I've finally gotten on to quilting my Batch of Brownies quilt. It's been such a long time because I decided that because of the stretchy linen it would have to be spray basted and then I discovered that the supposedly super-awesome 505 spray that everyone talks about isn't the easiest to find here - if you're lazy like me. Some quilt shops carry it sometimes, but not always, and the one online place I found it here wanted to charge some insane amount of postage, and another .co.nz site I found that looked amazingly cheap instead directed me to Fabric.com when I clicked on the 'buy now' button and the amazing price was in US dollars and before shipping - WTF is up with that? There is only so much time I will spend trying to track a product down though, so I kind of gave it up. ANYWAYS, I noticed some basting spray at Spotlight before Xmas and bought it, fully expecting my needle to clog up, or that it wouldn't stick or I'd die of fumes or something. Note to any quilt shop owners out there - there is a definite gap in the market in NZ for 505 Spray and Fix!
Having said that, the Spotlight stuff wasn't too bad! Spraying (on the kitchen floor) was fairly easy and it stuck things together well and the fumes weren't too awful and after an hour or so the quilt didn't smell at all. I haven't even noticed the needle getting sticky while sewing which is a huge bonus. However, by the end of the evening I found the soles of my feet were so sticky I had a coating of dust bunny and whatever else horrible was on the floor throughout the house that was very hard to get off, even in water with soap. Uh-oh. And then Mat started to complain about his feet, and then he started to complain about how sticky the kitchen floor was and then he asked if the glue was going to come out of the quilt! As I mopped the floor I assured him this stuff was meant to wash out and it would be fine - until I looked on the can and discovered that no, it's the 505 that promises that, NOT the Spotlight stuff. In fact, there is nothing mentioned at all about how to get it out of the quilt, or if it ever will. D'oh! Oh well, it may well wash out, and it certainly came off the floor much more easily than off my feet, so I'll see. In the meantime I'll appreciate how much easier it is to sew when spray basted!
