{Post 1,221} Shirts Abound on the Design Wall

Here's how many units I have for the Shirts Abound quilt.  Not much seems to be missing from the scrap boxes either.

7-1/2 out of the 20 blocks needed!

{Post 1,220} Star Mini Finished

I quilted and bound my star mini tonight.  About 13-1/2" square.

{Post 1,219} Mini Top Finished

Here is the next mini.  I will quilt and bind it tomorrow.  This sore throat is really getting me down.  The top measures about 13-1/2" square.

Here it is hanging out with its friends:

{Post 1,218} Shooting Star is Finished Plus New Mini

It almost seems anticlimactic, but here is the finished Shooting Star on the wallbed.  I had never measured how big to make it, but I wanted there to be enough overhang for two people to be well covered (a former guest complained that the quilt on the bed was too small).  This drops about 18" on each side, so I think that is good!  Since it's a wallbed that gets put back up on the wall every night, too long is a complication as well!  Once the bed is against the wall, the bifold doors on each side close over the front, making it look like a closet.

I have picked out my next mini and wanted to try their construction technique before I used my own.  Here is the first star, which finishes at 4" square.  PS:  I used their technique, which was to cut out all the triangles instead of the flip and stitch with squares and rectanges that I usually do.

{Post 1,217} Little Bits of Progress

I'm trying to keep my chin up, but I feel horrible...my throat is so sore.  Just took Benadryl, so I'll be leaving soon......

I did a little sewing here and there through the day.  I also slept like a rock for a while.

Here is my half hexagon quilt.  My husband as quilt holder.  Six hexagons strong:

I also finished hand sewing the binding on my Pumpkin Patch.  We have friends coming to visit in about a month, and I think I'll give it to the wife, who is a very good friend of mine.

THIS is what 400" of binding looks like.  Pictures don't show scale, do they?  Well, this will have to be ironed out then ironed in half tomorrow.  I'm done for today.

Some of you have asked about this two-fabric binding technique.  I used it on this mini.  For my large (queen-sized) quilt, I added 1/4" to the accent fabric, cutting them in 2" strips.  I cut the black in 1-1/2" strips.  Directions for the binding are here.  I used invisible thread for the topstitching on my mini.  

{Post 1,216} Old/New Quilt Display

My son was away at his aunt's last week.  I vacuumed his room while he was gone.  I spotted a ladder that goes to his bunk beds along a wall.  He has not used it for the beds for years.  So I took it to use for this in my room:

These are 3 quilts that are always in my room.  I am going to put one more piece of wood across the top and stain it to match the ladder so I can have one more quilt on there.  I'd like to find one of those old ladders that is taller, but this will do for now.

{Post 1,215} Machine Quilting Finished on Shooting Star!

I woke up with a horrid sore throat and feel like I've got a low-grade fever.  It seems like allergy symptoms.  It's sad not to be able to be outside, but it is my life.

I only had about 25" of quilting to do (by 95" wide!) to finish up the Shooting Star quilt.  I was able to get it finished and unpinned from the frame.  It turned out so well.  I took a few photos, but they don't do the texture justice.  

The sample binding went well, but I wanted to add a little more of the accent fabric, so I sewed a sample piece of that, and it turned out great.  That is the next big step for this quilt.  Did I mention that the binding is all done by machine?  I do need nearly 400" of binding, but I know it will be finished soon.

These are all pics of the back except for the first one.

{Post 1,214} My Fingers Are Worn to Nubbies

I have never done this many posts in so short a time.  Once school rolls around again, though, screeeeech.  It will come to a stop.

I finished quilting and binding my tumblers quilt.  Following that (12" x 14") is a picture of my design wall with all my minis on it.

All THREE!

Next I want to make one with stars or something other than a one-patch design.  Or maybe a log cabin.  We shall see.

{Post 1,213} More Machine Quilting, New Binding Style & Tumblers

Getting a lot of sewing done today.  I have to leave in 15 minutes for an emergency ortho visit about 45 minutes away, but you can bet I'll be sewing in the waiting room.

My red checkerboard mini is the guinea pig for my new binding style (the one I'll be using on my Shooting Star quilt).  I machine quilted it and will pull the threads to the back and bury them at the ortho's.  Here is the quilt and a closeup of the binding.  I put a bobby pin on the quilt for comparison.  I plan to make the accent color on the Shooting Star binding a little wider.

This is 14-1/2" square.

Machine quilting progress:

One more row on the tumblers (each tiny tumbler measures 1-1/2" tall):

I am thinking another row or two on this, then frame it with a border and quilt it.  

{Post 1,212} More Tumblers and Shirt Additions

All in all yesterday I got 18 shirts.  Three are going to be worn but the rest are for quilts.  Here is the stack.  The one on the very top is not one I would normally buy because it's so small, but I was paying by the pound, so it wasn't a big deal.

I added two more rows to this quilt:

{Post 1,211} A New Experience I Don't Wish to Repeat

I went to a new-to-me place today...a Goodwill clearance center.  All clothing is $1.29 a pound.  I got 9 shirts for $7.  That's the good news.  More good news is that one of the shirts was for a dress-up occasion my daughter has for youth group Wednesday night.  I was meeting my son for lunch afterwards and felt like I had to wash my hands with bleach up to my arms.  The clothes didn't smell, but it was the aura of the place, you know?

When I got home, I washed and dried my new haul of shirts (like I needed some more).  Then I machine quilted a little more.  I got to about halfway on my Shooting Star quilt.  It is a bit tedious for me, so I'm only doing a little at a time.

I was gone most of the day today, but tomorrow is laundry day, so I'll be downstairs most of the time.  Sounds like a good time to do more machine quilting.