Quilt Reveal: Blue Shirts Quilt

 

I put the last stitches on the shirts quilt this week. It is strange to give you a quilt reveal without showing it all to you, but it is a very large quilt and  I will need help to show the whole thing to you. For good lighting, the photo has to be taken outside, and I don't want to get it dirty by laying it on the ground.

Maybe we will take the quilt for a walk so you can get a complete picture.

The quilt is made out of shirts that my brother-in-law wore until they were declared unsuitable for wear. We both like the idea of extending their life by turning them into a quilt. He isn't a lounge under a lap quilt guy, so I had to make a bed quilt. It has a 8 x 8 block layout, so it is approximately 80 x 80 inches.

Did you notice the row of one inch squares on the bottom left?

I made the quilt by cutting different size squares that would become ten inch blocks. There are a few rectangles in there too. I quilted it with an all over simple pattern meant to disguise the blocks.

I even used a shirt to make the label. I used shirts that had stains on them and I was looking for something to explain why. Mostly, I just wanted to tell the history of the shirts and show how well-loved they were.  This was the best I could find:

 

We leave a stain. 

We leave a trail. 

We leave an imprint.

 

2021:  Weeks 17 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

This week, using only 15 minutes at a day, I stitched the rest of the binding and label of the shirts quilt.

15 minute days this week --7 out of 7

15 minute days this year -- 115 out of 115 days

Success rate  = 100%

 

I was at 95% at this time last year, because I slipped this week last year. I haven't made a small quilt this month, but am trying to think of a quick one I can finish before the end of the month.

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Continued Progress on Two Quilts

 

Work has been gearing up for our peak season, and my time is going to be very limited soon.  My lawn mower has a burning smell so I decided to give it a rest, which gave me some more quilting time. I received my second vaccine, and I tolerated it better than the first one.

2021:  Weeks 16 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

The photo shows the books I bought during the AQS clearance sale. Buying them in a big batch like this makes it difficult to savor each one individually, but I am going to try.

I finished sewing down the binding of the shirts quilt and made great progress with the hand stitching part. That part usually takes me a while. The photo at the top shows the four fabrics used in the backing and the binding.

I also cut more sashing for the Amalfi Coast quilt.

15 minute days this week --7 out of 7

15 minute days this year -- 108 out of 108 days

Success rate  = 100%

 

I was at 100% at this time last year too.

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Off the Wall Friday

 

Progress on Two Quilts

 

This week, for the Amalfi Coast quilt, I added sashing pieces to two sides of the rooftops blocks. The sewing machine speeds them all through, and now I need to cut more sashing pieces.

I also made the binding for the blue shirts quilt. I couldn't find a blue fabric I liked, and I didn't like the way a dark binding cut off the calmness of the blue front, so I chose this grayish piece. It really closes off the quilt while keeping the mood. I made the binding extra wide since this is a big quilt. I've sewn the binding on two of the sides and will be able to finish the machine sewing today.

2021:  Weeks 15 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

My allergy medicine is trying to keep my allergies at bay. Work is gearing up, and the yard work has resumed for the year so stitching time is harder to come by, but I am eager to make progress on my quilts and managed to find the time.

15 minute days this week --7 out of 7

15 minute days this year -- 101 out of 101 days

Success rate  = 100%

 

I was at 100% at this time last year too.

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 I'm not sure what this sign is trying to say, but it sounds like a good motto overall.

Happy Easter

 

 

This is a quilt I made in April 2019. 

2021:  Weeks 14 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

This week has found me with a rotary cutter firmly in hand, trimming the shirts quilt and cutting the sashing for the Amalfi (formerly known as sea glass rooftops) quilt. I have doubled up on quality control and safety checks so the process is slower than usual.

The diamonds in the sashing fabric are not the same size, so there is fussy cutting involved, which has slowed down that process tremendously. I don't like the way it looks without the fussy cutting and I bought a lot of that fabric just for that reason, so I will take the time to fussy cut. The first column cut is the way I want, the second is a smidgen off, and I will use it that way, and then the third column winds up being an inch away. I can use the extra inch in a strip quilt so I am not worried.

15 minute days this week --7 out of 7

15 minute days this year -- 94 out of 94 days

Success rate  = 100%

 

I was at 100% at this time last year too.

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My Quilting Week

 

 

I've made a lot of progress this week, fifteen minutes at a time. The Dust off An Old Book Blog hop is happening again this year, and I have signed up. This year, I decided to dust off my oldest quilt book The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America.  There are plenty of quilts I want to make in this book, but since I have limited time, I want to make a one block quilt, and decided that applique would be easier.

I chose a design, and had to dust off another book to get the pattern. The Folk Art Quilts book has the pattern. Luckily it only took one false attempt to find it. I should get extra credit for dusting off two old books.

The bulk of my time on this quilt has been spent in thinking and rethinking the fabric selection. I am using the oak leaf and reel pattern. I was going to use the yellow/orange for the leaves and use the blue for the background. I then decided to reverse it and make the leaves in blue and use the orange for the background. Then I thought about making it more modern with blue leaves on a white background. Then I saw the blue leaves sitting on the orange background with the sun streaming on it, and right now I am going back to that choice. I can choose my own definition of modern.

I decided not to participate in this week's Project Quilting challenge. I needed to choose between the snails trail challenge and the old book because I don't think I could get both of them done, and chose the old book which isn't due until March.

I don't know if you noticed that the books and fabric were sitting on the shirts quilt. I hand stitched the batting on the quilt and pressed the extra row and the backing piece. Now I am making sure the sandwich is flat. I have been smoothing it, pinning it. Then turning it over to make sure the other side is smooth, fixing anything, and then turning it over again., It is working out fine, but when you work on it 15 minutes at a time, and work on other projects too, it looks like slow progress.

The picture makes it look lumpier than it is, but I do want to do some more smoothing before I start quilting it.

Last but not least, I made some more stitcheries. I just need to trim these, add the backing and stitch around the edges. I find that the outline stitching works best as a group, assembly style, and keeping them together keeps them from getting lost. The hardest part about making these is to remember to transfer the design to the right side of the fabric and not the wrong side.

2021:  Weeks 8 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

I was able to find the spot in the fence where the cats were entering my yard and block it, so now I can feed the birds again without endangering them. With all the snow we've had, they were very hungry.

My quilting time has diminished this week, but I did manage to spread it out with three different projects as I showed you already.

15 minute days this week --7 out of 7

15 minute days this year -- 52 out of 52 days

Success rate  = 100%

 

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15 Minutes to Stitch Weekly Recap

 

 

There aren't any pretty quilt photos to show you this week, but I think this beautiful sky shot will suffice.  It was taken earlier in January. We got about three inches of snow yesterday and the snow is falling again today. It is beautiful, but we don't walk when it is slippery anymore to protect Zeus.

 I have been trying to bullet journal.  I mostly started because I have seen a lot of beautiful bullet journals on Youtube and I really liked the art. I am sure you will get quite a laugh out of my dinosaurs. I know I did. 

This is my habit tracker. I like these the best because it helps me keep track of my daily quilting, but I added a whole bunch of other trackers too. I started this in December and didn't keep track in January so this is for the last week of January and all of February. I figured if I added a lot of things, I would be more likely to check in at the end of each day. I don't expect to get them all filled in every day. 

I've always thought it would be a good idea to put all my notes in one place, and this book will help do that.

Bullet journaling is about productivity and living a life of purpose.  I waver back and forth in extremes about whether I want to plan my life or be more flexible. Now I am reading Ryder Caroll's book and it is very inspiring.

2021:  Weeks 5 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

This week, I set up the Opal for adding on to the shirts quilt. I had to clear off the sewing table, get the extension table from storage and put on the walking foot and thread, etc. 

 

I sewed on the additional row on the shirts quilt. I safety pinned it to the quilt so it will stay safely out of the way as I work on the other two layers. I want this extra row to look like the others, with no sashing so I didn't quilt it before adding to the quilt. One day, I will make a small quilt using the potholder method of joining blocks so I will learn how to do it, but I didn't want to do that with this quilt.

 

I trimmed the backing fabric so it is a straight line. I will be trimming it a little bit more because I really like the new backing fabric I chose. If the additional fabric is bigger than a sliver, then it won't look like an afterthought or a mistake. 

I also cut the fusible fleece and backing for the Quote Quilt to size and pressed the fusible to the backing. I want to get the Quilting Lady properly in place before I baste the front to back of that quilt. It is tempting to add more history to the quilt, but I have decided the history has to end at 2020. I will probably be add some more applique to the quilt, but I can add them after the quilt is sandwiched.

15 minute days this week --7 out of 7

15 minute days this year -- 31 out of 31 days

Success rate  = 100%

 

If you look at the habit tracker, you may say that I didn't quilt all 7 days, but I allow myself to make up for missed time in this 15 minutes tracker, as long as it is during the same week. I have to do this because when I work, there are times when there is a lot of overtime, and it didn't seem fair to me to punish myself for not having time to quilt. Plus, if I tried to quilt when I should have been sleeping, I would hurt myself or make mistakes, and be tired the next day.

This week, there were big tasks that took more than 15 minutes and I took that extra time on some days. The other days, I took the extra time other projects needed.

 

The habit tracker is helping me to try to get me to do it every day. Hopefully on the days I am not working overtime, I can get better about quilting every day.

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Progress on Blue Shirts Quilt

Back in December (2019), I told you that I made a quilt out of blue uniform shirts.  They are 10 inch blocks. I made a 7 x 8 layout and tested it on the bed. I decided that it needed to be longer, a 7 x 9 layout. I made a row of blocks and was about to pin them to the quilt top when I saw that I needed to make another block.  I was hurrying because it was a birthday gift. I told myself not to complain, just make another block and get it done. So I made the block and joined it to the quilt. I sandwiched the quilt and quilted it. Just when I was about to trim and bind the quilt, I decided to try it on the bed again.

That's when I realized that I had added the extra row to the wrong side. Instead of a 7 x 9 layout, I had an 8 x 8. Aha, that is why I had that missing block. Rows of 8 blocks is fine, it just gives more overhang on the bed which is good, but it is still not long enough. By this time, it was too late to make yet another row, or to shop for another gift, so I wrapped up the unfinished quilt as a gift.

In early 2020, I started making more blocks to make an 8 x 9 layout. Then I got side tracked into making masks, and the sewing machine broke, and so did the used machine I had bought as a backup. Then one of the machines got stuck in the repair shop / store for the lockdown. I picked up the quote quilt and focused on it the rest of the year while the shirts quilt sat and waited. I had the machines back, but I needed to keep working on the quote quilt.

Now that its been more than a year since I've had this gifted quilt, and I am thinking about quilting plans for the new year. I have tested the machine by making a couple of small cotton quilts and it appears to be fine, so I thought I should finish up the shirts quilt while it is still winter. It is a big quilt and finishing and gifting it will give me more space in my sewing room, and clear up mental space to start new projects.

This is another photo from the archive. 2014. There are snow flurries today, but the ground is warm, so it is not accumulating.

2021:  Weeks 3 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

This week, I made the rest of the blocks for the shirts quilt and joined them into a row. I am a little bit nervous about joining a row to an already made quilt, but I think I should be able to do it without too much difficulty as long as I set up the space to avoid drag.

15 minute days this week --7 out of 7

15 minute days this year -- 17 out of 17 days

Success rate  = 100%

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Week-long Variety Show

02/02/02. It's the 33rd day of the year and there are 333 days left. Superbowl Sunday and Groundhog Day. It feels like spring. What more can you ask for?

I wanted to take a break from the yo-yo quilt, but wasn't done with handwork, so I took out an old unfinished quilt. This quilt is made with blocks from a block swap. I have some embroidery on it already, but there is plenty of room for more.

I am not good at embroidery but anytime I do improv or folkart work, I feel the need to say that I wasn't aiming for perfection, so this looks perfectly imperfect to me.

I had chosen a different UFO to work on for this quarter, but this one called to me last night when I saw a Deborah Boschert project.  She uses a lot of ladders in her work. I don't know if mine looks like a ladder or a sidewalk, but either one works!

2020:  Week 5 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

My sewing machine which I got cleaned last fall needs repair.  The part that holds the needle seems to have moved so the walking foot doesn't fit and when I tried to replace the needle, I can't get a new needle to stay.

I have a backup which works wonderfully, but I was out of sorts this week, so I spent this week on a bunch of random projects.

• I finished the yo-yos for the  yo-yo coverlet and played with them to do a photo shoot.  That brown paper is what I used to wrap the shirts quilt in for gifting. Since I had it out, I sloppily put it up to create a backdrop for the yo-yos. I like the crinkliness of it, but I didn't put it up high enough. There will be more, better, photo shoots before they are put together for sure.  
• I made a small quilt for the Color It Red blog hop. I couldn't wait until February to make it.  I will give you a hint as a bonus for reading this far. It is made with red yo-yos! 
• I made the face index card I showed you last time.
• I added the ladder and sun to the quotation crazy quilt as shown at the top of this post.
• I also cut another uniform shirt to make the last row of the blue shirts quilt.

15 minute days this week -- 7 out of 7 days
15 minute days this year -- 7 out of 33 days
Success rate  = 100%


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 Life in Pieces: 15 Minutes to Stitch Week 5

Blue Shirts Quilt

A while ago, my brother-in-law gave me a bunch of his blue shirts. They were a part of his work uniform with the khaki pants.  They sat while I was trying to decide how to make a quilt with just one color of fabric.

Eventually, I got tired of them taking up space, so I cut them up into squares. I cut them into squares that would finish at 10 inches. So 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5 1/2, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 inch squares.

I then just sewed them together so they would become 10 inch squares. It is making literal the joke that quilters just cut up fabric and sew it back up again.

The original plan was to use plaid squares at the bottom to look like a table, and then applique a vase of flowers at the top. The blue shirts would be a background and it would be the shadows created by the seams that would make it look somewhat interesting.

As I started sewing the squares together, I realized that I did not have to cut just squares. I could cut rectangles too.  This made it a little more difficult to keep all the different shapes organized, but helped keep it speedy. I did add additional smaller pieces because I liked the look of them.

Sometimes I wished there was a second grader around so I could "test" their skills in counting to ten in different combinations. You have to remember when to add the half inch seam allowance and when not to when you are adding and deciding what shapes to sew and what size shapes you still need to cut.

It was creating interesting patterns because the shirts really weren't all the same color. Since they were actually used shirts, each shirt had different colors. The sun had bleached the shoulders and backs, and inside parts like the yoke and the part that is tucked in the khakis were dark, and the other parts were medium. I left some stains in there too to add character.

I made a full size quilt made of shirts. Right now it is 80" x 80". I gave it to him, unfinished, because I want to add one more row, and I need another shirt in order to do that.  I did as much as I could without that row - quilting and all. It's almost become a tradition - me giving unfinished quilts as gifts. It takes away some of the unnecessary pressure.

Once I get the shirt, I can make the final row, quilt it, then bind the whole thing.

Another Weekly Recap

I went to the main library for Family History Day and this artwork was in their rotating collection in their gallery. It looks like it would make a great quilt.  I've often thought about a quilt like this, based on a painting I have at home or log cabins, but this piece makes me think of making it with fusible instead of piecing. It is made in layers.



All of the books pictured here are quilting books. It was hard for me to tear myself away to get back to the genealogy lecture. I did gather a stack to take home with me, as many as I could reasonably carry to my car without tripping.

15 Minutes to Stitch: Week 40

 I don't have anything picture worthy to show you, but I did press the charity quilts and add the borders.

As part of my cleaning process, most of my time has been spent cutting up some shirts that will be used for a quilt.  They take up too much space in their current state. I figured if I could at least cut them down and throw away all those extra bulky bits like collars, buttons, plackets, hems, seams, cuffs and yokes, they will be easier to store. I have a batch where the bulky things are cut out, but this week, I cut the remaining shirts into squares.  10" finished and the smaller pieces are cut into squares that can be combined to make into 10" finished squares.


15 Minute sessions of stitching this week: 7 out of 7
15 Minute sessions of stitching this year: 241 out of 279 sessions
Success Rate: 86%

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