Monday - T-Shirt Quilt Progress

 It is back to school today, but I have a few projects still from the break. 

The t-shirt quilt top is ready to go. I got backing fabric and restocked my batting supply, so all that it needs is a few hours of time. 

Sheets came up in the task list. I got these nifty organizers, but there were a lot of extra bits that needed to go away. I had an entire basket full of old pillowcases that were sadly the worse for wear. 

So now all that is left is complete sets, two for here and two to go to live at the cabin. The last one is for the fold out sofa in the study. Those can go away now. It isn't exactly a makeover, but bit by bit things are getting tidy. How is your Monday? Massive snowstorms seem to be the big story of the day. Kurt was supposed to be flying to DC this morning, but he left yesterday to get ahead of the snow. Hopefully he will be patient enough to sit tight until the roads clear. Patient is not his strength.  

Sunday Quilting Fest

I'm determined to get Katherine's graduation quilt finished today.  I took a break when the bobbin ran out, thinking that I was about halfway done, but now that I look back at the flimsy photo, I think it is more like two thirds.  I'm right in the middle of the Finding Jesus shirt near the bottom left.  Yay!  I really like the butterfly and monkey block on the bottom row.  It is half pillowcase and half PJ pants.  I'm sure they must both hold fond memories. 

I really like the flannel that I found for the back.  I got not quite enough on purpose so that I could work in a little bit of the border fabric.  I even have enough of the border and sashing fabrics to make a coordinating pillowcase.  Such a nice finishing touch, don't you think?

Choosing a quilting thread is always a trick on t-shirt quilts because there is so much contrast in the shirts.  I tried many shades of blue and teal before reverting back to my default of grey.  Not too dark on the white shirts or too light on the dark shirts. I used teal for the back though, and it is virtually invisible.  I'm doing some loops in the background, but sticking to a less dense meander in the shirts to avoid detracting from the design.  Also it makes it easier to avoid the heavily painted areas of some of the shirts.  It goes quickly, which is a bonus.  

When I went to pull the quilt photos from the memory card, there were more fire pictures.  This is our backyard fence -- the same one that blew down in the hurricane.  

This was the view from upstairs.  Its our neighbors pool screen on the right.  We were all really lucky the wind wasn't blowing the other way.  There is still a thin line of unburned buffer foliage separating us from the burn zone.  I'm thinking that thinning out vegetation might come up on the list after the quilt is done.  

I graded 560 essays last week between the last AP test and the final practice AP test!  I was so tempted to save them for the weekend, but I knew that the kids would want to see Infinity Wars and so I powered through until 11:30 on Thursday night.  I'm so glad that I did now that it is done.  Best of all, they were the last essays of the year!  Well, at least until I go to AP reading in June when there will be thousands of essays to grade.  

Having procrastinated enough, I'll go wind one more bobbin and finish this quilt off.  If I can get the binding on this afternoon then I can have a bit of a movie marathon while sewing binding.   Sounds like a lovely way to spend a Sunday evening.  My little guys have their Biology EOC tomorrow, so  We'll have to take a breather before shifting into less stressful learning activities.   They won't want to do anything at all ever again, so we will have to work together to find a nice compromise.  

It's the Little Things

 I was finishing off the last of a tin of chocolates from Valentine's day today when I noticed that the size and shape seemed just right for my hexie diamonds.  Look how perfectly they fit!  I know I'm not the only one to get excessively excited by finding just the right container for an ongoing project. 

 I ran out of card stock to prep more fabric on Sunday, but, there always seems to be a supply of junk mail incoming from colleges these days.  With Anna being a senior and Ryan being a junior, the mail never seems to stop.  I've been using my scrapbooking punch to cut more templates.  The bigger hexagon is 1.5 inches which is just petite enough to be adorable.  Someday I'll make something from the smaller size.  My someday list always seems to be growing. 

I also got the blocks all prepped and the sashing strips ready for the t-shirt quilt.  I'll get those sewn together soon.  It's been a crazy week at work so far and it's only Tuesday!  The quarter ended today and there are lots of meetings this week.  Friday is a teacher workday though, so I'll be able to tie up all the loose ends before the last quarter gets into full swing.  Where has the time gone?  The kids are already picking classes for next year!

Three Day Weekend

It is a three day weekend for the kids!  Not for the teachers though, we are to report for training first thing in the morning.  Still, it there aren't any lesson plans to worry about quite yet, so I have a bit of extra time to sew.  Most of my sewing time for the last two days was spent ironing and rough cutting these t-shirts for a graduation quilt.  Still plenty of time, but I should get moving on it for sure.  I love the way she sent fun extras to include in the quilt. A pillow sham and some PJ pants are nicely blended in with all the shirts. 

We went out this morning to see Black Panther.  Kurt is a big Avenger's fan and I think that we have seen them all so far.  While we were on our way out of the neighborhood, we spotted the first baby Sandhill Cranes of the year!  It is a sure sign that spring is here.  

Scrappy and Happy on Sunday

 I have been out of town or scheduled solid for the last three weekends!  Crazy!  I need weekends to unwind and relax.  To sew!  Without that break from the busy school week, I tend to go a little bonkers.  That's where I am now, between bonkers and frazzled.  This was finally a weekend without any trips out of town or huge events to plan.  So first on the list was starting to get caught up on the column along.  The butterflies are done, but not sewn together yet, and most of the orange blocks are partially assembled.  Now on the the flying geese for May!  I still need to finish up the PDF files, but at least the links on the Sampler tab are up to date.

 Anna wants me to finish this shower curtain first though.  I was supposed to make it when I painted the girls bathroom.  I think that was two summers ago?  Bad Mom!  I will need more of the blue though, I remember using up most of it to finish off Hawaii Sunset.  So worth it though.

It only took half an hour to trim out the blocks for the t-shirt quilt.  The lattice fabric just came out of the dryer, so cutting that out shouldn't take too long.  We are all in the midst of mad cleaning now.  Kurt has invited all of his new work people over for a party on Thursday.  At least it is Thursday though, so I will still have a weekend to play when it is done.
I am linking up with Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap.  Head over to check out more scraphappiness.  

Slowdown Sunday -- Time for a deep breath

May is here!  It is time for a deep breath and a fresh start.  The new color inspiration is an evergreen forest.  Think of a soft loden green tree with a dusty brown trunk.  Vicki Welsh designed this group of hand dyed fabrics to inspire us all this month.  Check back on Saturday for a giveaway of a different bundle of her fabric.  

 While working on the last of my orange blocks yesterday, I got sidetracked with my circles.  All the orange blocks were finished up on my trip last week to Disney.  Having a stack of precut circles ready to stitch during down moments was a nice way to be productive while waiting for the next round of competition.  Now I've got a good start on the preparation of the green blocks, so May is off to a good start.

Before I get too carried away with my own projects though, I have promised to have at least part of a t-shirt ready for graduation.  Through a process of negotiation, we agreed that I would sew the blocks together if she did the prep work. So earlier this week, she brought a stack of rough cut, stabilized shirts, ready to trim and sew.  She even included the fabric for sashing and backing, so the time will be much less than starting from scratch.  

Last Stitches - Cross that one off the List

Last night during yet another presidential debate, I finished the last stitches on the binding to Anna's T-Shirt Quilt.  These are all of her T-shirts from elementary school.  She picked out the shirts and the fabrics, and even helped a bit with the ironing and prep work.

 The girls weren't quite tall enough to hold it up all the way.

Then they wanted to make sure that they were in the photo.  

Today is Veteran's Day, so there is no school!  Kurt has taken the day off as well and we have planned a family outing.  After much discussion, the kids picked a small, local theme park called Andretti.  It doesn't open until 10 though, so I have one some more quilting time to enjoy first.  

Weekend Fun

 I'm hanging out at home with Sydney ready to sew some binding.

 Anna is off to the homecoming dance with River.

 Ryan is going too, with a group of friends.

I was puttering around pondering whether or not to start a new project.  A Farmer's Wife quilt along is going to start on Tuesday.  I was thinking about joining in, but my book is the original Farmer's Wife quilt, and not the 1930s version.  Still, I picked a few simple four patch blocks to play with this morning.  For now I'll sew some binding and keep pondering.  

One More Quilt from the Frame

After pulling the leftover string quilt off the frame yesterday, I still had a bit of energy left and went ahead and loaded Anna's t-shirt quilt.  I'm thinking of brown for the binding on this one.  

Progress

 On the way home from school this morning I stopped by Boutique 4 Quilters and picked up two Row by Row kits and license plates, one for me and one for Deb.  I went in to try to finish off my sub plans but realized that I didn't have the right thumb drive.  I was planning on going back again tomorrow, hopefully that will be enough to get everything done.  We have a new schedule next year and lots of changes in staff and programs, so getting everything planned out has been interesting.

When I got home from that I finished putting the top together for Anna's T-shirt quilt.  She wanted these owls for the back.  

 Of course there wasn't nearly enough, so I will frame it with some pink flannel.  If I can just get this one ready to go I can relax for a bit and finish my packing.  Sounds like a plan.

Row by Row

 So Deb was going to be in town on vacation with her family.  Her plan was to visit a few quilt shops to participate in the Row by Row Experience.   She had everything planned out ahead of time, so I just popped up to meet her at the first shop.  They had a sailboat row which was super cute.  Mrs. Gates was there, she has never made a quilt but just likes to buy fabric.  She is going to be my sub while I am gone to Costa Rica.
The next shop was right around the corner and they had really adorable duckies, already laser cut and ready to fuse.  Next it was down to my neck of the woods.  They didn't have any license plates, but their block was really pretty with rows of batik waves and beading.  Finally, the last quilt shop had a somewhat odd thermometer with Olaf fabric, so I just got the pattern, I can change out the fabrics on that one I think.  Deb even brought me some scraps in indigo and brown.  So sweet!  Thanks Deb.  I really meant to get a picture of the two of us together.  Oops, maybe next time.

I promised Anna that I would not start on a new quilt until hers was done.  I did start sewing the rows together when we got home from and made good progress.  Maybe tomorrow?  The days are getting shorter.  Tomorrow I will meet Mrs. Gates at school to go over sub plans, then Sydney has a dentist appointment on Wednesday and a piano lesson on Thursday.  

Design Wall Monday July 27, 2015

Since I sewed the top together for Hawaii Sunset and finished the borders and backing yesterday, I was ready for what's next.  Because the missing fabric for Anna's T-Shirt quilt came while I was working on my last quilt, I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet.  This is my third t-shirt quilt since May and I am looking forward to finishing this one off.  As much as these quilts are full of fun memories, the sewing is a little bit tedious.  I'm in the middle of a Bones marathon though, and that will get me through.

T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial Part 2

A single size block with traditional lattice and corner stones makes for very simple and straight forward construction for any t-shirt quilt.  After the stabilizing and trimming of blocks it goes together just like a "regular" old quilt.  

After making a few t-shirt quilts like this, I started to branch out a bit.  

 A lot of shirts fit better in a rectangular space than in a square.  As long as you are consistent, this is no harder to handle than squares.  16 by 14 is a nice size, but it all depends on your shirts.  

Some shirts have smaller designs.  You could trim these out to a larger size, but that leaves a lot of empty space in the quilt and it ends up being really big if you are including lots of shirts.  If you have enough of these shirts for an entire row, you could easily trim them to 10 by 14 or even 8 by 14.  Just look at all the shirts for a given row and choose the largest size that you need to cut to include all the designs.  

 Sometimes shirts have small skinny designs that don't take up much space.  These can be combined to make a single block.  Sewing stabilized shirts together isn't hard.  Do pin to avoid shifting, and if possible, leave them a little bit big to start.  Sew the blocks together with a standard seam allowance and then press the seams open on the back.  This will help to reduce bulk as the stabilized shirts are a bit heavier than regular quilting fabric.  Don't forget to use a pressing cloth so that you don't melt the stabilizer.  After you have sewn and pressed, then square up to your desired size as if were a regular block.  

Sometimes you don't want to use the back and front separately, they can be combined into a single block.  This works best with rectangular blocks.  It is saves a lot of space compared to including the front and back individually, but allows you to include more of the details from the shirts.

 Lots of shirts have sleeves or pockets with fun images, those can easily be added to a smaller block.

Once you are comfortable with piecing shirts, it would be easy enough to sew them together puzzle style, completely free of the traditional lattice and cornerstones.  I personally like the traditional layout though.  I think the consistent colors help to tie everything together and the grid gives the quilt a nice structure.
This is my most recent quilt.  The top row is 14 by 16.  Some of the blocks are pieced, but some are just larger designs.  The second row is 14 by 8, it has a lot of smaller designs.  Notice that though each row has a different height, the widths are always the same to allow them to fit together.  Using a design wall or laying everything out on the floor makes it easier to keep track of where the blocks go.  Lay all of the blocks out and then add in lattice strips and cornerstones.
After sewing the top together, just layer and quilt it as if it were any quilt.  T-shirt quilts do tend to be pretty heavy due to all of the stabilizer, so keep that in mind when you choose your quilting pattern.  I used to tie these before I was comfortable with quilting.  Just make sure that you read the packaging on your batting and tie or quilt it at the recommended distance.

T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial Part 1

I seem to keep getting sucked into making t-shirt quilts.  For my family, for friends who have kids graduating from high school, from random strangers who saw a Facebook post.  Each time I post a picture of a t-shirt quilt, the same questions seem to come up.  So I thought that I would put together a quick tutorial for easy reference.  

First, go to the closet and dig up a pile of t-shirts with sentimental value.  The ones you can't bear to throw out because they remind you of all the special times.  Grab a nice sharp pair of scissors and start cutting.  Trim off the sleeves and necks, and cut straight down the sides to isolate the part of the shirt you want to keep.  Usually this is the front, but it can be the backs or sleeves or pockets.  Set aside the parts you don't want, but don't toss them out quite yet, because you just never know.  

Next, go to the fabric store or hop onto Amazon and find some lightweight fusible interfacing.  This is my favorite kind, it is sheerweight fusible by pellon.  The exact kind isn't important, but it should have adhesive on one side and not be paper backed.  Wonder Under is the kind with fusible on two side and it would NOT work for this project.

Your interfacing should come with directions.  Read these and follow them.  In general though, you heat set using an iron and a damp cloth.

Take one of the shirts you want to use and place it face down on the ironing board with the part you would like in your quilt centered.

Next take a piece of the interfacing bigger than your finished block and place it so that the adhesive side of the interfacing is down on the back side of the shirt.  For this quilt I was making 13 by 13 blocks, so I cut my interfacing about 16 inches or so.  It will be trimmed up later, so bigger is better than smaller.

Take one of the extra backs that you didn't throw away quite yet and get it wet, you can use a spray bottle or take it to the sink and dampen it there.  Move the iron slowly over the surface of the shirt following the time suggested on the directions for your specific interfacing.  Check to be sure the interfacing is well adhered to the shirt.  If you need to, you can turn the shirt right side up and iron some more to make sure it sticks.  Be sure to use the extra shirt back as a pressing cloth though, because a lot of the inks they use on the shirts will melt right off on the iron.  Trust me, cleaning ink off of your iron is no fun at all.

Now that your shirt is stabilized, you are ready to trim it to your desired size.  For the most part, t-shirt blocks will be larger than your standard 12 by 12 quilt block.  I find that a large square up ruler comes in handy.  It certainly isn't necessary though, you can use the lines on your cutting mat as a guide as well.

A word on desired size.  Take a look at all of your shirts, and determine which one has the largest image you want to include in your quilt.  In theory, all of your shirts should be at least as big as that.  A quilt with small children's shirts might only need 12 by 12 blocks.  Most designs though, are larger, so a 14 by 14 or even 16 by 16 block size might work best.  Your shirts do not have to be trimmed to a square.  I have found that 14 by 16 or even 18 is a nice size for capturing larger images on adult sized shirts.  It is easiest if you decide to trim all of your shirts to the same size, but it isn't mandatory.  You can keep a consistent width, but vary the height of the block for each row.
In Part 2 of the tutorial I will talk about design options and layout. 

T-Shirt Quilt Done

I settled in with HBO on demand this afternoon and finished the binding on Miranda's T-Shirt Quilt while watching The Good Lie and The Devil Wears Prada

Then after dinner I made a pillowcase to put it into.  I googled the same tutorial for a hot dog pillowcase with French seams that I used for the last few t-shirt quilts.  I was out of exactly the same fabrics, but I found some other yellow and greens that looked good together.  

Miranda and her mom will come to pick it up on Saturday.  She just got back from her college orientation and will be leaving for UF in just about a month.  I hope she plans to take her quilt with her.