Words for the YoYo
The Hemlock Ring looks fab.
Hooray for sewing, you do it much better than I. (although I know what you mean about needing the right foot for the job. That is when you learn not to sew bear foot)
Cute coasters! I wash and iron as soon as I get the fabric home , but I actually like the ironing part, lol. One trick for making the job easier is to invest in a pinking blade for your rotary cutter (and if you don't have a rotary cutter, get thee back to the store and get this tool of the Gods - and a mat and ruler - immediately) or use a pair of pinking shears to 'pink' all the edges of your fabric (don't whack of a great chunk, just come in a few millimeters from the edge of the fabric) and voila. You will get a sh** load less fraying and cotton tangles during washing (and the edges of fabric are always wonky or selvedge, so they have to go anyway, lol). Personally, I get a thrill out of all those freshly pinked little edges but I'm kinda sick like that.
I am soooo hanging out to see the Hemlock Ring blocked - the colours are totally gorgeous!
Scary about the door! We used to have a garage door opener that would get stuck, for the longest time, I would back out, the door would close, then open again and then when I would come home, it would open by itself. I thought it was ghosts til we figured it out. Duh!
I wash my fabric depending on my mood. Sometimes right away, sometimes when I'm going to use it. A few years ago I made adorable flannel pj pants for my sisters and I didn't prewash - they shrank. Sad story. I wash it all now!
Happy sewing/knitting. Love the blanket!
Beautiful fabrics and nice work on those coasters! Um..you are embarqing on another fiber addiction you know...as fabric is where I started! 
OMGIHAVEHADTHATHAPPEN! Glad all is well. I need to pull out my sewing machine next week. Speaking of...you coming into Charlotte or not??
I have been quilting for eight years. I have 2+ bookcases full of fabric. (stash pic 7/19/07 blog entry) NONE of it is washed.
If I'm doing an embroidery project, I'll pre-wash the fabric and then use spray sizing right before I do the machine embroidery.
I'd also pre-wash if I was using JoAnn Fabrics-quality fabric. It's a lower quality of griege goods and is much more likely to shrink. But 95% of my stash is quilt store-quality fabric and I've never had a problem with shrinking or bleeding/crocking.
Also keep in mind that poly batting has its place and it isn't all icky. For things that are going to be washed a lot (placemats, table runners), it helps to use something like thermolam that won't shrink. I've also made some wall hangings that need a little more "poof" than I can get with my Warm & White standard batting. Then I use another "warm company" batting, but in poly.
Bottom line is that this is kind of like the DPN vs 2 circs vs. Magic Loop or Heel flap/short row heel or toe-up/top down debates with socks. You're going to get all kinds of opinions that are THE RIGHT ANSWER according to that source, but they're all OK, really. Hope all this info helps!
Oooh you and I have identical taste in fabric missy! I looooove those, gorgeous. I'm gonna go with the wash before you sew, just in case. My MIL sews a lot and she always does...
Love the Hemlock, it looks so great now that you can see it better!
I had the door thing happen before. I had company at my apt and they left and the door was a very picky door, if you don't shut it just right, it would open up. Well I shut the door and it was locked but did it wrong apparently. Next morning I woke up before my roommate and the door was WIDE OPEN and I freaked. Her two cats were gone. I got dressed, got her up and we went searching. One came running, and the other was trying to get into someone else's apt. We were lucky too not to get robbed because we lived in a bad area. Really lucky! Glad you were too, it woulda sucked I'm sure!
I took a sewing class, and do you think they ever mentioned washing before using fabric? No. So the thought never crossed my mind.
The one thing I do not like about sewing, though, is putting the interfacing on. More cutting, irons required, breaking needles if it is too thick and then you use the wrong one... all that neat stuff. But I cannot wait to get back into it again 
Yay for fun sewing! I can't wait for Christmas vacation so I can get up into the craft room and sew. (It's eleventy-below up there and I don't feel like cranking the separate furnace if I'm not going to be in there for a goodly chunk of time...)
And I've left the garage door open - for an entire day - but it was when everything was locked up tight the burglars came. I'm glad everything was fine & the pets & presents were all where they were s'posed to be!
Enjoy the caffeine! It's my bff.
Love the Hemlock blanket - just beautiful, colors/pattern, everything. I'm jealous that you're learning to sew - I've never done it, and I honestly don't even know what a fat quarter is if someone waved one at me! Enjoy!
Glad to hear that you are all safe!
i've seen enough horror stories that i believe in the wash before you use theory. however i would skip ironing til you are ready to use. if you iron and then fold to store you will need to iron it again anyway. but that's just me.
cute coasters!
Okay, okay. I agree with the above comments. However, I personally wash my fabric as soon as I get home. That way I don't have to look at it when I want to use it and ask myself if it's been washed or not. If it's in a project never to be washed - don't worry about it. Some patterns actually tell you NOT to wash your fabrics. (That one shocked me!) I haven't always washed my fabrics that way. When I was first starting out I wanted to sew it all NOW! It can be disappointing though when you sew a garment without washing your fabric...
wash it when you're finished pouring your blood, sweat and tears into it and it did that shrinking thang! You are doing very well with your straight lines. Enjoy your machine, you lucky girl, you! Merry Christmas!
Kristy
You don't HAVE to wash your fabric before you use it if it's not something that's going to get washed, like a wall hanging or something like that...it's mostly to prevent unexpected bleeding and/or shrinkage when quilting. If I was just making coasters, I wouldn't have bothered to wash the fabric, but I am also lazy, so feel free to ignore me. I typically don't wash fabric until right before I am ready to use it, though it's smart to wash it as soon as you get home so that when you're ready to start a project, you can just dive in without waiting to wash/dry/press, but again, lazy. And I think those coasters turned out super fabulous, so cute!
Wow! That was scary. I do have to tell you that husbands learn lessons really quick when they get scared. My husband never really thought about the latch on the back gate. He let one of the dogs out and after 15 minutes, the dog didn't come back inside. Sure enough, the husband hadn't made sure the latch was secure. Luckily, the dog went to visit a neighbor's dog and then kept him in their backyard until we came looking for him. Sigh. Men -- you have to love them.
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