For the last two years that Will has attended our neighborhood school, I have enjoyed working on art projects with his class for the school’s annual auction. This year we made an art quilt. The theme was about their dreams of what they wanted to be when they grow up. Each child was given a muslin block and some fabric markers, crayons and pens with which to create a self-portrait about their future. They all did such a nice job on their blocks (so colorful!) and the final product turned out so beautiful.
I can't say enough good things about the materials we used for the drawings. The fabric markers and crayons are fantastic. They do not wash out or fade at all. And they didn’t bleed into the fabric either—they made very crisp lines. I will definitely use them again for other similar projects. (we’ve already got a family art-quilt in the planning stages).
For the printed blocks with text, I did a lot of research and experimentation to find the best solution which would not wash out or fade because I wanted the type to be really sharp and readable. The final winner was this product. I ironed my pre-washed, Bubble-Jet soaked Kona cotton onto a sheet of freezer paper then trimmed it to fit my printer. Printed out my design, let it sit overnight, then peeled it off of the paper and rinsed it in Bubble Jet Rinse. After drying, the ink was set. I did several test washes without any noticeable fading. Miraculous. Get some and try it! (The weird moire here is a result of the photography. It is not part of the design).
A couple of shots of the quilt in progress:
Close-ups of some of the individual blocks:
Cowboy.
Gymnast.
Soccer player (Will’s).
Cheerleader.
Race car driver.
Egyptologist.
Teacher.
Entertainer.
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A final note: Kirk surprised me the night of the event and placed the winning bid on the quilt—something I did not expect at all—so we got to bring it home with us! Will was super happy about it and was found spending much of the following day like this:
