Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Last of the Houston Purchases

These photos are the remaining items I purchased while at the quilt show in Houston. First up are some gel pens.  These aren't like typical gel pens, however.  These pens are thermal sensitive and if you use them to draw on fabric, you can remove the marks with heat, also known as your iron.  I bought two packs, each one had different colors and I was hoping that the pack with the pink and orange pens would work on dark fabrics.  I tested them on black fabric and they really didn't work well.  I do, however, have a white pen that does work on black or dark fabric and it is marketed by Clover.  The pens are by Pilot and are called Frixion Erasable Gel Pen.  There are times when I like to make guideline markings on my fabric and these will be handy for that purpose.  I prefer to iron away my guidelines rather than using a pen that you need to wet or dampen the fabric in order to remove the markings.


My next purchase is a set of rolling rulers.  I will use these when creating borders on drawings when I create quilt designs and any other times when I want a straight line.  I also think they may be fun when doodling or playing in my sketchbook.  You can make circles and ovals with these as well.  Abby is always curious as to what I'm doing in my studio.  She is the one cat that usually ends up in my photos because of her curiosity.


Another purchase I made are these Smooch Spritz bottles.  They have a shimmery substance in them and when you spritz them on fabric they leave a subtle shimmer and a subtle color.  I chose to get the clear shimmer, an olive green shimmer, an orange shimmer and a red violet shimmer.


I also had to get some templates.  I love layering designs on my fabrics when I am painting and these will add some great interest.  There were so many template designs to choose from and I would have loved to have more, but I called upon my willpower to help me through.


I've tried transfer papers in the past and my friend, Margaret Applin, recently told me she uses this one...TAP.  So I noticed a booth that was selling it and decided I'd give it a try and see how I like it.


And that concludes the purchasing spree in Houston.    I'll leave you with some parting shots of Abby.



Have a wonderful weekend!!!  Meow!