Tag Archives: Roxanne

A Sticky Subject: Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray

Posted on by

Greetings makers, crafters, and creators! Today, we’re diving into our Colonial Needle Company products to cover a sticky subject: Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray (see what we did there?), and why it is a must have for your projects.

Who are we?

Who are we you ask? We are Shannon and Jason… the DIY Duo behind shannonandjason.com.

Shannon is the creative driver behind our colorful escapades. Picture a project enthusiast and savvy artist with a penchant for pushing boundaries and a love for all things fiber. Shannon’s imagination knows no bounds, and her ability to blend history and art into fun and inspiring teaching moments will leave you wondering if she’s secretly a sorceress in disguise. (Spoiler: she is.)

And then there’s Jason, the yin to Shannon’s yang, the peanut butter to her jelly (or should we say, the pixels to her crochet hook?). Jason’s the backbone behind our chaotic adventures; a photographer/designer with a knack for turning ideas into reality. From photographing projects for our books and patterns, to machine sewing quilts, to sashiko embroidering garments, there’s never a dull moment as he dreams up the next beautiful thing to create.

We recently joined up with Colonial Needle Company to inspire you to delve into more creative endeavors with their FAB products. You’ll see a lot from us over the next year as we endeavor to educate, motivate, and inspire you to embrace your own creative chaos.

That’s us… now let’s talk about Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray.
Ah, Roxanne’s Temporary Spray Adhesive—AKA the secret sauce of the quilting world! Let’s dive into what makes this stuff so special, shall we?

What makes Roxanne’s Adhesive’s so special?

Let’s face it—for quilters, pinning layer upon layer of fabric while making a quilt sandwich is like playing a game of “Don’t Poke Your Fingers” on expert mode. And surface design projects can be fussy and a sticky mess with other types of glue…don’t get us started on having to pin some of those details into place. Enter Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray, the new superstar of your maker toolkit! No more wrestling with prickly pins or risking a gloopy glue mess. Just a spritz here and a spray there, and voila! Your quilt layers and applique are bonded like lifelong friends at a quilting bee.

What are the benefits of Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray?

  1. Temporary Hold: Imagine having the power to hold fabric together like a boss, but with the freedom to change your mind if the creative mood strikes you… as we are all prone to do. Roxanne Temporary Spray Adhesive gives you just that—temporary bonding for your fabric layers and threads so you can adjust, readjust, and re-re-re-adjust to your heart’s content.
  2. Low Odor: Ah, the sweet smell of success—minus the overpowering chemical stench. This is a big one on our list! Our spaces are small and, although we have plenty of windows, we don’t dare use some of these glues indoors and NEVER use the old style aerosols in the house. Fortunately, we don’t have to run out back to the garden for smaller projects or even larger wall hangings that we are assembling on the dining room… umm… studio floor. Roxanne’s low odor formula allows us to work without feeling like we are going to pass out from fumes that come with other spray adhesives. Disclaimer from the product packaging: this is still an aerosolized glue, so we always wear a mask when using it.
  3. Non-Staining Formula: We’ve all experienced those nightmare moments when a little adhesive turns into a big ol’ nasty stain on our quilt, silk applique, or antique lace. But fear not, intrepid makers! Roxanne won’t leave a mark on your delicate creations. The non-staining formula means you can spray with confidence knowing your fabrics and materials will stay pristine and stain-free. We always tell folx to test your fabrics first to make sure any adhesive isn’t going to stain and we personally did the over-use test on different fabrics for an applique project and it did not leave a single blotch. One less thing to stress about so we can concentrate on the creativity part.
  4. Versatility: From quilting and sewing to embroidery, applique, and surface design (and probably a few we haven’t even thought of yet… give us time), Roxanne is your go-to product for all things fabric-related. Need to baste a quilt? Roxanne’s got you covered. Want to tackle a craft project? Roxanne’s ready to roll. We have started using it for some of our boro and sashiko projects and love how quickly the glue sets (and the fact that we don’t have to go outside to use the spray). There are a LOT of options in the Roxanne line of glues and we will get to those in time so be sure to check them out. Really… there is something for every project. The particular basting spray has been a life saver for us for garments, quilts, and surface design work.
  5. Easy Application: Say goodbye to fumbling with pins and hello to a much easier way to work with this aerosol spray! Roxanne’s easy application means you can baste your quilt (and other projects) with precision and speed, leaving you more time to focus on the fun stuff—like picking out your next fabric obsession… just us? We thought not! We throw down an old sheet to protect our work surface (like we did in the video) and we’re off and running. Even in the case of a little overspray, a damp sponge was all it took to clean off our surfaces including a wood floor and our cutting table. Easy application, easy clean up… because the creative process isn’t always so neat and tidy.

What’s the bottom line?

The bottom line is: we are grateful there is this option for a temporary spray adhesive that doesn’t gas us out of our house and has such a beautifully fine spray that we can decide exactly how much to apply for different styles of projects. Our recommendation is to keep a few around for different projects. We used about one can for an oversized king-sized quilt and can do quite a few wall hangings and garment projects with a single can. We have four cans on the shelf right now because no way, no how, do we want to be struck by inspiration and not have this gem on hand.

That’s all for now but be sure to check back for more about our fav products from Colonial Needle Company as well as some projects and tutorials that reflect how we use this all-encompassing line of products in our studio. Keep up with it all on the Colonial Needle Company social media channels and YouTube. You can find us at shannonandjason.com and on our Instagram and Facebook pages we are @embracethecreativechaos. Which products do YOU have questions about? Let us know and we might just feature your question in a future video or post. Until then…

STITCH ON!!
Shannon & Jason

You can find Shannon and Jason’s tutorial on how to use Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray to make a quilt sandwich on our YouTube channel here. Don’t forget to subscribe so you’re up-to-date on all our latest reviews and tutorials!

ROXANNE TO THE RESCUE AGAIN!!!

Posted on by

By Judy Moore Pullen

I am so eager to share with you one of my favorite NEW tools: Roxanne Temporary Adhesive Spray from Colonial Needle Company. It can be found on their website here, at major suppliers, and hopefully, quick as a bunny at your favorite quilt and fabric shops. There are so many wonderful uses and applications for this fabulous adhesive spray…so where to begin?!

What is Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray?

Roxanne is a well-known brand of quilting products, including glues, needles, and notions. The qualities of their Temporary Adhesive Spray are many. This spray adhesive is acid free, odorless and colorless meaning it will not stain fabric or fibers. For those of you with pricey or precious vintage sewing machines, it will not clog your machine or needles. As a tool, Roxanne’s spray assists in positioning and holding fabrics for quilting, sewing, and other fiber-related activities, yet it is temporary and disappears when washed. It is almost like another pair of hands assisting you to smoothly position and hold layers in place for the next step.

Roxanne Temporary Adhesive Spray will be loved and adored by quilters who are layering, seamstresses, home décor sewists, embroidery enthusiasts, applique and piecing passionists (that’s a word, right?), craft designers and artists, pattern piecing persons, and so many more! If you enjoy working and playing with fabric, fibers, threads, roving, yarn, etc., you will find that Roxanne’s newest product will fill your needs for fun and ease of use. The time saved with its use will allow you to spend more time playing and creating. As a firm believer in the importance of process, the doing part of a project for me is such an important part of the joy of creating; almost as important as showing off my finished product!

How do you use Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray?

For years, I have been safety pin-basting backing, batting, and tops together for hand or machine quilting. I do not have time on my hands, but my hands have many years of time on them, and basting a quilt this way is not one of my favorite things to do. My hands and fingers become sore. However, what a joy to layer a quilt now with Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray!

  1. Prepare by rolling the batting loosely from one end toward the other.
  2. Repeat with the quilt top, and lay both aside nearby.
  3. Secure the quilt backing layer to a clean flat surface, wrong side up, with masking tape.
  4. Lightly spray with Roxanne Spray.
  5. Position the batting at one end of the backing, and unroll the rest of the batting toward the other end, smoothing lightly with your hands as you unroll. Spray backing with Roxanne then unroll and layer batting
  6. Next, lightly spray the batting, then lay the quilt top at one end of the batting.
  7. Unroll the quilt top toward the bottom edge of the batting, smoothing and pressing lightly, flat as a tortilla, and smooth as an ice-skating rink!! Spray batting and unroll and smooth appliquéd top.
  8. Quickly and beautifully flat for hand or machine quilting!

All odor-free, easy-peasy and no sore fingers or hands!! After a few minutes to dry, I am confident that neither my machine nor hand quilting needle will get tacky while stitching.

TIP:
If you are generous with the spray and it winds up on your table or a surface, not to fret! A light spray with water and swipe with a clean dry cloth will remove the light tackiness.

What are some other benefits of using RX Adhesive Spray?

When machine or hand quilting, I sometimes get those undesired little pleats or tucks on the back side of my quilt whenever I approach a previous line of stitching. At times I need to manipulate the layers, or needle-down in my machine, lift presser foot, and give little tugs back and forth to remove bubbles on top, and hopefully prevent gathers on the backing. However, with Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray, I happily keep stitching when approaching quilting stitches, no bubbles on top and no ruffles on the back! My machine quilting has improved so much and in such a short period of time. Time saved basting layers together and quilting add up to the probability of getting more projects finished and more begun. Win~Win! More play time and improved finished product, means I am one happy quilter and excited about sharing what I have learned and experienced with this wonderful product from a name we know and trust to do what we love to do.

What else can you do with Roxanne’s Temporary Adhesive Spray?

Here’s how Roxanne’ Spray helped me easily add borders to an old incomplete project:

Adding batting with Roxanne spray to new borders.
Adding batting with Roxanne spray to new borders.
New Borders!
New Borders!

A wool applique enthusiast, I also discovered Roxanne’s Spray works beautifully to layer wool to batting for quilting.

Wool background layered with Roxanne Spray on batting

Another of my older needle turn applique projects needs help, so I plan to unstitch some of the applique on Sunbonnet Sue, spray lightly, reposition Sue’s dress and sunbonnet, and needle turn applique back in place.

In an upcoming blog, I want to share ways I have used Roxanne glues, needles, and notions. I guess you could say I am a fan of Roxanne products. Oh, wait, I happen to know where some vintage fan blocks are, and can hardly wait to applique them to backgrounds with Roxanne’s Spray. Then, I’ll turn them into a quilt, and move on to another fun project! Yes, I am very excited about this new product.

Go ahead, thank Roxanne for adding more playtime, fun, and pleasure to your fabric and fiber projects. You can thank me later.

Happily sew on and sew on…

Judy Moore Pullen

Peace ~ Piece by Piece

Posted on by

By Judy Moore Pullen

I love the peace and serenity of our back yard; serenaded by birds and the rustle of leaves in the trees, early in the morning before lawn mowers get cranked up. Even on gray rainy days, the sound of raindrops on the roof provides a sense of peace and tranquility while I sip morning coffee and stay snug and dry under the extended roof over the back porch. I look up from my hand stitching when Sable and Sadie race and chase after squirrels that they will never catch, as those annoying little fluffy- tailed critters leap from tree to tree, taunting our furry little girls.

Making quilts for children also provides a wonderful sense of peace and fulfillment for me. A dear friend and I love to make charity children’s quilts. There are children in need, and we want to help provide the comfort of a quilt for as many children as we can. Debbie has a very large sewing room at her house, so she cuts the tops and backings, layers with batting, pin-bastes the layers together, and marks a diagonal grid with Roxanne’s marking pencils for machine quilting. She passes the quilts to me and I machine quilt and stitch the binding to the top. Debbie and I hand stitch the folded edge of the French fold bindings while binge-watching streamed TV in the evenings.

I love the process of doing something (except for the process of vacuuming and dusting.) I need a bumper sticker that tells the person behind me that “I would rather be sewing,” or “I would rather be shopping for fabric.” What would you rather be doing? What would your bumper sticker say about you?

Back to enjoying process…

I find that machine quilting the grid on these children’s quilts is so peaceful. Most of the tops are whole cloth, 36” x width of fabric, although some are lap size larger. Debbie creatively and artistically extends panels and darling children’s prints for tops by piecing, adding borders, turning plain-Jane fabrics into something fun for a child. Debbie is also a master at piecing scraps and strips together to make the bindings. Piece by piece, we hope to provide comfort and peace for children. This process provides a sense of peace for us as well. As I machine quilt the layers, I sometimes listen to audio books borrowed from our local library. At other times, I listen to music on my laptop. And sometimes, I simply savor the peace and quiet of the hum of my machine.

The peace acquired by hand stitching bindings is enhanced by the newest John James Signature Collection Needles from Colonial Needle Company. I had an opportunity to try the John James Signature Collection Milliners, size 10, for needle turn applique, one of my passions. What a joy! This needle is so sharp and glides so smoothly—easily piercing the turned edge of fabric rather than pushing or distorting it, which provides more accuracy and much greater ease of stitching. These needles are so user friendly that some of my “I don’t do hand applique” friends may even take up the art, joy, and passion of hand applique.

Threading the new John James Signature Collection Milliners, size 10, with Presencia 60-weight thread was also easy. Presencia 60 weight thread is 3-ply, long staple, so very strong while also very fine, perfect for hand applique and hiding those stitches. The length of this John James Signature Collection Milliners also made it perfect for swooping under and turning the seam allowance. One more thing I highly recommend is using two Needle Grip-Its to more easily grip the needle. Adhere one to your forefinger and one to your thumb tip on the hand with which you grip the needle. The repeated motion of gripping and pulling a needle can result in pain in hands and fingers over time. These great grips enable me to stitch for hours pain-free, also adding to my peace of mind whether I am doing hand applique or hand stitching a binding on a quilt.

One more thing…

I also tried stitching bindings with the newest John James Signature Collection Sharps, size 10. What a joy to easily pierce the backing, glide through the batting, and pierce upward to catch the fold of the binding. These needles are also strong, sharp, glide easily, and enhance my time of peace and quiet while listening to the sounds of chirping birds or a best seller book, peaceful music or the sound of silence. I’m eager to try these new John James Signature Collection Needles on hand piecing, too.

The process of sewing and creating is both peaceful and exciting for me. I enjoy the doing part of a project, not just the finished product. Using the best tools enhances both the process and the product. I highly recommend these new John James Signature Collection Needles. Just when you thought needles could not get any better ~ they did, they do, and they are!!

Peace be, piece by piece.

Happy Stitching!

Judy Moore Pullen