I’ve been working on the wedding quilt for my son and daughter-in-law over the past couple of weeks. I’m happy to say……I’m almost done with it!!!
I used a cotton and wool batting for the first time and I like the results. I did learn that I probably needed to pin baste closer together to avoid fabric shifting (like every 2-3” would have been perfect). It turned out nice and has a good weight to it! It will keep them warm for those winter nights!
I’ll be finishing it this weekend by squaring it up and binding.
That’s what’s happening! Thank you for reading my blog. I will be doing some quilt tutorial blogs in the near future. Please tell me if there’s anything you’d like to see!
Today I was doing my Sunday cooking for the week. Sunday is my prep day for the week since I have some dietary needs and have to basically cook/bake anything I want to eat.
So, as I am making a zucchini quiche and double chocolate cookies, and I am dripping with sweat being that the oven was on and it is 80 degrees outside with no air conditioner! Which lead me to remember a funny story from my childhood.
My parents would take us out camping in the summer for weekend vacations as well as a week long vacation. I was about 8 years old and my grandparents would also camp periodically with us. My grandmother this particular weekend thought it would be fun to bake cookies with my sister and me. Of course, we loved spending time in the kitchen and baking or cooking anything!
This was summer and probably about the same hot weather as today is. Plus, we were camping! Who really wants to bake in a small, hot camper (this is before air conditioners in the campers) when you could run and play outside and enjoy the great outdoors! Besides that was the purpose we camped.
So my sister and I did make the cookie dough and I believe they were cut out cookies. As soon as the dough was made and the cookies were cut out, my sister and I scurried out of the camper leaving my poor grandmother to roast in that sauna of acamper!
If I remember correctly, she emerged from the camper dripping with sweat just as I am now!
This weekend I’m in Canandaigua, NY. Just being outside listening to the creatures in the woods, feeling the sun and wind on my face, and enjoying everything else that comes with being outside is extremely relaxing for me.
Brought my next project to paint. It was so peaceful to be outside painting.
Two projects just about finished and I’ll be moving onto other projects!!
I am sew embarrassed that I have two wedding gifts from 2 years ago that I have not completed. Sew, for the next few weeks, I am going to complete these gifts and give them! This is going to give me a good focus on the work I have to do now. I just started painting the fabric. I am planning on finishing this by the end of this week, and I can give it to the happy couple (my cousin). The photo in the middle is the quilt at the end of the painting stage. The original photo is on the far right. Next step is to quilt it and frame it.
The other part of this is that my work area is totally messy. I am focusing on re-organizing this space to get ready for a litany of projects I have to complete by the end of the year.
Since my teaching experience at AQS in April, I have decided to focus on teaching and competition quilts; andI will of course take any commissioned quilt work that comes along. This allows me to have a very specific focus that I could market and expand on!
Thank you for reading this post! I would love to read your comments!
I’m very excited to present to you my first piece in the Buffalo/Niagara Region Series. This is Michigan Street. It is mounted onto a painters canvas and has a hanging wire for easy hanging.
I am working on three other quilts at this time to add to this collection. In 2017 or 2018, I hope to have an exhibit at the Carnegie Art Center in North Tonawanda. More information on that will follow!
T-shirts are a wonderful way to remember special occasions, events, and a myriad of other reasons. If you are one of the many people who can’t seem to give up those special t-shirts, putting them into a quilt is an excellent idea. You may use this tutorial for creating your own t-shirt quilt or see my Etsy shop for details of how I can do a custom quilt for you.
I want to add that you can use sweatshirts, sports shirts that are made of that waffle fabric, golf shirts (polo), etc. Use the same directions for the prep. Message me if you have any questions.
View #1 is the front and back of the t-shirt I am demonstrating today. Some t-shirts have printing on the back as well as the front. You may want to have both sides in your quilt or just one side. The preparation is the same.
It is very important to wash all of the t-shirts with your normal laundry detergent and 1/2 cup of White Vinegar. The vinegar will remove most or all of the odors.
View 2
After you have washed and dried your shirts, you can start cutting them apart. Be sure to lay the t-shirt flat on a table to have more accurate cutting. Make sure you leave at least 2″ around the design you want to use.
View #2 is showing to cut sleeves away from the shirt first. I like to cut close to the seams to allow as much extra fabric room as possible around the design.
View #3
4a. Cut along sides of t-shirt
4. Cut along sides of t-shirt
Next is to cut along the side seams of the t-shirt (view 3). This is where it is important to have the t-shirt laying flat. Most t-shirts do not have a side “seam” (where the manufacturer stitched it together). There should be some sort of a crease on the sides that you can follow and cut along that crease. If there is no crease, that is where laying it flat will show you that where that “crease” would be. Be sure to cut along both sides.
View #4
Lastly, we move on to the shoulders. The shoulders need to be cut right next to the seams on both shoulders.
If there is a little emblem on a sleeve that you wish to be part of the quilt, just send the sleeve as is to me.
Now you are done with the scissors!
If I am making this quilt for you, all you have to do is send the part of the shirts that have the emblems you wish to have in your quilt.
So, as I am making a zucchini quiche and double chocolate cookies, and I am dripping with sweat being that the oven was on and it is 80 degrees outside with no air conditioner! Which lead me to remember a funny story from my childhood.
View 2
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