Sit n sew

Hours of work complete! Yea!
I trimmed all these half square triangles so they are square again. Now for the fun part. Piecing. That may have to wait until next month's sit n sew at Blue Ribbon Quilt shop. Next month my sister is going with me. Even Better!

Stockings

T-Shirt Quilt Finished

At long last I finished making the t-shirt quilt I had been working on! Here are the pictures:

Please excuse the school desks hanging over into the pictures.

I never knew that sororities had so many shirts. This quilt was much more massive in size than I thought it would be. So for some of the shirts I cut them down to half as tall and staggered them down the quilt.  

 My mom made the label for me to put on the back of the quilt.

 Each "patch" is sewn on with a different stitch design. 

 The quilting is not perfect, but it'll do. I am pleased with it since this is only the 4th or 5th quilt I have used the long arm to quilt. I usually have a hard time with the tension but I slowed down a bit and the tension did fine for this quilt. Yea, since this was for a customer rather than myself.

WHAT IS NEXT?

So now my next quilt is...wait let me rephrase that...My next quilts are: a Winnie the Pooh cheater cloth quilt for Levi that I am machine quilting. Cheating ALL THE WAY BABY! And I am piecing a red, white and blue quilt for Levi. This one I think I will hand quilt, so I know it won't be finished until his 2nd or 3rd birthday. Probably just in time for him to move into his big-boy room across the hall.

"A Legacy of Stitches" Poem

This poem was on a blog that I follow. Sandra Anderson is the author of the blog and this poem. (I received permission from her to post this on my blog. I have also included a link to her post if you want to see her amazing quilts!)
Anyhow, she perfectly stated in this poem why I became so fascinated with quilting and became a quilter.

A LEGACY OF STITCHES

©Sandra E. Andersen 2001-2008

A Legacy of Stitches is what we leave behind;
the imprint of our very soul that lasts beyond our time.
The heart that quilts knows, oh, so well the peace that can be found,
as needle meets with fabric, for there is no sweeter sound.
Whether quiet piecing done by hand or on our sewing machine,
there’s rhythm to our stitches as we sew along each seam.
Those stitches tell the story of our lives as they unfold
as we think of quilts that Grandma made with stories left untold.
The humdrum of our daily lives grows elegant and grand,
when we start to cut the pieces, then stitch the fabric in our hands.
And whatever is the reason for the quilts we piece and sew,
and whoever is the maker, there is one thing that we know.
Each quilt is full of memories, and is a treasured thing.
If quilts could talk, imagine how some quilts would surely sing!
For some quilts are sewn in happy times and others when we’re sad,
and some are sewn in laughter and others when we’re mad.
Some are sewn to warm us, and some sewn just for fun,
and some are “works in progress” that never quite get done!
Some quilts are sewn for beauty, a quilt made just for “show”,
but the heart of the true quilter is the one who really knows~ 

That no matter how the quilt is stitched, we leave our mark in time.
This Legacy of Stitches is what we leave behind. 

A Legacy of Stitches

A Legacy

I read a poem today that perfectly states a lot of my thoughts and feelings about quilts and quilting. It reminded me of all the quilts on my quilting journey. My "About Me" tab tells about how I became a quilter.

After I had done a few quilts, I learned of the existence of this quilt. My grandparents gave this to me because they knew that I would value it as it deserved.

I have always wondered what her life was like as she made it. Because of that question in my mind, I journaled in a notebook about my first quilts and included pictures. Perhaps over the next few weeks I can share the highlights of those quilts. I'll also look up my great great grandmother's name and add it here later.

1886 Crazy quilt made by my great great grandmother

 This picture is actually sideways.The bottom of the picture is the left side of the quilt. The left side of the picture is where the pillows would go on the bed.

The 3 rings have F,L,T. I believe my grandmother told me it was a religious organization for women. It stands for Faith, Love and Truth. (I think.)

'85

Below the bird and to the left, in gold thread, it says '85. She began quilting this in 1885.

JW

I have no idea what JW stands for. No one in our family has these initials. Perhaps she had a crush on JW?

21

She finished the quilt when she was 21 years old.

swan

I have looked at this quilt for many years and never noticed the letter A here, until tonight.

1886

 You can barely see, in cream thread, along the left edge, 1886 is embroidered. This is the year she finished the quilt. It amazes me that she did all this hand work in one or two years!

Alice

This name looks machine stitched. My Grandmother's name was Mary Alice. I assume this was added at a later date to cover a hole or thin spot. Now, sadly, there are many threadbare spots where there once was a brownish looking silk.

T- Shirt Quit Squares

I have most of the squares cut out for my friend's Sorority T-shirt quilt! Yea!
I have decided that there should be more regulations on T-shirt companies. They must center their designs to within 1/4" so they don't drive quilter's crazy!! It took some calculating and some compromising but it worked out.
Now to cut the small logo parts of the shirt. This should be interesting. I think when this project is done, it is going to look really cool!

So you might be wondering, didn't you work today. No, we had another snow day. I am so ready for spring!

Baby update
I was able to make it to my dr. appointment today though. Baby is doing fine. Heartbeat was 150. I feel Jr.'s swimming swoosh movement daily now. That is comforting. Praise God!
I have only felt him kick 2 times so far. That is fine by me. I do not look forward to when he is kicking me in the ribs. Doc was warning me that would come soon enough.
Being half way through my pregnancy, I am thinking more and more of delivery day with dread. I held my sister's hand last year when she was in labor until about 10 min before the birth, without an epidural. She waited over an hour for one and it never came. I fear pain. I know everyone will say it will pass quickly and I will forget all about the pain but I still fear it.

Anyhow, I will be so glad when he is finally here.

Snow Day 4

Cabin Fever is setting in now. How do people up north do this all the time?
Today we got actual snow, not just ice. So of course I have pictures to share! Last year you saw, Isis and Emma. For the most part those 2 stayed inside as much as possible. We have a new dog that we rescued in July. She is a white German Shepherd named Freyja.

 Freyja spent most of the day outside, guarding our fence perimeter. She also spent a great deal of time rooting in the snow like a pig. In the picture below, you can see the snow on her nose from doing just that. You can also see a pink towel behind her. It was an old towel we kept by the back door to wipe mud off the feet. (Weather of any kind does not seem to bother Freyja in the least.) Well one day Freyja decided that the towel would be her favorite blanky. She drags the towel in the doggie door and out the doggie door, just like a child with a favorite blanky. Sadly, now the towel has frozen solid and shattered into a million pieces, all over the yard.

After watching Freyja frolic in the snow for awhile, we made puzzle bread (or Monkey bread). We added a twist though, apples. ...to make it healthier you know...

It was yummy!
Then a nap was in order.
We also did laundry.  : (














Finally I finished binding my signature quilt. I had my students from my former school sign it before I left. The white spots you see on the block closeups are where I erased the student's names.

Emma and Freyja helped me as always!

"Party like a Rockstar"

"I will miss you" and "I am Indian"

My students are proud of their ethnicity, as they should be. I will now take the quilt to school and let the kids use it during reading time or wrap up in it when the A/C is set on 60'. (I don't have thermostat control, or it would be 75' year round)

All in all a pretty good day. 

Snow Day 2011

Yea! A snow day in TX! This past weekend it was 72 degrees, and today the high was 30 something at 1am I think. Crazy TX weather for you.
Thankfully, I got interfacing for a T-Shirt quilt, that I am making for a friend, just in case we had a free day. So that is all ironed on now. I made the first cut on each shirt. Now I am debating on waiting to cut the other 3 sides now with a straight ruler and hoping they come out square or waiting till I can buy a 14" ruler.
While I decide, I can work on another project. Which one shall I work on?
Hand quilt more of my Asian style quilt.
Bind my classroom signature quit.
Bind antique looking quilt.
Bind cheater cloth Easter quilt.
Bind the quilt in my library room.
Assemble Pooh cheater cloth quilt.
Decide to hand quilt or machine quilt Pooh quilt.
Cut out pieces for Jr's star quilt.
Pay bills.
Nap.
?????
Definitely not bills. I think nap wins for now. Then perhaps I'll bind the classroom quilt and mark it off as done.
Given my list, one would think that I don't really care for binding quilts. ...and they would be right.

Signature quilt 2010

Here is what I got done yesterday and today, 30 blocks cut and partially pieced.

This quilt has 1 accent fabrics and 1 theme fabric (not shown).  There are 3 blocks made out of each fabric. More to come tomorrow... I hope.

Signature quilt beginnings

I am going to begin making a signature quilt this week. I made an example block with really bad instructions on it. I may redo it to be more clear.

I have worked at the same school since it opened almost 7 years ago. Now it looks as though I will have to go to a new school next year to teach, due to my lack of seniority and a new school opening.

For this quilt I plan to gather signatures from each of my ESL students and some coworkers.

Tomorrow I am going to my sister's house to cut pieces for the quilt. I am being ambitious though, as I am also taking a quilted jacket project. Regardless, I should have something to show for it by Sunday.

Neon Quilt

I finally forced myself to leave all the cleaning for another day and went into my sewing room. I began this quilt about a month ago at a quilting class. I did a fan once about 10 years ago and now I remember why I haven't done any since. They are a pain in that patooty!
As you can probably see, I have not pieced this top together all the way. I have to do the "handles" on some. Then I am going to have fun squaring these up.

Lessons learned thus far:
1. Never do fans again.
2. Don't store square while folded in half diagonally; it warps them.

I was supposed to do 4 more fans, one for each corner, but I think I like the cross like form of this.

The inspiration of this quilt color scheme is the handle of the fan. The fabric was large circles of kaleidoscope designs. I imagined it would be perfect used this way.
When I finally get it all pieced together, I hope to get Richard Larson to quilt it for me. I imagine that he will be able to recreate some elements of the kaleidoscope design for the background.
Maybe I will finally get up the guts to enter a quilt into a show. Beyond that, I guess I will keep it. I think with the bright colors my kids at school will like to see that not all quilts are old fashioned and "lame". I dream one day of starting a quilting club at school.

Too Pretty to Cut Quilt

The inspiration for this quilt came from a book called Just Can't Cut It by Pamela Mostek. The patterns are for those fabrics that are just to pretty to cut up into small pieces. The design in the book is much more elaborate so I simplified it.





I like simple, easy designs so I tweaked it. I started off by sketching it in my book for quilt designs. (My drawing actually has 2 outer borders on it but the final quilt does not because I never made it to the Quilt shop to find a taupe fabric)




Materials Needed:
A 15" Squared of "Too pretty to cut" fabric
3 accent colors
Fabric A--1/4 yd for the thin border
Fabric B--1/2 yd for the triangle off set material
Fabric C--1/3 yd for the outer border
(I'd get a little extra of each just in case you have to straighten the fabric store cut or if you are like me, not too precise or prone to mistakes)

Cut:
Fabric A: 2" strips (I cut 4 strips but actually only used 2 or 3 strips so now I can make a fancy label with the extra)
Fabric B: Cut 2 10" squares. Then cut in half diagonally so you end up with 4 triangles.
Fabric C: Cut 4" strips




First sew strips of fabric A to one side of the "too pretty to cut" fabric.
Press toward the dark color as shown below.

Trim off excess material.
Repeat this process around all 4 sides. So is looks like this:
Set that aside and get Fabric B and C out. Sew Fabric C to the short sides of fabric B. Then trip excess of the strip. Like so:
Now you should have a piece like this:

You may notice in my picture and when you make your triangle that the blue border overhangs or is larger than the square. Have no fear, you are doing it right. You will see in a minute why I planned it this way.
When you have all 4 triangles pieced, lay it out on you design wall if you have one or lay on floor or table. Now you can jump up and down with excitement because you can see it coming together now. : )

Now choose one of the triangles and fold it in half like the picture below. Put a straight pin where the fold it.

Now do the same with the square. Fold it in half as shown below and put a pin in the fold.




























Now open the square and lay the triangle on it matching up the 2 pins. Sew them together.

Press this seam (towards the darker color) and trim off the point.
Sew the next triangle on using the same folding in half method for each of the other 3 triangle pieces. Now you will see (below) why I wanted that extra overhang of the blue fabric. The point of the brown will not get cut off when you even up the sides and square the quilt. Nor will the point be covered up when you bind the edges.

Your finished quilt should look something like this: