What to Do with Colorful Tee Shirts

I have a customer whose father passed away.  She has asked me to make a quilt from the t-shirts he used to wear.  Most tee-shirt quilts are made from tees that have some sort of design on them.  Like the ones purchased while on vacation, or from some event, or sports teams, etc.  This is not the case with these tees.  There are 33 shirts of at least 17 different colors.

As you can see, they are very colorful.  I welcome the challenge to make a quilt that is both special and beautiful.

For the last few weeks I have been mulling over various designs.  I do not want too simple of a design but it can not be too complex.  The tees will just not work with intricate designs.  But a quilt of just plain blocks would be boring.  My thought is to use a few simple blocks and make a scrappy quilt.

Using EQ5, I started to put my thoughts into pictures.  EQ5 is a quilt design software.

First attempt. I stopped coloring this one in. I thought it was to busy and uneven.

Second attempt. I don't know. It just didn't look right.

Third attempt. I thought stars might make it look more organized.

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The other day, while sitting at the guild raffle quilt at the Gathering quilt show in Nashua, I was talking to my friend, Nancy Bell.  While discussing my options with her, I had a thought,  put the cool colors with the warm colors within the blocks.  Today, while I was looking for a book that had a pattern I thought would work, I came across a pattern I used for my sister Ruthie’s quilt.   The center is made up of half-square triangles and four patches. Off to EQ 5 to figure this out.

I stayed with the half-square triangles and four patches but added nine patch and fence rail blocks.  I rotated the blocks to get a different effect.  This is what I came up with.

I didn’t finish putting the colors in but you can get an idea of what it will look like.  The purple plaid in the border is fabric from curtains he had in his room.  I’m not sure the plaid will work once the quilt top is done.  But I will deal with that later.  I have a design.  Now off to work.  Deconstruct all the shirts.  Then stabilize them with interfacing.   Then cut – sew – press.

I am excited about this quilt.  It should be fun.

I will keep you posted on my progress.

C

Patchwork Pals Raffle Quilt

Raffle Quilt

Back in April, I received the Raffle Quilt for the Dracut, MA guild,  Patchwork Pals.

It gave me the opportunity to try some new found designs.

I was not sure which designs I wanted to use in the center so I started with the borders.  The outermost border  is wider on the top and bottom than on the sides.  I needed to use a design that would not emphasize the difference in width.  I talked with my friend Katie, to bounce some idea off of her.  Sometimes it helps to have a sounding board.

Border treatments

I decided upon using a technique from a class I took with Deloa Jones.  She has a new border book out.  In that book, she has some designs that you use in mirror image.  I used one of her designs singly down the sides and as a mirror image on the top and bottom outer borders.

In the two smaller borders (1st and 3rd), I quilted a simple leaf vine.   In the 2nd border, I used another design from Deloa’s book.  She has a braided feather border.  I had seen it on a website selling digital design for computerized longarms.  I do not have a computerized system.  I was excited when I saw Deloa had included that design in the book. The braided feather has a simple yet elegant way of turning the corners with a swirl.

Corner of quilt center

Once I had completed the borders I started on the center.  All I knew I wanted to do was to outline and echo the appliques.   I also copied the smaller applique and repeated an outline of design in the  background.  Next I used a swirl leaf motif as a background fill.  I truly liked the way this quilt was coming out.

Now all that was left was the dark sections of the log cabin blocks.  I first tried to create a nice curving spine on which to quilt a feather.  I just could not create a spine that was pleasing.  It was either to deep or not even.  I ended up taking the quilt off the frame to lay it out so I could examine the quilt and work out a spine that would be pleasing.  Again, I turned to my friend Katie.  She has a couple of tools that would assist me in drawing a nice spine.

With tools in hand I laid the quilt out to start drawing.  With chalk, mind you.  Just plain ordinary white school chalk is a great way to mark a quilt.  It comes right off with the use of a red lint brush.

Anyway, I was looking at the quilt trying to decide upon how to make the spine, when it hit me.  Just use the edge of the logs as spines.  Now why couldn’t I have thought about that sooner.  I know what your thinking.  “Doesn’t she plan out her quilting before she puts the quilt on the frame?”  The answer is not always.  My brain doesn’t always work that way. I have found that some of the designs I have planed out just don’t work with the quilt.  Then I have to change mid-stream.  I really thought I wanted to do a nice swirling feather on this quilt.  But the quilt told me otherwise.

Feathered Logs

I ended up quilting in two nesting feathers along the logs of the blocks.  It was what the quilt called for.  For those of you who have done something similar, you understand.  No matter what you think might look good on a quilt, sometimes it tells you you’re wrong.   Always listen to the quilt,  it knows.   I know that sounds strange but sometimes it just happens that way.  So if you are stuck on a design, stand back and review everything you have done so far.  The quilt will let you know what it needs.  Just make sure you listen.  Sometimes it whispers.

The quilt will be viewed by the guild this Sunday.  I am positive everyone will like it.  I love the way is came out.

If you want to purchase raffle tickets, e-mail me or check out the guild website.  I’m sure they would love to sell you a ticket or two or more.

C

Where’s the Squirrel

I love my dogs but sometimes they are just plain goofy.  Once the squirrels come out for the season, they go from tree to tree chasing them.  They will sit for hours under the trees watching and waiting for the squirrels to come down.

My next door neighbor once wondered if  they get stiff necks.  My sister, Ruthie, came over once and asked where they were.  I told her they were outside.  She said they couldn’t be because they didn’t run to greet her.  I told her they must have a squirrel up in the tree.  Sure enough,  they were staring up at the tree.

These two are hunting dogs.  I guess they don’t understand they are bird dogs, not squirrel dogs.  What I can’t figure out is why the squirrels even come back.  Sport and Maggie do this every year.   If they are in the house and see a squirrel out the window, they go crazy.  They will jump and whine until you let them out.  Then they race out the door jumping down off the deck.  Mind you we have six steps coming off the deck.  They jump over all of them.

When I first  saw the add for the movie “UP” with the dog with the talking collar, I just laughed.  That is my two.  They will be going along then “SQUIRREL”.  Just don’t get in there way or they are liable to run you over.

They keep Tom and I smiling.  They are such a joy to have around.

I love my Sport and Maggie.

C

Inspired by Peggy’s Quilt

I  finished a quilting a quilt for a customer.  It is just a crazy style log cabin/courthouse step block.    It would be very simple to make.   A great way to use up some scraps or fat quarters.  You could make it any size you want by changing the block size or adding more blocks.  You could even make the sashing larger or smaller.  You could add corner stones to the sashing.

Peggy has very different taste than I do.  She likes the style of fabric by Free Spirit and Amy Butler.   That stuff reminds me to much of the 70’s style.  I just can’t get into the coloring of those fabrics.  But Peggy likes them.   That is all that matters.

I inspired her to make the Blooming 9-patch quilt after she saw the one I did.  Her’s came out gorgeous.  I don’t think I have seen many of the Blooming 9-Patch that I haven’t liked.  Would you believe I can’t find a picture of mine.  It’s hanging at a Mann’s  Orchard at the moment.  I try to get a picture tomorrow.

I met Peggy through Quilts of Valor.  Quilts of Valor is an all volunteer organization where they match up people who make quilt tops with long arm quilters.  The resulting quilts are then given to the wounded soldiers from Afghanistan and Iraq.  Peggy’s quilt was one of the first couple of quilts I quilted for QOV.   She has since become a very good customer.

I’m glad she brought me this last one.  She has inspired me to make a similar log cabin style quilt.  I will put that on my to do list.

Thanks Peggy.

C

Star Tesselation Made Easy

Last May. Gyleen Fitzgerald came to speak at the Merrimack Valley Quilters Guild.  If you ever have the chance to see Gyleen in person, I would definitely recommend you do.  She has a unique way of looking at quilting. Her philosophy of going with the flow and make a beautiful quilt really inspired me.  Some time one gets bogged down in the preparation, causing us to loose the fun aspect of quilting.  Quilting should be fun!

Anyway, I was not signed up for her workshop, but after hearing her speak I wanted to attend.  That gave me one day to prepare for the workshop.  I needed at least 100 2″ strips cut by Saturday morning.  The guild meets on Thursday nights.   The workshop was for her pattern Anything Goes Star Tessellation.  You would think that after her lecture I wouldn’t stress out about the fabric I would choose for the workshop.  But nooo,  I had to find my inspiration fabric and choose fabrics which match my inspiration fabric.  I did follow the rule that the fabrics did not necessarily have to go with each other, but I wanted to match the inspiration fabric.

I feverishly pressed and cut all day Friday.  Luckily, I work from home.  Otherwise, I would not have been able to get this done.  By the way, I like to heavily starch all my fabrics before cutting.  I find I have better accuracy with cutting and sewing when the fabric is slightly stiff.  The fabric shifts less, therefore you are more accurate without trying too hard.  And yes, I go through a lot of starch.  So much so I started purchasing the concentrate so I can just mix up a batch as needed.  It’s much cheaper that way.

Anyway,  I got to the workshop with all my fabrics cut.  I had always wanted to make a star tessellation quilt but never wanted to spend the time planing out the tessellation.  With Gyleen’s  pattern and instructions you did not need to.  I had to see how she did this.

She was right, you don’t need to pre-plan a star tessellation in order to make it look good. I’m not going to tell you how it works you will just have to get her pattern.  But I will tell you it is so easy.  I couldn’t believe it.  You start with one block then build your first row. Once you complete your first row you move on to the next.  As you finish each row you sew them together.  Adding rows until the quilt it the size you want.  As usual, I never make anything small.  I put together 9 rows with 9 blocks each.  Which gave me an 81″ square quilt.

Some in the class used a background fabric, some used a specific color pallet.  We also set up a space for sharing strips.  I only took one of those.  I could see why she said anything goes.  I only got two rows made in the class.  But when I got home, I added more fabric to my selection.  It didn’t matter how well they matched each other.   I did keep to a specific color pallet, blues, burgundy, greens, browns, beige, dusty pink, golden yellows.  Well maybe not that specific, but I didn’t use purples or any bright colors and no blacks, greys or white.

Once I had all my rows together,  did I stop there?  Of course not.  I wanted to give the illusion of the stars tessellating into the boarder.  I used all of the lighter neutral fabrics and created half blocks for the first pieced border.  It doesn’t really look like a border. It just looks like part of the piecing.  But it really is a border.

The next boarder I attached is made up from the neutral scraps.  I pieced them together on the diagonal.  Then I put on three more boarders, a burgundy, a taupe, and a green print with burgundy and taupe in it. (The last boarder is mitered.  The print has a strip effect that cried out to be mitered.)  Need less to say, it got big.  I think I ended up with 108″ square.

Center of Quilt

Now I was stuck.  How I was going to quilt it.   I asked my buddies from LANE ( Long Armers of New England). They gave me a few ideas.  I didn’t plan it but the quilt ended up with a light neutral in the center.

That became my starting off point.  I used a swirl in the center that came out into a star-flower design in the center 9 blocks.  I repeated a smaller version of the star-flower as a border around the larger one.  Followed by a fern feather, followed by more star flowers followed by another fern feather.  Then just a fern type meander in the corners of the main quilt area.

In the pieced border that really doesn’t look like a border, I quilted half star flowers.  In the rest of the borders I quilted a ribbon, then swirls, a small wave, and lastly more ferns.

I love the way this quilt came out.  The colors just flow.  You can’t really see the quilting unless you get right on top of it.  Gyleen was right, “Anything Goes.”

Let me know what you think.  Do you like it?  How Much?  Want to Buy it?  $1500 and it’s yours.

Seriously.

C