{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.  

{Post 1,480} I'm Sew and Sew

After a nearly sleepless night, I decided to sew some this AM.  Didn't really have the energy to do much else.

I have finished 96 crumb blocks as of now.  I found a bin of light shirt scraps (yay!) that I added to some of the ones I already knew the location of and pieced some light squares.  Here is what I have so far.  If the blocks were sewn to each other, it would only measure 36" x 40", but it is a good start.  First the mystery bin:

I listed a bunch of new patterns on eBay.  whistlersmother10 is my user name.  Some Thimbleberries cream FQs and a couple templates, too.  Check them out.  

{Post 1,479} Even More Crumb HSTs

I owe my b-friend (that's short for blog-friend) Natasha a big thank you for starting me on this journey of crumbs.  I already have a recipient in mind for this one.  I am using up the tiniest of pieces, and it's so colorful and pretty.  So much to look at in a scrap quilt, too.  

My square blocks are 4-1/2" unfinished.  I am getting some pieced light half blocks now, and that just adds more interest.

Eighty-two blocks now:

{Post 1,478} Red Zinger Finished and Labeled

This is my Red Zinger quilt, made from selvages and a favorite red Thimbleberries print.  It is 74" square.

A pic of the front and back, then a close-up of the back so you can appreciate my amateur machine quilting skills (this is a joke!).  I used cream thread on the selvages in a tight stipple, a feather in the border, and a specially-designed-by-me freehand design in the X's.

{Post 1,477} Move It, Move It, Move It

Fifty-six crumb blocks (4-1/2" unfinished) made so far.  Many, many in process.  

Last night I started playing around with settings.  There are legion.

Here are 4 I started with to get an idea of how these would play together.  The lighting is harsh...canned lights right above the edge of the design wall.  Not a lot of space in here for my 4' x 8' design walls.

Which one do you like best?  I have a few more ideas, but not enough blocks yet to implement them.