Saturday, September 7, 2013

Oh Elmer,Elmer....sigh

With my husband off sailing for a week, I've been all on my lonesome......and LOVING IT!!! So what have I been up to?? Good question....how's that for being evasive?? Well, you know the usual...keeping strange hours, reading novels, navel gazing....and quilting, of course. 
And, I have a new man in my life, well sort of.....

Elmer, Elmer Elmer......you must be ancient and yet I adore you, for inventing the best glue ever. I wonder when that was exactly, I can never remember there NOT being any Elmer's white glue. I so underestimated your value and took you so for granted....well, that's about to change.
 
It's not that I hadn't heard of quilters using Elmer's Washable School Glue for gluing down bindings and such....I'm ashamed to say, I dismissed the idea out of hand. Sorry Elmer.....I WAS SO WRONG!! (Trust me those words do not come out of my mouth all that often, just ask my husband.)
 
Any of you that pop in now and again, know that I use the Quilt As You Go methods on a regular basis. Joining the long rows or columns of blocks can be a little really painful. I mean that literally, as there are several pins involved, which have a way of poking you, as you wedge the whole thing under the machine. Suddenly a light went on....if you can allegedly (at that point I had never tried it) glue down binding, why not the joining strips??
  
Joining QAYG columns with wide strips...check out the tutorial here.
I was a little nervous as put a line of glue in the seam allowance, since I didn't have the fine tip for the glue bottle that some tutorials mention....I will have to get me one of those.
 
But it went on without a hitch!!

Heat set with a dry iron. 


Would you look at that beautifully flat, glued down edge!! 


Here's a close up!! 
 
There is a tremendous advantage to not having to contend with pins as you sew down these edges. You just have so much more control.
 
Also...and this is huge, you no longer have pins poking you and catching on your clothing as you sew down these long edges....if you've never done QAYG, you will just have trust me on this.
I got so carried away, I finished Autumn's quilt (Pattern: Think Big by Jacquie Gering).
 
I even used glue on the bindings....I'll leave that for another post.

I love how this quilt turned out.
 
 
Here's a shot of the back.

So thanks, Elmer....you've made my quilting life a little easier and a little lot more pain free!!

 

50 comments:

  1. Well, how cool is that? Who would have guessed? I guess I gotta get me some too......WOW!

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  2. Oh wow, your quilt is fantastic, Marianne! Great tip about the Elmer's Glue. I'll keep my eye out for it and give it a try too.

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  3. how fun that you got to play while hubby was away - the quilt is wonderful and I'm excited about glue since I have yet to try the QAYG joining method yet I can just bypass the pins

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  4. I love using Elmer's Glue! And I bought the metal tips, but you can also do the same thing with the tip from a Bic Pencil. Details here... http://sewing.patternreview.com/SewingDiscussions/topic/36124
    Your quilt is gorgeous!!! As usual. :)

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  5. I tried using glue once for binding a quilt, but I like the idea of QAYG strips and using glue instead of pins! Yes no more pin pricks. Best of ll your quilt looks beautiful!

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  6. Oh yes! I've been using Elmer's for at least a year since I took a Sharon Schamber workshop. Changed my life! If it helps, she said it's really a starch product. I like thinking of it that way - instead of as "glue". It not only sticks but also stabilizes all those edges. The small tips are wonderful and very inexpensive, but I'm going to have a look at that Bic pencil thing...

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  7. I'm a new convert to Elmer's glue as well! Love your new quilt!

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  8. Thanks for the tip! I wouldn't usually think of using Elmer's for this, but it worked beautifully for you. It is remarkable just how many uses it has. Love your quilt finish too!

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  9. I will give it a try, does the glue dry right away with the iron or do you have to wait?

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  10. That looks as if it will be worth a try!

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  11. I use it all the time and I LOVE it - it's (almost) life-changing ;-)

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  12. Thanks for the tip. Would you also use it for blanket quilts? Does is wash out or is it a chemical product that stays? And yes, your autumn quilt turned out gorgeous - like all of them :-)

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    Replies
    1. polyvinyl acetate - suspension of polyvinyl acetate (PVA) resin in water...."vinyl acrylic." - AP (Non-Toxic): Products bearing the AP (Non-Toxic) Product Seal of The Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc.
      (ACMI) are certified in a program of toxicological evaluation by a medical expert to contain no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to humans or to cause acute or chronic health problems.
      However, people who have corn allergies should steer clear of this product.
      That being said: I have to research before I iron a product that is a form of vinyl Or I'll use my chemical mask when ironing.

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  13. I can't believe it. I've not heard about that before...I take it that you just use a tad. I'll try it on a scrap first I think! Thank you for sharing the tip.

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  14. Awesome idea. I'll have to try that one too.

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  15. We don't get Elmer's glue here in the UK, but I regularly use washable PVA glue to 'fix' bindings and similar seams down - I've even 'painted' on watered down washable PVA glue to batting/wadding and ironed on the backing fabric then done the same on the front - way cheaper, and it can be done inside, than the spray batting adhesive - and when you freshen up the quilt after completion, it washes away .....

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  16. Coool idea. By the way, Elmer's white glue was introduced in 1947. So it has been around longer than I have. LOL.

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  17. What a great idea!! I have never tried Elmer's glue but.....after reading this I'm going to!!

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  18. Great idea.I`ve never tried glue to binding.Your quilt is spectacular!

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  19. Awesome! Thanks for sharing and the details. Might use this on my next binding.

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  20. Awesome! Thanks for sharing and the details. Might use this on my next binding.

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  21. Will your hubby be mad that you met a new "Best friend" Elmer? Thanks for sharing and I love your quilts!!

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  22. This is one of the most amazing quilt ever. The design, colors, it looks like a piece of art. Thanks for sharing your talents and your quilts. Can't wait to use Elmer on the two QAYG quilts I'm making. Always looking for a better way to quilt.

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  23. Beautiful quilt! Love the colors!

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  24. Fascinating! I've used glue a little but I'll have to start considering possible other uses. I will say that I recently sprung for the more expensive Roxanne's applique glue and I'm really enjoying it over Elmer's.

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  25. I've used Elmer's for small applique pieces and could never get it to stick to heavier pieces. I never thought of ironing down - you are brilliant! This is definitely something I will do very soon!

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  26. Is this what you do: http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutorials-f10/glue-basting-elmers-school-glue-t29275.html

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  27. I've read about using glue for binding but I've never tried it. I don't trust myself to use it "sparingly"...LOL

    That quilt is just beyond gorgeous!!!

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  28. I just used Elmer's (the clear version) for the first time when making some scrappy trip around blocks and it was so quick and worked so well to match all those seams. Love it and will definitely use it again. Nice to know it works well for other things.

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  29. Who'da thunk? I've never heard of this. It's amazing and wonderful and I just love it. Thank you for this new technique. And, of course, I love the quilt! Gorgeous!

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  30. Beautiful...and yes, I love Elmer too!!

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  31. That is just amazing!!! Really!!! I've never tried it and now must watch the tutorial!! :^) LOVE the quilt!!!!

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  32. I am eagerly awaiting your post on using glue for the binding. Pinning binding strips drives me nuts.

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  33. I am so happy that I visited you today. I just received my free hand pressure foot in the mail this weekend and your post is so timely. I do want to start slow with small projects, but I can not wait to quilt something :)
    Thank you,
    Your blogging sister, Connie :)

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  34. Wow, you revolutionized my QAG process now, thank you so much!!

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    1. Nice to know I actually revolutionized something....

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  35. Oh! Oh! I can not wait to try this!!! Yes, those pins are painful! This couldn't have come at a better time. I've been wanting to finish my QAYG WIP and lacked the motivation. This just may help. Thank you!

    I just love visiting your blog. I always feel like I've just sat down and had a nice visit with a quilting friend. I always learn plenty, too!

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  36. Great quilt. Elmer is just the best guy around. He has a cousin, Blue GlueStick, who is a pretty cool little guy too!

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  37. What a great tip! I've never heard of it. I'm on sort of a quilting hiatus, but I'm filing this away under Things to Try, when I get back into it. Thanks for sharing!

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  38. I too, am a fan of Elmers. For bindings OMG, life changing. I'm actually using it right now so I laughed when I saw your post! :)

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  39. I use it for matching large prints on a quilt back--works well. The one downside (just warning you) is the glue can look so good that you don't realize you missed sewing something until it's washed! :)

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  40. WoW!!! excellent!!!
    thanks for all the advice and tips.... i'd seen glue used before, but wasn't sure which kind to use.....
    hm...put that on my 'gotta try it' list!!
    i love spray basting - so elmer sounds like a fantastic friend to have on hand as well
    thanks
    xo
    eva

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  41. Yes we all resort to glue at sometime or other, but unfortunately over time the glue eats through the textile. I have quilts that are 10 years + and the glue does degrade the piece over time.

    It has taken me a decade or more to know this and now take the time to hand baste and problem seam.

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Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I try to respond to all of your wonderful comments....if you are not getting any response from me it's because you are set up as a no-reply blogger. In order to receive a response you can change your status in your blogger profile. I'm no longer accepting anonymous comments.

Thanks again for all your wonderful comments
Marianne

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