Monday, February 17, 2014

UFO's Multiply Like Rabbits!!

Hubby and I have been on a purging binge.  When we moved a little over a year ago, a LOT of stuff landed in HIS barn.   The last couple of weeks, we have been going to Goodwill, local antique shops, listing stuff on eBay and Amazon.  Oh, also donated a bunch of stuff to Tri-County Quilt Guild for the upcoming quilt show  and had a hugely successful "Fabric By the Pound" sale fat my buddy Sharons house.

Why is it that now I feel like I have even MORE 'stuff' than before?  My quilty UFO list is now up to a grand total of 50 items - although I do have 13 finishes for 2014.    But, 2 steps forward - one (or three) steps back!   already have about 4 or 5 NEW STARTS for 2014.
  • We had our first Blockbuilders meeting of the year last week, and swapped blocks, and decided on next swap.
  • Saw another pattern that I just HAVE to do.
  • Found out having a new grand baby in August
  • Pinterest - OMG.  Need I say more?
Always need a break after the new year.  Going on a quilt retreat next week at Quilters Cabin in Tomball TX.  Yeah, yeah, I know, I took a break for a couple of weeks after the Christmas Holidays.  So what??  I work hard, I deserve it.   Of course, Hubby thinks every time I leave the house I am going to a retreat.  I'll still keep him - he does treat me like a queen - or is that a Diva?  Have a bunch of projects lined up to work on.  Always take way more than I can possibly get done, but you never know what you might be in the mood to work on.

Speaking of UFO's and finishing.  Did finish up a couple of UFO's - got them submitted for the upcoming Quilt Show, so can't show pictures yet.  Literally, finished the binding and ran them over to the church to turn them in.   Will get pictures of them hanging.  We have a great venue for the show, and last I heard there were 187 entries turned in.

The cold stuff has finally moved to the areas of the country where they expect it to be.  We have had 70's temps the last few days.  Even turned on the A/C in the car over the weekend.  Ready to start planting.  Hubby made a couple of new flower beds, and Houston Garden Center and even Lowe's did not have bedding plants out yet.  Hope that does not mean we have any more freezes coming.  SO ready for spring.

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.