"Beutezug" at PIQF

"Beutezug"* at PIQF

*Beutezug, German expression when pirates venture out and capture and steal valuables....

This year and because it is so close by I spent two days at PIQF (Pacific International Quilt Festival at the Santa Clara Convention Center). I even signed up for a class, which I had not done for the last couple years.

As usual for me I didn't really take pictures, but walked through the exposition area admiring all a creative, detailed work. Many quilts were heavily quilted with smallish motives all over. Which went well with the class I took, "Meet me at the Bar" given by Pat Delaney. I will have to make many more quilts to become a better quilter... The class went from 9 to 4 with an hour lunch break and I guess many more days spent that way will get me there eventually....

But classes and exhibited quilts are just one part. I always look forward seeing all the great merchandise. Just amazing, especially the treads and unusual fabrics.

For about two to three years I always stopped at one booth, where they sell beautiful Indigo fabric. This fabric is made with old Manchester, England equipment. Now though it is produced in South Africa. The fabric requires special treatment before using. You have zig-zag or serge it and then machine wash it. The first time I saw it I was very skeptical. This fabric is stiff like a piece of paper and looks not much like the cotton quilters like to use. But once you wash it, it is beautiful and very easy to work with. (Cotton in the Cabin, Spencerville Indiana) http://www.cottoninthecabin.com/index.html

Our fabric was originally produced in Manchester England. After over 100 years of production the company closed down the indigo lines and the factory and technology was sold to the company in South Africa where production continues using the same technology. The fabric is only 36 inches wide as the company uses many of the original copper plates from England.
As you will notice the fabric is very stiff when purchased. This is the result demand by the sewers in South Africa. When the fabric was first sent from England to South Africa, it took up to 3 months to make the trip. Fabric was always put in the bottom of the hold and everything else was stacked on top of it. Being in the salt air for three months, the time to make the trip, made the fabric stiff. When Steam ships came into being, the trip was much quicker and the fabric arrived much softer. The sewers refused to use it as they thought that the manufacturers were trying to foist off inferior goods on them. As a result, starch has been added to the fabric for the last 100 years. This starch washes out with the first washing leaving a soft and pleasant fabric to work with.

This year I had a special reason to step by the booth. It took me a couple years but I had finished hand-piecing a six-pointed star quilt using those fabrics and wanted the seller to see it. She was very pleased and gave me one of the pieces of fabric as a gift.

The other place I bought fabric from was Pinwheels. They specialize in Japanese fabrics and also carry another really tempting fabric line, called Oakshott. These fabrics are shot cottons, but the colors - truly amazing. They look like silk. They look like what would be used as a silk apron in a Bernese Sunday costume. Shot and wrap are different colors, which makes that they shimmer.

The only thing I didn't like was that these fabrics fray! I first washed the reds and then I got wise and zigzagged the blue fabrics and I am much happier with how they turned out. I would definitely wash them before using in a quilt. If something frays that much, it also shrinks and I wouldn't want that in my quilt.