Exile. How sweet the word! Sweet hubby and I decided to exile ourselves this week. Away we flew in Dad’s RV, away to a nearby, not-to-be-disclosed location, away from phones, away from email, away from the rest of the world. We got to our destination, plugged in, and hunkered down. Yes, there was snow on the ground, but we were warm and toasty inside. We watched movies and read and ate ice cream and pretty much just sat around until our rear ends were sore. Then we laid down and watched more movies. We only left the RV to treat ourselves to dinner.
I brought along my Sapphire Star quilt and spent many luxurious hours hand quilting, and (drumroll, please) I finished quilting it!!! Now I just need to trim it, bind it, label it, sleeve it, and hang it. Who knows? The way things are going for me right now, that might take another six months or so.
We came back to civilization to find three copies of the newest Quilting Arts magazine. Inside, on page 76, is my fabric marker product review. When choosing a marker, I think it is also important to consider the size of the marker tip, so I’m showing you those here.
What they didn’t show in the magazine were my five willing guinea pigs who made the entire testing process so much more fun! Each one was given a white t-shirt and one brand of markers and allowed to create whatever they wanted. I observed as they drew, watched for possible problems, asked questions, and took pictures. Thanks for your help, kids!
And now for the part you’ve all been waiting for! I have two copies of the February/March 2012 issue of Quilting Arts magazine to give away. Just leave a comment below. I’ll draw two names on Monday morning. (US residents only, please.)
My husband always said that if we could come up with a fabric marker that worked nicely on all fabric with all colors – we could make a million dollars. As it is – I have a large assorted for every occasion – sighh!
Sounds like a fantastic trip!
My philosophy is – the more fabric markers (or any other kind), the better.
That sounds like a fantastic trip!! Your quilt looks great! lets not talk about binding… i have 8 quilts that need some.. i look forward to seeing your article. thanks Natalie Carlton
Good work, product testers!
One definitely cannot have too many markers!! Attested to by my stash. However, if not used they do have problems so best to give each one a little “tattoo” purchase date. Just sayin’. Doreen
Dating them is a great idea! Also, you can store them in Ziploc bags to help minimize evaporation.
Storing them in a Ziploc bag is a great idea. I just threw out some pens that dried up before I used them. Looking forward to the article!
Getting children involved was a terrific idea!! What fun!!
I love your guinea pigs. Who said that it’s hard to find good help these days?! They were obviously just looking in the wrong places. 😉
Please sign me up for your magazine give-away.
Thanks!
I have a stash of markers but I keep succombing to meandering and have yet to use one.
As a retired elementary school teacher, I can say that you choice the right audience to test your markers. I’m sure they were quite thorough.
Pick me, pick me! (for the drawing) 😉 I like Micron pens for signature quilts. Did you test that brand?
I’ve used Micron pens for years, but I recently discovered Pentel’s Gel Roller for Fabric which I like MUCH better. (See a picture of them here, http://www.amazon.com/Roller-Fabric-Permanent-Black-BN15BPA/dp/B001K7MW26/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327594581&sr=8-1) In the future, I expect I’ll choose them first anytime I need to sign a quilt, write a message or do a fabric drawing. The only drawback is they currently only come in black, red, and blue. I encourage you to give them a try!
So glad you got some time away with your beloved.
Have a great day.
Always, Queenie
Yes, Fly away – get away – go away – cruise away – hide away – any of those would be a nice thing to do. Sounds like you had a restorative hybernation 🙂
Markers – yes – sizes – yes – LOVE the volunteers! Too bad they wern’t in the magazine too. Behind the scenes workers 😉
Thanks for the chance to win.
Cathy Byrd
byrd at gulftel.com
I love the blues of your blogsite. Wish I knew how to make mine so pretty! 🙂
Cathy Byrd
OOPSSSS I meant to say too bad they were not in the magazine article. Weren’t ? Is that proper english? Ha. ha’s
Wow Maria they all did a really great job on their shirts! Nice to have good help eh?
Must read your review! Like sharpened pencils, I love markers. Hardly use them for anything – but I know they’re in nice boxes – just waiting. And having the kids test out the markers – genius!!!!
Great work on your Sapphire quilt! It looks beautiful.
I’ve really been enjoying your QA articles. Great job there too!
I always love your quilts and this one is lovely too.
Your exile week sounds wonderful – my kind of relaxing vacation!
Love your lessons on making faces trough interweave. I learned a lot from that!
Thanks for the tip about storing markers in a ziploc bag. That would surely help with “regular” art markers like Prismacolor too. Storing them horizontally if they have double ends is essential, but storing them tip down for single tip markers seems to help too.
Your article sounds like just the thing I need to know…sadly, my subscription expired at the end of last year…Help!
Maria,
Your exile sounded so nice. Escape. Vanish. Non communication. Just the two of you. Sigh. Lovely.
Thanks Maria for you generosity. Your retreat with your hubby sounds wonderful. My husband and I should try it.
I would love to see your article. Not easy to find the magazine overseas.
Hugs, Nancy
Very adorable ‘five willing guinea pigs’. Kids have ideas of how to use things that adults have never thought about.