{Post 1,503} Isaac's Quilt

Every quilt has a story.  I bought the blue fabric for the 9-patches for this because I like the fabric so much.  You need to know that that is very unusual for me.  I have about 100 bolts of fabric at my house that I used to sell online.  Most are Thimbleberries.  I don't usually pick what I like--I just use what I have.  "Like" doesn't have much to do with it.  But I liked the blue.  So I made all the 9-patches, and they sat.

Then I decided to add alternate blocks of upcycled men's shirts.  I made one straight set with green and cream 9-patches for my BIL and his wife.  I set this one on point.

Here I am attaching the binding to the front on my Janome Memory Craft 6500.  This machine has served me well.

Here is my label.  Isaac (my baby--the son for whom the quilt was made) is very tall.  He is 6' 2" now, and seems to still be growing.  He wanted a quilt that he could wrap up in, up to his shoulders and over his feet.  This one is 81" wide and 109" long.  That should do it!

Here's my happy guy wrapped in his just-finished quilt.

{Post 1,501} Past and Present Finished...Next One Underway

This is Past and Present.  It is a pattern from a book.  I have a runner made from the little leftover HSTs that I recently also completed.  This is so beautiful in person.  It is 58" x 70".  I am starting to make larger quilts.  We have 2 queen size and one full-size bed in the house.

Below is the quilt at more of an angle, so you can catch a glimpse of the quilting texture.

My baby boy is 6'5" tall.  He just turned 16.  I have had this quilt (below) pieced for a long time also.  Story of my life.  I added two more rows of shirt prints on the top and bottom to make sure my little nipper can wrap up at night.  This ended up being 80" wide and 109" long.

You can see it here before the borders were added.

I am using up some odd fabrics, so this is half of the backing fabric.  I took the pic so you can see my free-motion design.

{Post 1,446} Fern Ziggle Quilting

This is the first row of my secret project.  I usually forget about the Fern Ziggle pattern, but I really like it.  I have used it two other times that I recall.

{Post 1,439} Christmas Shirt 9-Patch Ready to Web

These are the blocks for my BIL's family's Christmas quilt.  I've only known him 29 years, no need to get in a rush about making him a quilt, right?

I will sew these into a top on Saturday at Second Saturday Sewers.  That's sewers as in seamstresses, not waste water runoff!

There is a possibility of adding more blocks to this, but I'll see how I like it as is.  This will be 54" x 72".  I think a couple more rows might be in store, but this will give me 3 hours of sewing to do for the sew-in on Saturday.

{Post 1,435] Sew'cializing

I went to a new-to-me sewing group last night from 5-8:30.  It's called the "sew-cialize" group.  I got all 99 blocks for my Christmas gift quilt finished as well as 3 of the shirt string blocks shown.  The 9-patches are 5" square; the string blocks are 6-1/2" square.

For the first time, I used my Featherweight exclusively and for a l-o-n-g time.  It performed like the workhorse it is, and did it beautifully.

The blue 9-patch quilt top in the back of the first picture is the same design as the one the green blocks are going to be used in.  I wanted it to be lighter overall, so I switched where the cream and color go in the 9-patch.  It was sooooo boring to use the same two fabrics over and over, but having others to chat with certainly made it more interesting.

The natural muslin was a purchase made at a textile warehouse near me.  I like the color with the shirts.  I was going to make a different setting with the blocks, but this one appeals to me.  Time will tell as to where this quilt design goes.

{Post 1,300} Changes on the Horizon & Finished 9-Patch Blues Quilt Top

This is just the quilt top.  I am debating whether to add another border, but I'm thinking I like it like this.  The outside edge is not bias because of the way the corner triangles were cut.  This measures 65" x 78".

We as a family have a lot of changes coming up.  I am going to drive to my sister's (about 12 hours' drive away) for 7-14 days.  Time will tell.  She is having her 11th baby, and I am going to help with...with...well, I guess with anything I can!

Our oldest daughter moved back in with us before Christmas.  She will be living here with her baby for some time.  That means a little shuffling around of room occupants and a little construction (I'm wording it that way to make it sound fast, inexpensive, and easy--I am not convinced.).  Baby is due July 1.

The upside to me is that I am gaining a new sewing room.  What is now our screened-in porch will become my sewing room.  My sewing room will become my daughter's bedroom.  The guest room where she is staying now will become the nursery.  Easy peasy, right?  LOL!  

{Post 1,297} Headband and Blue 9-Patch AGAIN

It took me about 10 minutes to whip up this headband the other day, and I like it so much!  It's a 5-strand braid (as opposed to the usual 3-strand) and was soooo easy to make.  It's upcycled from a black T-shirt destined for the trash can.  It's on my Pinterest page under "sewing projects".  The only sewing I did was to sew the 5 pieces stacked up at the beginning and then over the other finished end.  I cut my strips vertically out of the shirt instead of around the bottom, making my pieces too short.  But it went from behind one ear to behind the other.  With my voluminous hair, one would never know it wasn't braided all the way around.  It is extremely comfortable, unlike the plastic ones that dig in behind the ears, or the elastic ones that are so tight that one expects them to boing off the back of their head at any moment.  In the picture, I am looking down (I know someone will wonder!).

My last 9-patch pictures of the day, second complete with photobomber!!

{Post 1,296} Blue 9-Patch Progress

Here is my progress to date on the blue 9-patch and shirts.  I am starting at the lower right hand corner since I'm about halfway finished with the piecing starting at the top left corner.  I have 10 more 9-patches very close to completion, so that will yield me almost 2 more rows from the bottom right side.  This is moving along.  I think I'll put an outside border of more shirts, probably 5" wide to keep it from stretching too much.  

Off to finish packing up Christmas dishes and other assorted holiday decor.

{Post 1,295} Blue 9-Patch Coming Along!!

I spent tonight de-Christmatizing the house and working on this quilt.  I wanted to get it at least all up on the design wall to see if I needed to cut any more squares or side triangles.  As it turns out, I have extras for my lime green quilt-to-come.  I am adding the 9-patches and rows as they are finished.  I like.  Muchly.

{Post 1,294} A Different Look

Here is my 9-patch and shirts quilt with a different color scheme AND a different orientation for the cream and colors in the 9-patches.  Same quilt as last post.  See the difference?

I am making this new one for a gift.  I should scare up a few shirts with lime green in them just to draw the green out.  But it doesn't look too bad with the shirts I already have.  This is going to be a 2014 Christmas gift.  No time like the present to start.

{Post 1,293} More Nine-Patch Goodness

Here is what I got put together this AM and a tiny bit yesterday.  I am cutting more squares as I go.  Also cutting side triangles.  I always have so many projects going that my cutting table doesn't have much room for cutting.  I will straighten that all up soon.  

From the top left corner to the end of the triangle in the sewn-together part, this measures about 45".

More company coming tomorrow, some more on Monday, and some leaving Monday.  It will all be back to normal within a week!  I've enjoyed all the guests.  Working on some new normals around the Parker ranchero.

{Post 1,292} Nine-Patch Update

This is a little shot of my nine-patch shirt quilt in process.  I have not sewn for so long!  All the units measure five inches square.  The same blue and cream are used throughout.