Vortex Quilt Top from Guild

I agreed to longarm a top for the guild. The quilt is pretty and has a lot of movement.  So, I decided not to interrupt the movement with too much quilting and just do widely (3 1/2”) spaced vertical and horizontal lines. This quilt contains so many different scraps. Suprisingly, I didn’t find any fabric that we have had in our inventory. How many different quilting fabrics must there be!

• 65" x 94" Twin bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in straight vertical and horizontal lines. After the vertical lines were completed, the quilt was remounted to do the horizontal lines. Used light gray 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Silver").  5 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Gold and light brown plain fabrics. Supplied by the guild.
• Batting: Supplied by the guild.
• Binding: Dark brown print from fabric.com
• Pattern: Strips of fabric on a diagonal. Center strip was white or light-colored to form the vortex design.
• Piecing by someone at the guild 
• Pinned into frame June 24, 2020. Vertical quilting on long arm quilter June 26-27, 2020. Remounted horizontally June 27. Horizontal quilting begun and finished July 1, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. Did second stitching by hand.
• QC by Patty to keep dog hair away from a guild quilt.

Dog Bed Stuffed with Scraps

With Sheltering in Place (SIP) and looking for projects to clean out my closet, I decided to pick up making a dog bed to use up boxes of small quilt scraps. The object initially was to keep fabric out of the landfill. I did use up a lot of scraps, but this project was not easy-o! First off, I made the bed too big, 40” x 45”. This size took a tremendous amount of scraps and weighed a ton when finished. Next time I’ll try a cat bed size, if there is a next time! After this all small scraps get thrown away! 

I first made a canvas sack to stuff the scraps inside. Then I made a washable cover with zipper. The cover was made out of old jeans (took 6 pairs!) also to keep fabric out of landfills. I need to practice inserting a zipper. It’s been too long. Stuffing the filled canvas “mattress” inside the cover was like wrestling a whale! Not easy-o!

The result was a very firm dog bed. One friend on FB said I should market it as, “a handmade, organic, meditation pillow stuffed with reclaimed fabric!”  Another FB friend said I should have made it in the shape of a punching bag and have a piece of gym equipment when finished. It’s almost firm enough to be a punching bag.

I am very glad to have finished this project and lessons learned! Scraps go into the landfill from now on!

SIP hair! Ugh!

Two Neonatal Quilts (Quilted on the Domestic Machine)

I started these quilts for something simple to do at the Tuesday sewing meetings in Belmont. Then Covid-19 struck and the meetings ended while we shelter in place. I finally decided to finish them at home. The pattern is a simple strips sewn together with an insert of blue and white checkerboard squares.

Pink and Blue Neonatal Quilt

• 40" x 43" Neonatal size
• Quilting: Quilted stitch in a ditch on the Janome Heavy Duty Machine. Used light gray 100% cotton thread (Coates Mercerized ELS Cotton). Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Light gray flannel print left from Tomiko’s T-shirt quilts.
• Batting: 80% cotton/ 20% polyester. Comfort Blend from Winline.
• Binding: Green print from Patty’s inventory. Fabric left from Thomas’s baby quilt.
• Pattern: 19 Strips sewed together with an insert of navy blue and white checkerboard.
• Piecing by Patty.
• Quilting on domestic machine May 15, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Patty to keep the dog away from a neonatal quilt.

Pink and Green Neonatal Quilt

• 40" x 44" Neonatal size
• Quilting: Quilted stitch in a ditch on the Janome Heavy Duty Machine. Used light gray 100% cotton thread (Coates Mercerized ELS Cotton). Quilting by Patty. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Light green flannel print left from Daddy’s t-shirt quilt.
• Batting: 80% cotton/ 20% polyester. comfort Blend from Winline.
• Binding: Green print from Patty’s inventory. Fabric left from Thomas’s baby quilt.
• Pattern: 19 Strips sewed together with an insert of navy blue and white checkerboard.  
• Piecing by Patty.
• Quilting on domestic machine May 16, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Patty to keep the dog away from a neonatal quilt.

T-Shirt Quilt for Mother Made from Daddy’s T-Shirts

I started this quilt last year. Before my eye problems I got the blocks cut out. Between eye surgeries I got the interfacing (featherweight) ironed on the blocks. Then I didn’t get back to it until I finished piecing Tomiko’s quilt. Finally it came together.

The Tom Short Reunion t-shirts have functioning pockets. For some ill planned reason, the T.A. Edison submarine shirt throwing torpedoes and shooting a missile, wound up next to the Peace Corps shirt. Not all of the shirts were Daddy’s. To round out the quilt I used a few shirts from my collection, but my shirts were ones he had a connection to or gave me as a souvenir from his travels. 

• 58 1/2" x 71" Lap size
• Quilting: Quilted around the designs on the t-shirt blocks. Used light turquoise 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Lt. Turquoise"). Free form quilting. 6 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Light green flannel print wide back from my inventory. Bought from a fabric.com sale.
• Batting: 100% polyester. Knowledgeable quilters recommend polyester for t-shirt quilts. Also recommended by Frances who pointed out that t-shirt quilts tend to be heavy so a lighter weight batting is better. 
• Binding: Turquoise print from fabric.com
• Pattern: T-shirts fit together 
• Piecing by Patty.
• Pinned into frame May 13, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter May 13-14, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer

Tomiko’s T-Shirt Quilt

2020 has been a very different year for graduates, including my niece Tomiko. She graduates from high school this May, but there is not a traditional graduation ceremony, prom, or party during this year of social distancing. It’s as difficult for the families as the graduates! 

Monika gave me these t-shirts to make a graduation quilt for Tomiko sometime after my first eye surgery last year and before my second one. So, this quilt has been a long time in coming. Finally, it came together.  The hardest part was fitting shirts of different sizes collected over 18 years together. I chose black sashing to fit the shirts together and make their colors pop. I needed one more shirt, so I made an airplane block, like the baby quilt I made Tomiko over 18 years ago. Time flies like an an arrow; fruit flies like melon. Sigh!

Tomiko on the first quilt I made her, hand quilted!

The airplane block for the graduation quilt

The quilt I helped Tomiko make when she was in middle school

Quilting on the long arm with Tomiko. She is a natural longarmer! I wish I was as good!

• 60" x 85" Twin bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in a meandering very loose wave in the sashing and around the designs on the t-shirt blocks. Used gold 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Goldenrod").  I selected gold because her school colors are green and gold. Free form quilting. 7 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Light gray flannel print wide back from my inventory. Bought from a fabric.com sale.
• Batting: 100% polyester. Knowledgeable quilters recommend polyester for t-shirt quilts. Also recommended by Frances who pointed out that t-shirt quilts tend to be heavy so a lighter weight batting is better. 
• Binding: A green and gold print in Patty’s inventory, again to accent Tomiko’s high school colors.
• Pattern: T-shirts fit together with black sashing.  
• Piecing by Patty.
• Pinned into frame May 5, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter May 6, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer

Going to Michigan Tech in the fall. Hopefully, there will be school in the fall.

The rabbit runs from the hawk.

The hawk catches the unsuspecting rabbit.

Covid-19 Masks

Quilting activities took a hiatus for shelter in place. Quilters went crazy making face masks for medical workers. I think homemade masks are this year’s fashion statement. I swore I wasn’t going to get caught up in the madness, but I did. I’m sure homemade masks are more for appearance than actual protection, but peer pressure took over. Here are 3 things I learned:

1. Making masks is time consuming with little gain.

2. Making masks is no fun.

3. Making masks is maddening. You can find many you-tubes about making them, endless theories about which materials and fabrics to use, and everybody thinks their versions work the best.

Some pictures of the masks I made in use:

This one has darts instead of pleats or curved seams. It fits the best, but it’s difficult to make.

This one is the easiest to make and fits well.

You can tell how badly some of us sheltering in place need hair cuts! When, oh when, will this quarantine be over?

The wine Lee gave me for the masks I made for him.

It looks like we’ll be wearing masks forever, so I decided to make a few more.  This one is difficult to make and doesn’t fit well.

Pleats and a side casing for the elastic. This one is easier to make than the masks with pleats and the elastic sewed into the side seams.

Eight masks made for Eirin and her mom.

Holiday masks made for Eirin and her mom.

Mask made for Hannah similar to a design she wanted. Design not supposed to require nose clamp, but my glasses fogged up, so I think that claim is false. This mask is also called, “Octagon Mask” because it starts with an octagon shaped pattern.

Christmas Masks