The Nattie Bug: April 2011

For the Love of TCU

Original design, piecing, and hand-guided machine quilting by Natalie Ford.

Dimensions: TBA

April 27, 2011

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I just finished another T-shirt quilt -- just after 7:00 this morning. I had created a hand-written tag for the quilt, but the pen I used had too fine a tip, and the ink looked faded after a turn in the wash. I ran into Joann's and bought a pack of 8.5" x 11" fabric/paper yesterday afternoon. The ink stuck well and the label looks more polished, but getting the paper backing off is a bear.

This a birthday gift. The gift-giver will sign her name in the blank space.

This lap quilt is for a TCU fan; since he didn't have a horned frog T-shirt collection already, I picked out nine shirts at Academy about a month after the football team won the Rose Bowl.

The finished quilt, this morning.

The quilting is my favorite part, and I have to remind myself not to make my designs too small or intricate. I am very pleased with the trace of the quilting on the back (notice that the clusters of smaller flowers versus larger flowers affect the brightness of the quilt).

Despite having always said that I would never do machine embroidery, I changed course as I constructed this quilt. I created the words "horned frogs" using my grandmother's Bernina Artista, which has a machine embroidery module. Once I got the thread and fabric tension sorted out, the embroidery went quickly.

Below are a few close-ups. Enjoy!

The final inches.
April 25, 2011

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

For the Love of TCU