On Dec 5th last year I blogged on a study of a number of different batts available where I was living in Denver at the time, a very new quilter, it was interesrting to me to see how they all worked up given the same fabrics, needle, thread and hands working up the same quilting pattern on each sandwich.

A few days ago I unexpectedly came across them in a suitcase of old stuff while looking for something entirely different.

Each potholder-looking thing is a different brand of batting, various compositions, and all quilted to the same quilting pattern.  On the back of each I wrote various comments about the result, how it handled, and any technical problem eg several bearded fairly markedly.  A useful reference at the time, but battings have come and gone, and I no longer live in the USA,  anyway.

Even if I say so myself, the quilting is of a pretty good standard – which makes the wrinkled one lying on the top very puzzling – on the back of that one I can just make out ‘too much tension’, so what on earth does that all mean?  I can’t remember,  but I was not a total stranger to the technique of quilting several layers of fabric together by a running stitch known as a quilting stitch, and I did all the others just fine.  So, I really don’t think I would have left the piece like that – they were all bound after quilting, and then the grommets put in.  If the tension seemed too tight at the time, as would seem so from my having made a note on the back, why on earth didn’t I undo it?  The batting in that one is wool – so did the samples get wet some time and that one shrink?  Not to my knowledge – wherever it has been we’ve never been flooded out, and, anyway, they’re all clipped toegether, and no cotton batts shrank …. its all very puzzling.  Any suggestions welcome!