Airing of the Quilts

If you are like me, quilting for a while, you have many quilts that still need to find a home. I am running out of space and have stored them all over the place, some in cupboards, some under the bed...it's quite ridiculous.

Storing quilts appropriately you should:

Wrap quilts in clean cotton sheets or pillowcases, or use acid-free boxes. Fold the quilt so the back side faces out, and use as few folds as possible. Protect the folds from becoming permanent by crumpling up some acid-free paper and tucking it into the folds as cushion. Re-fold the quilts every few months (APQS Blog)

I found a good article at Patchwork Posse about how to best store your quilts,i.e.

- roll them up, rather than folding to avoid excessive creasing

- store them in a pillow case and refold them from time to time

- never store them in an airtight container or storage bag; cutting off the air accelerates the decomposition of the cotton as does storing them in high temperatures; best way to store them is, of course, to lay them flat on a spare bed with a sheet over it. Alternatively, roll them onto a pool noodle and then a sheet and slide under the bed.

- use a wooden ladder to display them.

All of that sounds great, of course, but we live in Australia where the temperatures in summer swing widely from very, very hot to cool in a matter of hours. Plus, we use air conditioners in summer, so there would always be a high amount of moisture in the air (we have evaporative air conditioner in this house). All not very ideal.

While some of my quilts are in cupboards in pillow cases, others are stored under the bed in a plastic container. Big "no,no", I know,  but I am paranoid about insects getting to them. It is not airtight and I think I will wrap them individually in pillow cases from now on. I use mainly Wool/Poly batting and the batting does have a wool scent to to it which is noticeable even in new, unused quilts. I noticed that over time this becomes a somewhat musty smell, so I started airing my quilts periodically. Wool loves fresh air and sunshine, so our top tip for a fresh quilt is to air it outside on a warm breezy day. This will help to keep the wool filling healthy and rejuvenated (Minijumbuk Blog).

So, that's what I did yesterday...had my only little quilt show on the clothes line in the backyard. Looked spectacular!

The day was mild in terms of the heat and there was a light breeze out there. Left the quilts for most of the day and they were definitely refreshed when I took them back inside. I think I will do this more regularly now...maybe every half year of so. Better, still, I need to get rid of some of my quilts to make more room for new ones!

Karin