Because Monday was a school holiday, I had an entire day to quilt! What a treat. I got the t-shirt quilt quilted and bound. There is just a tiny bit of binding to hand sew and I can get this back to its new owner. 
Donna at Mama Llama asked about what heat press I use for my t-shirt quilts. She is coming up as a "no reply" blogger for me, so I thought I would answer here. The exact one that I bought two years ago isn't available anymore, but this one is the most similar. The 15 x 15 size works well for t-shirts and you just sandwich the rough cut blocks with lightweight fusible interfacing between teflon ironing sheets like these. There are lots of good Youtube videos to learn how to use it. I think I have made three or four quilts for other people with it and have easily covered the cost of the machine. Having a press makes the process of t-shirts quilts so much more efficient. Stabilizing the shirts is the most time consuming part, and getting it done faster makes the process go much more smoothly. The only down side is that it is pretty bulky to store if you are not making t-shirt quilts often, so thinking about space can be a factor for occasional t-shirt quilt makers.
I know that I should not say that it has been cold here, because I have seen how cold it is everywhere else. But is has been unusually chilly for us. The snow did not reach this far south in Florida, but the kids in at FSU were having snowball fights on campus for the first time in their lives. UF did not get snow, but they still cancelled class just in case. We just aren't good at cold weather here and people really freak out. It made for a chilly first day of the new metal detectors. It will take a bit of time for the kids to get trained on how to go through more efficiently. After that, it will just be a big time commitment for the staff who has to supervise them. Everyone who spends an hour every morning watching kids walk through metal detectors is not doing the work that they would normally be doing to help the kids learn. We are all pretending to have a positive attitude about keeping everyone safe, but really it is just sad that it feels necessary to do this.
Misterlinky is below. I can't wait to see how your pinnk projects and blocks came together this month.
17 comments:
It is fun for this Ohio girl to see schools in Florida enjoying a "snow day". We have them regularly. Snow day usually equals fun outside and then a sew day for me. Yes, sad about the metal detectors. First we got those here. The next step was Yonder bags -- cell phones and electronics such as smart watches and air pods go into the bag. The bag locks so that students don't have access until they leave school for the day when they get unlocked. It helps with the distractions to a point, but there are ways around that too. Kids are pretty creative. But those things take extra staff to manage as well.
I agree that January raced by. Thanks for the heads up about February's Color of the Month, Angela! That should make for an interesting pairing with the upcoming TABLE SCRAPS Challenge prompt. Happy scrap sorting and sewing this weekend!
I am sorry to hear that you have to have metal detectors at your school now. It's so sad (and scary) that they're necessary. Stay warm - sewing with some pink scraps is a good antidote to the cold!
Snow in Florida!!! I bet that is so fun - ONCE!! haha!! If your not ready to move it, it becomes a problem.
Metal detectors - oh boy - Hope you get the system down !
I am excited for BLUE!!!
Thank you for the reply about the t-shirt press. I have marked this on my Amazon list. Not sure why my name showed up as Robyn and no reply, but I will check that out.
It has been down right cold in Florida, but warmer weather is coming. Scraping ice off the windshield, covering delicate plants, oh my. I am in Citrus County, and the Manatees have been gathering in huge numbers in the warm springs.
Prayers for safety and security for all schools in our nation and for those troubled to reach out for help. Mental health is an ongoing health issue for many and one that is often kept secret.
Thank you again for the info on the press.
Donna Weeks (aka Momma Llama)
Hope you have some time to finish out your pink stitching and find your blue scraps. It seem like there is so much going on in schools these days that don't prompt reading, writing and arithmetic.
sad about metal detectors in schools. My brother retired from teaching before the school he was at went to them. he went through the lunch room duty once a week or whatever it was for teachers and he said you had to watch your back constantly because some of the kids were just horrible - he said you could be the nicest teacher around but someone would still have it in for you - he was happy to retire and he was a band instructor where normally you only have students in your class that are there because they want to be.
Ooh, could be fun stuff in those scrap bags! Glad you had time to sew this week. So sorry about the metal detectors. I wish there was a better way to keep kids safe.
I could get behind the idea of the Yonder bag. The kids are on the phones constantly. It would be nice to see them interacting with humans instead of electronics from time to time. We don't have snow days often, but we do have plenty of hurricane days. No outside fun during those!
I am always amazed at how people manage to creatively combine lots of ideas. Lots of fun scraps to play with!
Sewing is always a good antidote the troubles of the world. It is hard to be sad while playing with a pile of scraps.
Can't wait to see what you come up with for blue. You are on a roll with your scraps so far.
Donna, Something strange is going on with my comments. I will try to find some time to figure it out. Glad that you have made it through the cold. We just aren't prepared for winter weather in Florida.
The world is a busy place. It isn't easy being a teenager right now. Kids are adaptable, hopefully we will be back to worrying about academics again soon enough.
Band is usually such a fun class. You are so right that you only get the kids that want to be there. Hopefully your brother is happier now though. Teaching isn't as easy as it used to be.
New scraps are always so much fun. I am sure we will all adjust soon enough and just accept the new normal.
New scraps and a long weekend. Life doesn't get much better! Sorry about the metal detectors but safety first. Glad you've got a bit caught up with the graduate work. Time to play a little!
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