3incollege

You are really amazing. what a wonderful friend you are.
I think batiks is the why to go. they are easy to work with. I have a quilt shop in my area that specializes in batiks, she carries alot of bolts and she might have some on clarance. I will check it out of you. I think between all of us on the board we can find what you want for the best price. I wish I had EQ also. Donna

Flying_V_Goddess

If you could find any deep red/garnet/blood colored watercolor-like batiks, that would be awesome!

I've kind of run into a problem with the batik. I asked how to handle them and Judy (I think it was Judy---just off the top of my head) told me about this stuff to keep it the batik from bleeding like crazy. Retayne I think its called. Sounds good except I'm wondering if fabric treated with this is safe around children. Don't want to give this quilt to Deni and then find her newborn child got sick being around a quilt with treated batik. Would you happen to know if this stuff is safe around children or have a great alternative solution?

vicki reno

I have used the watercolor batiks without treting them and notcied no problem. BUT, that was only the one washing that I did when done woth the quilt. So I am not much help but love to be included in your thoughts as far as the design. You ar very talented.

Ditter43

Vicki,
Sounds like you have it all worked out. Now the fun part!!I'm looking forward to seeing the finished quilt!
Isn't it great to have like minds to brainstorm with?

ditter43

Flying_V_Goddess

*sigh* Having two opinions on washing batiks doesn't help. One person telling me they need to be treated cause they bleed like crazy (Judy) and another telling me she's had no problems washing them like cottons (ShadowDancer). On one hand I don't want to take the risk in washing batik normally and end up with the colors washed out, dulled, faded, etc. On the same note, I don't want to treat it with something that I don't know is safe for children. I'll contact the company of the stuff and see if fabric treated with this stuff is safe for small children. If not, well I'm......I can't think of a way to put it without offending some people.

amma

Batiks can be like any other fabric. Some dark colored fabrics bleed and some do not. I would do just what you said, contact the company and see what they say. Once the fabric is treated, I would think a couple of washings would remove the chemical treatment. So far the batiks that I have bought have all been color fast, including the reds and blacks. I cut a small piece off of the corner and place it in very warm soapy water to check for bleeding. Hopefully what you buy will not need any treatment and it will not be a concern.

amma

I went to prochemicals website and got this info on Retayne, here is the link.

http://www.prochemical.com/MaterialSafety/Auxiliaries/2007%20Retayne.pdf

It seems pretty safe as long as you do not get the actual chemical in your eyes, mouth, or skin. It says it is not a known carcinogen, it does not enter through the skin or through inhalation. I would think it would be safe to use. Personally, I would rinse the fabric and dry it according to the bottles instructions to set the dye in the fabric and then I would probably wash it and rinse it again just to make sure all the chemical was out of the fabric.

Flying_V_Goddess

I emailed the company about it so hopefully they'll get back to me and I'll know for sure.

Flying_V_Goddess

Here is the ultimate quilt key for the Tsunami quilt with all the blocks, the number of blocks and pieces there are, and how many of each piece is needed. :D

Flying_V_Goddess

I was looking through one of my Keepsake Quilting catalogs and saw this black Amish fabric---supposed to be as black as black can get. Sounds great, but its $6 a yard. Think it'd be worth the buy?