{Post 1,124} Scrappy String Selvage Spiderweb Quilted

Today this entire quilt has been quilted.  I did a simple design so it would not be so stiff (the selvages make it stiffer than usual anyway).  I did a Fern Ziggle (Pajama Quilter design) on the center, reverse curlicues on the gold inner border, and what I call a hook feather on the outside border.

I did the center and inner border with a variegated pastel thread.  After that was finished, I realized I didn't have any thread that matched the outer border.  I didn't really want to wait until the sewing shop opened tomorrow because I had time to sew TODAY.  I looked through my machine quilting threads again, and came across one that sorta matched, but it looked way too gray.  It was from a box my friend Sam sent me a long time ago.  She was getting rid of threads she didn't like and sent me a box.  Thanks, Sam!  After quilting, this one really filled the bill!  it matched so well that I had a hard time seeing it as I quilted.

I'm so grateful for the GOOD things the internet provides.  I have made many new friends through it.  I used a design that I saw just a few days ago on my friend's blog.  The pattern was easy to figure out and went so quickly.  

There was also time to sew on the binding to the front.  I am going to start sewing it to the back tonight.  My daughter's baby was due 2/28 but has not been born yet.  This will keep me busy until we get the word that she is in labor and we start the 8-9 hour drive to go see our grandson!

These are the best pictures I could get until it's washed and dried.

{Post 1,121} Scrappy Selvage String Spiderweb Top Finished

Pushed through yesterday afternoon to get both the outer borders on this quilt.  I already have a quilting pattern in my brain, so I might get started on quilting this soon.  It is about 80" square.

Here is an all-over shot and 2 close-ups:

My plan here was to 1.  use selvages.  2.  use up a bunch of the bright blue fabric (which the back will be made from as well).  3.  make a rainbow theme (please tell me you noticed the stars are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet diagonally).

Now to quilt and deliver.

{Post 1,118} Surprise Squishy!

Yesterday I received a squishy envelope from my b-friend at the Country Log Cabin.  She hadn't told me she was sending me anything, so that just increased the anticipation.  You know when you get an unexpected envelope from a blogging friend, it has to be good, right?

It was full of selvages (with lots of the fabric showing!).  How did she know I was working on these for my dear daughter in Wisconsin?  There are 6 rows total.  The leftmost row is folded under to make it fit on the design wall.  The 3 rows on the right are just lying there, waiting to be joined to the mother ship.

Below is my sad little selvage box...it's nearly empty!  My new selvages are going to beef it up quite a bit!  Thanks, Country Log Cabin lady ;)

{Post 1,072} SSSS First 2 Rows Together!

I have the first two rows of 6 blocks sewn together.  I need to make more green blocks before I can move on.  

Here it is so far:

{Post 1,071} SSSS Blocks

This AM while I was cooking grits, I tore off the papers from the back of my green units for the scrappy string selvage spiderweb blocks.  Here they are on the design wall.

A reader asked if I wanted her selvages.  YES!!

BTW, I mailed an envelope of fabric to someone today.  Let me know when it arrives, won't you?

The blocks are 11" square.

I cut out the purple sections for the next diagonal row.  Stay tuned!

~Joan

{Post 1,070} Spiderweb String Selvage Blocks

It's been over a week since I posted!  So much has been happening.

Quiltwise, I started a new project.  It's a spiderweb block made from selvages and is a string project.  Natasha--see any of your fabrics???  I do!

Here is a close-up of a finished "web" with the blocks just stuck to the wall, not sewn together yet:

I am going for a diagonal rainbow color look...red, orange, yellow, green blue, violet, then reverse back out to a red in the bottom corner.

Here's what I have pieced so far.  The selvage strips really multiply and go much farther than one thinks:

More updates later as time permits.

~Joan

{Post #974} Black and White

This is a color catcher sheet next to a white sheet.  Even though I prewashed all the shirts I bought (and they all had been likely washed many times before I got them), the color catcher still was a lovely grey when it come out of the washer after a spin with my tan and blue spiderweb.  How can that be?  I even prewashed my backing fabric!

Off to a quilt show in Greensboro, NC with my Rachel tomorrow AM.  It's about 2-1/2 hours away, so a lot of our time will be spent in travel.  I'm looking forward to it anyway!


~Joan

{Post #973} For My B-Friend, Julie

I O-fish-a-lee LOVE this quilt!  Here it is in all its post-dried quiltiness.  The back is brushed cotton, just ready to snuggle a new baby boy!


These pics are for Julie, my B-friend (that's blog-friend for those not in the know).  I hold her and Bonnie H. co-responsible for my new addiction to plaid/shirt quilts.  

Why aren't there more quilting hours in a day?  


So I can cross off one baby quilt from my list of five I need before the end of August.  Then today I added 4 more names.  Two church ladies and two of my daughter's sisters-in-law.  Yippee!!


~Joan

{Post #972} Rectangle Wrangle

I have a few more blocks to make for the center of this quilt, but here is a pic from my design wall from this AM.

I am going to make 4 more blocks and make this into a baby quilt.  I had 5 baby quilts to make for ladies in our church.  One baby was delivered Saturday AM, and Monday I found out two more ladies are expecting!  How exciting!!


The above quilt blocks are 6" wide and 12" long.  I am going to make one more for the blank spot and 3 more for along the left side to make it 36" tall and 36" wide as well.  I'll add a little brown border then a larger one.  


Stay tuned for the last pictures of my tan and blue spiderweb quilt.  Last night during BYOC I finished hand sewing the binding.  It's in the dryer now.


~Joan

{Post #971} Nearly Finished Spiderweb Quilt

I got up early and finished the quilting on the tan and blue spiderweb quilt.  Then I cut binding strips from the backing that was trimmed off and had to cut one more strip to make enough binding to go around the quilt.  I pressed it and machine-sewed it to the quilt front.  I was going to sew it by machine to the back, but I decided to do it by hand.  The backings are brushed cotton and a little thicker than my usual fabric choice.

And a close up of the center.

After the binding is finished I will be posting another picture after the washing and drying.  Can you stand one more picture of this quilt??


~Joan

{Post #970} Baby Spiderweb Quilt

Here's the quilting progress on my blue and tan spiderweb quilt.  I wanted to try a couple new things.  The one thing I aim for when I machine quilt is not having to break the thread many times and making it evenly quilted all over.


This is about 48" square.  Over the weekend I watched the baby's older 3 siblings (with lots of help from my husband and children).  I did manage to piece a section of batting from scrap strips and piece a backing for this quilt.


Since this is a spiderweb quilt, I thought it would be neat to quilt some spiderwebs in the...well...spiderwebs.  They turned out neat and I only had to stop and start in 3 places (I think) within the body of the quilt.


I wanted to try some feathers, so I am doing those in the 4-pointed "stars" between the spiderwebs.  I am liking these although it's my first time.


In the border I just did a meandering pattern in navy blue.

The spiderwebs were quilted in navy blue and the 3-looped feathers in tan...both to match the background fabrics.  Sort of! 


I only have about 5 more stars to quilt but must call it a night.


~Joan

{Post #965} Blue and Tan Spiderweb

There's been very little sewing time this past week.  I am so close to having the center of this baby quilt finished.  I used tan for the center piece for the spiderweb units.  I realized the blue looked much better because I had so many shirts with blue in them or that coordinated better with blue.

I wanted to finish all the spiderweb shapes in the center, so I framed it with the blue.  A friend is having a baby in a little over a week.  She had false labor this past Wednesday, so I need to get this show on the road--before junior shows up!!


I hope to finish the piecing tonight.


~Joan

{Post #964} All In A Good Night's Work

What a great night!  My son had another baseball game.  He got a smashing hit.  I was so proud, I nearly burst my buttons.


The team arrives 30 minutes early to warm up.  I took a "busy basket".  It's a little storage basket I got today to keep strings in.  Tonight it held 5 newly washed shirts and 40 paper-pieced spiderweb blocks.  It seems I never want to just sit and debone shirts or remove paper backings.  By the time the game started, I had nearly all the papers removed.  Of course I took a plastic grocery sack for trash.  It was windy, and my bag kept nearly blowing away.  Then ingenuity took over, and I buttoned the handle of the bag into the front of my jumper (yippee for button down jumpers!).  Here is the work completed:

Somehow I never missed a pitch and got all 5 shirts "deboned" and removed all the papers from the blocks.  I was doing the last snip as the time was up for the game.


Here is a sampling of the blue base for the spiderweb blocks...I like this a lot more.  The blue is too bright for my Thimbleberries...it wouldn't play nicely with them, but with the shirt strings?  I think it makes them SING!!

I see that on the top right section 3 blocks are adjacent that have the blue and white plaid...those are not their final locations!


TTFN,
Joan

{Post #963} Two New Shirt Projects

I am showing the two small projects I have started.  Both are going to be baby quilts for boys.  


I asked the Dad of one of the boys to donate a shirt to the cause.  I don't think their family ready my blog, so I'll share this one here:

Here is the second project.  String quilts are so easy and "mindless" if you want a super easy project.  Here is mine so far...

These are both patterns from Bonnie Hunter.  I am going to make a larger Spiderweb one with a brightish-blue constant after I finish this one.


Last night I saw and visited with my daughter and took apart a few more shirts.  I don't think I've cut into the fronts/backs of any shirts, and just a few sleeves.  The fabric I've used so far is just yokes, cuffs, sleeves, and pockets.  It's amazing how much fabric is in a man's shirt.


Off to run errands and come back to face Mt. Neverest, aka laundry.


~Joan