it stays soft, supple, and drapeable so it is great for jackets and other clothing, bags, quilt-as-you go, embroidery, etc. (Jennifer insists I let you know that this is her favorite batting - she fuses the backing to the batting, then she can quilt with her domestic machine without worrying about pleating or puckering "back there".)
 

Advantages:

• One sided fusible ads stability and ease for use in small projects

• Uses a fusible webbing (rather than glue) that is needlepunched into the cotton or poly fibers so it does not become stiff

• Can machine quilt or embroider at high speed without gumming the needle

• Is soft, smooth, and consistent - just like our Dream Cotton and Dream Poly, but with an added soft fusible web

• Available in both cotton and poly, so gives more options (see cotton and poly advantages)

Disadvantages:

• Because the webbing is needlepunched into the batting (not sprayed on as a glue), it is only available on one side

• Is not a 100% natural batting since it does incorporate the fusible webbing

• Can be difficult to tell which side is fusible - so pay close attention to the sticker!

 



 

All of our battings are proudly made in the USA, and each batting is hand cut and hand inspected to insure superb quality is consistency.  Quilters Dream is a small, family owned business, so we don’t sell to chain stores and always encourage our customers to support their locally owned quilt shop or quilting business!  There are a lot of advantages to using Quilters Dream Batting, and with the wide variety of lofts, fibers, colors & sizes available, we hope that you find the choices to be to your advantage when choosing the perfect type of batting for your quilted treasure!

Please come back soon for a bonus Sweet Dreams Cotton Stuffing blog we are adding to Batting University! (OK, so I know stuffing isn't batting, but it is really cool stuff!)

Happy Quilting!