{Post 1,483} Top is Webbed

My HST shirt quilt center is webbed.  Now I am embarking on sewing rows to each other.  Here are a couple close-ups for those who wondered what some of the fabrics (aka upcycled shirts) look like.  There are several crumb tutorials online.  This is the 3rd crumb quilt I have made.

Notice that the creams in the top picture are one piece.  I had just cut the sleeves off two new shirts (well, new to me), so I cut 5" squares from what I could.  It wasn't long before I had to piece cream squares like the ones you see in the bottom picture.

{Post 1,482} HST Shirt Quilt Center Blocks Finished

The title pretty much says it all.  I have 12 x 14 blocks finished for the HST shirt quilt.  Here they are laid out on my design wall.

Last night I could not sleep at all...so I ended up staying up until 5 AM.  Slept until 10:45 this AM, and I feel fine.  I figured sewing was as good of a past time as any.

My next sewing chore will be webbing them.  I think I'm going to laboriously piece a back like I did for this quilt to use up large chunks of shirts that don't do well in blocks.  They might be an odd color that stands out too much, too soft to piece well, or whatever.  I have a strip of crumb blocks that I'll be putting on there, too.  A lot more piecing.

Of course, the above one needs borders.  I'm thinking of treating it like I did this quilt and use a similar color for an inner then an outer border.  Maybe green this time?

{Post 1,481} Amazing Weathered/Beach Wood Treatment

I have made a few of these metal star with berry wreath on chicken wire hangings for my daughter, sister, and friend recently.  Doesn't that sound like a Hallmark commercial?  Anyway, one of my other daughters asked if I would make one for her with "weathered wood", a cream star, and brown chicken wire.   I love everything about this, but especially the L-shaped connectors that hold the mitred wood frame together.  They don't show up much in the picture.

I found this treatment on good ole Pinterest, and let me tell you, it works like a charm.  

Put steel wool in a canning jar and cover with vinegar (I used white).  Let sit 12-24 hours.  Mine sat 36.

When your vinegar/steel wool solution is ready, brew two tea bags in about a cup of water.  I used orange pekoe because that's what I had.  When the water is really dark, take out and discard the bags.  Brush the tea water on your naked wood with a cheap paintbrush or foam brush.  All it does is make the wood look wet.

Here is the bare wood:

Here is the tea-wetted wood:

Rinse off your brush.  Take your white vinegar/steel wool solution and brush it on with the same brush.  Here is the first edge.  This happened immediately although I'm hearing that different woods react differently.

Here are all sides of all 4 pieces brushed with steel wool/vinegar water right after I brushed the last piece.