Sunday, January 19, 2014

UFO Finishes for January 2014

After finishing umpteen hundred T-Shirt Quilts and Machine Quilting for the holiday season, I always take a week or two (or three) and work on 'my' stuff.  So far this year, have several finishes to report - Yippee!

Here are a couple of them.

Batik Jelly Roll Race. 

Batik Jelly Roll Race.  Started 2013 –   62  x 74  8.5 yards 2013.  This is one of those Jelly Roll Race quilts.  SUPER easy to piece, not as easy to finish and quilt.  I did join my strips on a 45 degree angle to give it a little more interest.   However,  I did get it done in January.  Added borders, quilted and binding.



Saturday, January 18, 2014

T-Shirt Quilts - Should I or Shouldn't I????

At Shadywood Quilts and T-Shirt Quilts of Texas, we have literally made thousands of T-Shirt and Memory quilts since 2006.  Suffice it to say, that we have a bit of experience in the  of making a successful T-Shirt Quilt.

While we are busy making T-Shirt Quilts for hundreds of folks every year, we have several people that bring us the T-Shirt Quilt TOP for us to finish.  We love taking care of you, but sometimes we cringe when we see the top that the customer wants us to work a miracle on.  Here are some suggestions.

STABILIZER

Usually, the problem is that they have not STABILIZED the T-Shirts before piecing them together.  We use a high quality 100% cotton fusible to stabilize all T-Shirts before including them into a quilt.  This prevents the block from stretching or looking "saggy" in the finished quilt.  While we don't suggest using a heavy-weight polyester, that is still better than NO stabilizer at all.  If you do decide to not use a stabilizer, we will require a stabilizing 'waste' border be added to control the stretching.

SASHINGS

We also always include Sashing and Cornerstones at no additional charge.   We always press the seams away from the T-Shirt towards the sashing to reduce bulk.  The cornerstones help us line the blocks up nice and even.

BATTING

The finished T-Shirt Quilt does not have to be heavy and cumbersome when it is complete.  Use a high quality 80/20 (80% cotton, 20% Polyester) batting.  Don't go 'cheap' on the batting (or any of the fabrics) when making a T-Shirt Quilt (or any quilt for that matter).   Make sure your quilter does an 'all-over' pattern or 'pantograph'.  There is no reason not to quilt through the T-Shirts.   You want the quilt to be securely quilted so that it can hold up after years and years of loving use and laundering.  Our favorite battings are Hobbs and Legacy brands.

In most cases, stitching through the emblems does not cause any problems for the quilter.  However, sequins and crystals can wreak havoc with the longarm machine and it's needles.  Be aware that the 'hopping foot' cannot go over these items and may cause the stitching to go around the 3-dimensional object and corrupt the quilting.  'Puff' paint also causes problems, and if you think about it, is not very pleasant if you put your face on it!!

THREAD

We have been asked to use 'invisible' thread.  First of all, no thread is invisible.  It might a translucent shade that blends really well, but we really don't know how well the nylon or polyester thread will hold up to repeated washings and visits to a hot dryer.  We always use neutral colored thread, more on the light side that won't detract from the shirts.  Most popular colors that we use are a light grey or a light tan color. 

QUILTING

Be realistic.  If you are not familiar with machine quilting on your domestic machine, let a professional quilt your quilt.  PLEASE don't tie your quilt or just stitch around the squares.  We have had so many people bring their quilts to use to fix after well meaning moms, aunts or grandmothers have tried to do.  It really does not cost that much, and the recipient will be much happier with the result.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Basic Washcloth Pattern (Grandmothers Favorite)

Many of my quilting friends are learning how to knit and crochet.  At our last Bee meeting, most of us were sitting around knitting and crocheting rather than working on a quilt project.  How wierd is that?  I think it is a natural extension.  We all love fibers and yarn is just another fiber that is fun to look at and touch!

My friend Barb K. gave me a 'basic' washcloth pattern.  Lots of references on the web to "Grandmothers Favorite Washcloth", but it is just a very simple cloth and GREAT for beginners and for using varigated cotton yarns.

Designer: Unknown

Rating: Easy
Materials: Sugar and Cream or Peaches and Cream yarn; Size 6 or 7 needles (US) 
Instructions:

CO (Cast on) 4 stitches

Row 1:  Knit 4
Row 2:  Knit 2, yarn over, knit across the row.
Repeat Row 2 until you have 44 stitches on the needle.

Decrease Row: Knit 1, K2T, YO, K2T knit to the end of the row.
Repeat Decrease Row until you have 4 stitches on the needle. 

BO

Your choice to bind off or do a round of single crochet and make a little loop of chain stitches in one corner to hang the cloth when not in use.

CO - Cast On
BO - Bind Off
K2T  - knit two together
YO - yarn over

Would love to see YOUR pictures if you use this pattern. 

WORD for 2014 - FINISH IT UP

I've been a member of the StashBuster group for years, but had not been involved the last couple of years.  After finishing up the Christmas Holiday orders I turned the emails back on and jumped in with both feet.  Instead of a piddly little 15 projects  (see previous post)  that my Bee had us list, I started going through ALL of my projects (past & present) and while I keep adding more to the list, right now, I've got 47 (read FORTY SEVEN) UFO's that I would like to finish.

The list have been discussing the WORD for 2014.  Mine is more of a phrase... FINISH it up!

So, to that end, since the beginning of 2014 I have been quilting (and piecing) like crazy working on that list of UFO's   8 Finishes already, and it is only half way through the month!  Can I get a WHOOP?

Thursday, January 02, 2014

New Years Day Annual Sew-In


My Thursday Bee came over for our annual Sew In at my studio.   Just woke up from a 2 hour nap after everyone left.  Sewing  is such hard work!

Finished putting the binding and label on my '4 on the floor - Flannel quilt.  60 x 80" 8 yards from stash.    Don't know if this counts, but gave away 5 pounds of 2, 2.5 and 3inch strips.  At our fabric by the pound sale next week, we figure that 1 pound of fabric is about 3.5 yards (Darker fabarics weigh more than light colored fabric!)  So, by that calculation another 17.5 yards from some really old stash (like from the 80s and 90s) .

Last year on New Years Day, we did a 'Jelly roll Race' with strips cut from my stash.  We measured out about 13 oz each for all our Bee members.  We -  in our estimation- figured 13 oz came out to about a good sized Jelly roll  (i.e. 42 2.5" strips)  We did not want to count strips, so we weighed the fabric.  See the quilts that we turned in to the Comfort Quilters.  Nita says these were the first ones to be selected at the nursing home due to the bright colors!







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