Baby Ready

So baby quilt #1 of fall 2012 = accomplished.  And it's a very good feeling.









There is one more baby quilt I am definitely going to do this fall, and others that are more optional depending on how much time I end up having, so we'll see what I come up with!

My family and I also agreed to give all handmade presents for Christmas this year - they can be handmade by someone else and purchased by me, but all handmade.  However my goal is to make everything myself rather than buy things handmade by others, so I need to get started on that very soon as well.  Hopefully I am not biting off more than I can chew.  You never know with me though.

Breaks and Babies

Anyone who has continued clicking through my posts through the ups and downs of the last few years will understand why this post resonated with me so much.  Breaks will happen, life does ebb and flow...the secret is to not let breaks become full stops.  That is what I am committing to.  That, and maybe fewer breaks.

Well, here I am in the sewing room continuing to work on baby quilts.  There is a certain challenge in making gifts.  There is this tension between making what I want to make and making what I think the other person will like - looking for that place where the two intersect, if such a place exists.  I have been playing around with different ideas as I suggested a few posts ago, but recently began to get frustrated because nothing I came up with seemed "right" for the friend with the soonest due date, and neither did anything I had on hand already seem appropriate.

I finally decided to revisit the baby registry and after looking at all the yellow and green prints that she'd chosen for the things on the registry I glanced around my space and my eye rested on a yellow and green print that I have been in love with lately (from a dress I bought at a thrift store intending to wear but that turned out to have a small tar stain on it that I had missed).  I decided to pull fabrics that I had on hand that would work with that print, and suddenly I started to see what might be at the intersection between my style and their tastes.  This is what I came up with:

It is simple, but the best baby quilts usually are.  The light fabric is a buttery soft butter yellow flannel.



To me it is sweet, but not saccharin, baby appropriate, but still a tiny bit edgy.



Finally something I'm satisfied with.

Now I just have to quilt it, but that's the relatively easy part.

Just in Time for Sweater Weather

I say all the time that I love living in a place with four seasons.  It's not that this isn't true.  I do like having four distinct seasons, because I appreciate the contrast and think that spring and summer would never be so nice if they didn't come after fall and winter.

That being said, there are few people you hear complaining more at the end of summer than me.  There are lots of wonderful things about fall, certainly.  It's a great season in many ways.  But it can take it's time getting here.  I find it a little hard to let go of the warm, no jacket, no worries weather.

This year, though, I will be ready to go having finally finished this project...



This quilt/coverlet/blanket (no batting...what do you call it?), the early origins of which can be found here, is made from felted fool sweaters that I collected over a few years.  Most of them came to me pre-felted - either because they were mine and I felted them accidentally (oops!) or because I found them at the thrift store or at the shelter I used to work at already felted - no doubt rendered unusable to the original owner due to a mistaken trip through the dryer.

I love that this project enabled me to give new life to these objects that had been rendered unfit for their original purpose (being worn as a sweater of a particular size!) and might have therefore been thought to be useless.  I realize more and more how much we miss when we look at the world that way!



Backed with blue flannel and minimally quilted in the ditch.



It's about 60"x60".

In A Past Life

I have had a four day weekend this weekend for the New Year holiday and since I wasn't traveling I thought it would be nice to play around with a sewing project a bit. I do have sewing space set up in my room, but my supplies are not stored in a very accessible way. When I started trying to dig them out I found at the very top the felted sweaters that I cut apart last winter in preparation for the felted sweater quilt/blanket I have long been planning (I don't plan to have a batting layer for this project and therefore probably won't actually quilt it much).



I know there are a million uses for felted sweaters (in theory) but they also take up a lot of room so I told myself I needed to do something with them or stop storing them to use "someday". So what I was planning to be my next project last winter seemed as good a place as any to start up this winter.

My vague plan for the project was a patchwork center surrounded by larger solid squares. When cutting them apart I noticed how the sleeves could kind of fit together inversely, so for the center I decided to sew the sleeves together and trim them down to blocks, then use the fronts and backs for border squares. The placement of the sleeve blocks was pretty much dictated by size as I wanted to minimize further trimming.


The center

Not sure how much time I will have to work on this in coming days/weeks, but it's fun so far. I just love the look of felted sweaters and am enjoying this project. As I know the scraps won't really fit into the scrap box (not like I'm going to mix them in to other scrap projects) I'm thinking of using them to do a little bit of buttonhole stitch applique on this top - maybe stars? We'll see.


Preview of what it may look like with the border

Like all of you (no doubt) I have been noticing the "year in review" posts on various blogs and admiring what you all accomplished in 2010. I finished only three quilts in 2010 and posted on this blog a mere seven times. If it weren't for feed readers I would probably give it up as a lost cause, but the magic of bloglines and google reader allows at least a few dedicated readers to keep up with me without the annoyance of having to check back during the months-long breaks to see if I've done anything yet. Thanks to those who still click when you see "Quilty the Libster" highlighted in bold...

I know much better than to make predictions as to what 2011 will hold for me creatively. There is a project I want to try to finish for some friends by the summer - in fact, it's this project, the log cabin that I started in 2007. I would love to finish it queen sized as originally intended but we'll see if it becomes a throw-sized quilt (as so many supposed-to-be-bigger projects do) instead. Either way, I will be happy if it gets done.

(Interestingly, the log cabin was started for a different friend who I ended up giving this quilt to, which was also started for a different friend than the one who received it. Musical quilts? Do you ever find yourself working on something that you intended to give to someone and thinking as it comes together that maybe it isn't as good of a fit for that person as you originally thought? And then later decide in fact it's perfect for someone else? Apparently this happens to me a lot, but maybe it's just me.)

Beyond that, I have no other plans for 2011 except for a desire to sew more but a commitment, nevertheless, to going with the flow and seeing where the year takes me rather than making firm goals that I may not keep. I mean you never know with me (that is, I never know with me). I might be about to go off on a sewing spree or I might be just as dormant as I have been. Ya veremos. We shall see.

Happiest of new years to you and yours...hope it's off to a good start.

A Successful Experiment

My Color Block Quilt made from t-shirt scraps is quilted and bound. I love the way it turned out. I wish there was some way I could photograph the texture, or that you could reach through your screen and touch it. It is backed with a thick flannel sheet and the end product is super soft and cuddly. I think this would be a great gift quilt - perfect for going off to college or a first apartment. This particular version would be great for a guy, too.

See, cuddly:



When making more traditional t-shirt quilts, I back the designs I want to use with featherweight fusible interfacing to stabilize them during construction. For this experiment I heavily starched the fabric instead of using interfacing. I was hoping that this would make the fabric manageable to piece with but, since when it was all finished it would wash out, the fabric would retain all its t-shirt character (I guess rinse away interfacing would be an option, too).

I also used fusible batting (scraps) - in this case it was a particularly apt application of the product, because it further immobilized the knit fabric to keep it from pulling around during quilting. Once washed and dried it does have a great texture, the jersey fabric stayed soft, and the top is flat. The flannel on the back actually moved around more than the knit during quilting, since I paid less attention to it (unfortunately). (As so often happens when machine quilting, the back is my least favorite part of this quilt.)



It is 48"x60". A nice throw size. So long story short, I am pleased with the results of this experiment, and am already brainstorming the pattern for the remaining t-shirt scraps I have...still a lot. While you're waiting for that, you can hop over to see Michael's experiment with t-shirt fabric, and the other cool things he is doing with scraps.

Pillow Case Quilt

This is another experiment in recycled fabrics. The top is made from six different pillowcases obtained from the linen closet clean out at the shelter. The back is an old flannel sheet retired from regular use. I used batting scraps and yardage from my stash for the binding.



The top section of the top is one pillowcase with a continuous design that I wanted to preserve. I kept the original seam in the middle. The colors are very subtle, so it was hard to photograph. It is a floral design that is solid across the bottom of the pillowcase and continues towards the top, but fades away. You can somewhat see the quilting in the top section, which I am pretty happy with because it is the first time I have done any machine quilting that wasn't just straight lines.





I learned a lot in making this, especially about working with poly/cotton blends. For example, you have to use a cooler iron. Yes, I am sure that's probably obvious to other people, but I did not quite catch on right away. Also, I don't know if it was the fiber content, the weight of the fabrics, the too hot iron, or...?, but it did not work terribly well with the fusible batting scraps I used. I normally like fusible batting and have used it almost exclusively, but I had to patch over stains from the fusible in a couple of places. (Having your iron the right temperature is crucial with fusible batting, and I think I needed to lower the temperature even more for these fabrics).



Not my usual colors, but it is a gift for a friend's 30th birthday next week. I think she will like it. About 50"x60".

Theatre Ts

This t-shirt quilt is my final finish of the year. This is actually the first t-shirt quilt top that I made, which I put together my freshmen year of college. At the time I didn't have any knowledge of machine quilting or the necessary tools to machine quilt with, so I knew I wouldn't be able to finish the quilt for a good while. Now in my charge to finish finish finish I have finally completed it.



These are my theatre t-shirts from junior high and high school. I have had lots of different creative pursuits at different times in my life, and theatre was a very important one to me during that time of my life, including both acting and working behind the scenes. I haven't been involved in any theatre related activities for a long time, but I knew I would never be able to get rid of the t-shirts, so now I never have to. I'm happy with how it came out.



I finished seven quilts in 2008, six in the final 2.5 months of the year. Not bad, all things considered!!

Color Block Quilt

This is my latest finished top. It is made from the backs of the t-shirts whose fronts became this quilt for my brother. It was/is an experiment - an experiment in quilting with knits. Hey, the Gee's Benders do it. If you've ever made a t-shirt quilt you know it produces a lot of waste. As I do plan to make more t-shirt quilts I will probably investigate other potential uses for the scraps. A rag rug, perhaps? Pot holders? But up until now this experiment has by no means turned me off on the idea of quilting with knits. I will probably try it again. I would just like to learn more about sewing with knits, rather than just treating them like quilters cottons and playing the "fake it till you make it" game.

I know you're thinking, why quilt with knits if you have no real need to. I mean sure...you COULD quilt with knits, but why?

Uhh...why not? Maybe?

I can't wait to see how this quilts up, so I'm moving it sort of close to the front of the machine quilting queue. Making it third in line. So I will have to wait quite a while anyway.

Pinwheels For Mari

This little pinwheels top that I originally blogged here is now a full fledged quilt. Baby quilts are so satisfyingly quick to finish.



I machine quilted around the blocks (about 5.5" blocks, the whole this is about 30" square) and hand quilted hearts in the a few of the setting squares.



I think it is so sweet that I basically just want to eat it. Instead I hope to send it to a woman from the shelter who just had her baby girl about 2.5 months early. Pinwheels are so cheery - high up on the list of general crowd pleasers, I would say.

Vacation Show and Tell

Wait, what's that??

Could it be...?

It is! A quilt!





I know it looks pretty much just like the pictures of the finished top...but the point is, it's not! It's actually a 100% finished quilt, ready to be put in a box and mailed to my newlywed friends. I'm really pleased with it. I basically completely hated the quilting when I was doing it; I felt it was very "beginner". Which makes sense, as I am still very much a beginner when it comes to this whole "machine quilting" thing. But once it was bound, washed, and fluffed up nicely I found it didn't really look bad at all. It just looks like a quilt. (The back, to be fair, still does not look great. But it's not really about the back...)

I feel so great to have it done - that's at least one finish for the year 2008, and at least one finish for my time spent in Texas. And it's done within one month of the wedding it's a gift for...my best finish time ever on a wedding gift. (I'm about to start quilting a quilt that I intended to be a wedding present for a wedding in 2005!!! I'm still going to give it to them, if it ever actually gets done.)

And amazingly that's not the only thing I've accomplished this week. (Well, I have been holed up in a house talking to no one...this is my vacation!) I also finished a baby quilt top out of all salvage fabrics. This used to be a sheet, three blouses, and a pair of pajama pants:





Design wise it's super simple, but it's sweet and soft and will make a nice blanket for a baby girl. (I have one expectant mother in mind...I'm convinced it will be a girl, but we don't actually know yet.) I'm finding it hard to photograph because the colors are pretty subtle...here's a close up:



It's about 30"x30". I hope I will finish it soon rather than letting it languish in the "top" stage. I'm a little bit torn about whether I should use salvage material as batting, thereby making it a 100% recycled quilt, or go ahead and use the fusible batting that I have tons of right now. I think I might as well use the fusible. The only reason I can think of to use salvage (besides doing it on principle) is that I would probably use a flannel sheet and that would make it more lightweight. And that might be good?? I'm not sure. Decisions, decisions.

Today is the last day of vacation, and although I have a lot to do today, I hope to do some rotary cutting so I can have some things "ready to sew" for the limited craft time that I do get back at the house. I think I will be more likely to work on something if a lot of the "thinking" is already done...

All my best to the blogosphere! I've had a great time catching up on quilt blogs and discovering new ones this week...although now it's back to fully neglecting them...

The New Project

So here's a hint about the project I started:



A Star Wars quilt? No, a t-shirt quilt for little brother - God willing it will be his Christmas present. (Technically I should have plenty of time to finish it, but I think we all know how many other things could happen.) My little brother is actually a bit of a clothes horse and had piles and piles of clothes in my parents basement. I'm told he would come over from time to time and look for something - just saw it as extended storage I guess! Finally Mom put it all in trash bags for the Goodwill, and told him to take out anything he wanted to keep. After he'd had his go at it, I went down to see if there was anything I might want - little brother's old clothes are an especially rich source of really great PJs. When I started going through I saw all these t-shirts that represented a lot of things from his past - that have "sentimental value" as a sister would put it. So I asked him if he would like to have them made into a quilt and he said yes.

That's right I volunteered!!

I have made one t-shirt quilt in the past. Actually, not surprisingly, it's still a not quilted top. But basically I knew when I volunteered that it's a tedious process - ironing interfacing onto the back of all those logos and cutting them to a usable size - bleh. It's slow going.

But I actually jumped at the chance to do it because I had an ulterior motive:



Yes that's right, I wanted to play with the scraps! I am making a "parallel" t-shirt quilt out of the non-logo parts of the t-shirts. I'm not using interfacing for this, so I've been experimenting with levels of starch. Heavily starched the jersey actually behaves quite well - although now I have to do some restarching of the bits I went too easy on. I mean you kind of have to be gentle with the jersey, but I'm not having much trouble sewing those nine patch blocks. (Oh yeah, I have no design plan for this. Basically I am cutting plain squares and sewing some nine patches and some sixteen patches. So far everything is 12" but I plan to through in some 16" bits. Then I will find some way to put it all together.)

Anyway, I've been thinking about doing a quilt like this for awhile, I think because I've been thinking a lot about "recycled" quilts and wanting to try to make some. Do not get me wrong, I love my stash, but I also love any opportunity to get back to my quilt making "roots". If you have ever made a t-shirt quilt you know that there is a LOT of waste. Last time I used those extra bits as rags in my old apartment, but it was still way more rags than I even needed. It seems like the quilty thing to do is stitch 'em together....

*Sigh* however I do not know how far I will get on this project. I really need to focus on getting my two big quilting projects quilted. Because if I move - well there is nothing worse than moving two big quilts in the process of being quilted, because WHO KNOWS how long it will be before they actually get finished then!!