Baby McCarty

A friend will soon deliver her first child -- a daughter -- and this quilt is for the crib (or floor or car).  I had exactly one month to finish for the shower in April, but I hadn't finished quilting, so I gave Mommy-to-be this photo.   The shower was a month ago, and the baby is due in three weeks.

Now, all the quilting is done; I just have to finish tying in the thread tails (maybe 50 to go?) and add the binding.

The yellow, green, and blue squares are from a layer cake (40 10" squares, precut), and the reddish pink is scrap fabric that I have used many, many times.  The flower applique is from a book called Flowering Quilts: 16 Charming Folk Art Projects to Decorate Your Home by Kim Schaefer.  I enlarged the pattern, then fused the applique to the quilt and edge stitched around the entire flower.

That "H" Sold!

I'm proud to say that "Give Me an 'H'" sold at the school's auction for $450.  To put that in perspective, the fox terrier sold for $2,300, and the year-long guaranteed parking spot at the high school campus sold for $200.  Of course, $450 is nothing compared to the parent who paid for a new school bus....

The t-shirts in the quilt, 14 in all, are from various Hill High School events from 2007 to 2009.  The t-shirt-cutting gods were with me when I brought the shirts home.  Magically, I used all 14 shirts, and they fit together without my needing to add in additional fabric -- and the color balance worked out!


Here's another poor shot of the back.

Fortunately, last weekend, I took a photography class with Franklin Habit.  Now I have a better idea of how to make a shot like this work out.  Next quilt, perhaps?

Here are some close-ups of the t-shirts, post quilting:

Go Hawks!!!

Give Me an H! Part One

Three weeks ago, on a whim, I decided to make a T-shirt quilt to donate to the school's auction, which is this Friday evening.  Zoom, zoom, zoom...and now I am out of gas.  I've worked on it off and on, just a few days worth of work, and I have about an hour's worth of quilting left.  Perhaps I can find someone to bribe me with chocolate or a $500 shopping spree.  Or, an iPad.  That would work, too.

I used some leftover Aurafil thread to piece the quilt--Aurafil hit quilting shops a few years ago, and many people love it.  It's fabulous for hand applique, but I will never again use it to quilt something.  It's too fine a thread; it occasionally breaks and frays when I'm ripping back a few stitches.  From time-to-time, the top thread doesn't catch as I am quilting, and I end up with a long stitch -- probably just over an 1/8th of an inch long.  I've just started sewing over those stitches, which is not a best practice, but that's okay for today.

I think the back looks quite striking in person, but I haven't been able to photograph it well.  In the photos, the backing fabric is quite distracting.

Only twenty minutes left in my break.  More later....

It's Actually Finished (Really)

...er, except that I forgot to make a label to put on the back.  So, it's 99.9% finished, but my sister has it in her possession now, which is what is most important.

Actually, make that 99.7%.  G. has to use a damp cloth to wipe off some of the white chalk I used to mark the border quilting.  I have to have another quilt finished by Friday, and she graciously said she didn't mind doing the clean-up on her own gift.  

The Valedictorian

On the borders, I did two rows of free-motion feathers, which I learned from Philippa Naylor, a master quilter. Mine are still a work in progress. The body of the quilt is covered in flowers, also a design I want to improve upon.

The backing fabric is what my sister picked out for a border, but it didn't match once the quilt was assembled, so it became the lovely backing.

__________________

My sister graduated from Paschal last year, and I made (am still making) this quilt for her. I used the idea presented in "How to Make a Too Cool T-Shirt Quilt," although you needn't buy the book for the pattern if you already have a good idea of how to

assemble a t-shirt quilt. I made thin plastic templates for each possible block size (any size divisible by 4" + 1/2". For example, the smallest template is 4.5" x 4.5"; the largest is 16.5" x 16.5". Another is 12/5" x 8.5").

Andrea Funk, author of the book (new version out now), directs quilters to assemble the quilt based on the size of the blocks, but she never mentions the importance of color. I ignored her suggestion and spent a lot of time balancing color and filling in blank spots with bits and pieces from my scrap bag.

Quilts from the Too Cool T-Shirt quilt company cost $378.00 for 20-30 shirts, including backing fabric and shipping!! I did my own hand-guided machine quilting. I would charge between $500 and $750 to make another. Technology is hard to beat when you're looking for the lowest price.

As of today, I have half the binding sewn down.

(Excuse the hairs in the photos...I have to wash away what my cats left behind!)

Hicks #32

My first t-shirt quilt (and not for me).

Quilting Harriet

I saw a quilt at the Dallas quilt show where a woman had machine-quilted three tall vases onto bule and white Japanese fabrics. This is my take on her idea. I need to add a different pink thread to make the orange flowers visible, and I'm still quilting the borders in my first attempt at feathers.

Hawaiian Applique, Part 4

This is one of 9 or 12 blocks that I will make into a quilt. It's another project that has no clear end in sight. This is the fourth block I've finished. Roughly 10" x 10" applique...all done by hand.

Harriet (quilt)

This quilt is called "Harriet" because I am using tips and suggestions from Harriet Hargrave's "Heirloom Machine Quilting." I started reading the book a couple of weeks ago and today picked it up again. I used spray starch as I attached the borders...wonderful--no stretching!

66" x 66"

The fabric comes from 2 charm packs of "Fresh Air" and assorted colors from a solid/marble line called "Sahara."

Dear Jane Update

I just found some Dear Jane blocks I made last year. So, I get my update my count to 81 of 169 squares! Here's what I have so far...in a layout that will change often.