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

Quid Pro Quo (Mother and Sally’s Quilt)

Mother and Sally finished this quilt top last year. It is the same pattern Mother has used several times, a real favorite for using strip scraps. This is the fourth quilt finished that used this pattern. See “Spice” in September, 2016, “Pinal Peaks” in November, 2018 and ”Dynamic Duo” in December, 2018. Mother and Sally worked on this top whilst watching the Trump impeachment hearings, hence the name. Once completed a better name for this quilt is “Wow!” It really pops!

Quilt given to Terry Dahl for his recovery after his March, 2021 bike accident.

Dear Narinder and Patty,

Oh my gosh! The quilt is fantastic! When I saw it I thought that I really do NOT want to share this with Terry but...

He sat on the couch bundled up in the quilt for many hours over the weekend. It is wonderful...each time I look at it I see something new like crayons, ladybugs, hot peppers...a work of love and patience. Thank you for sharing!!! It looked like Spencer was a bit attached to it. Sorry Spencer....

Terry definitely is hoping that those magical healing properties will do the trick. Right now he is a bit of a mess and in lots of pain...poor boy! 

Blessings to both of you for such a thoughtful gift. We will cherish it!!!!

Donna and Terry

• 64" x 84" Twin bed size
• Quilting: Quilted in a meandering very loose stipple. Used navy blue 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Navy Blue") for the bobbins and 100% polyester variegated dark blue thread for the top (Omni-V #9121 named “Tempest Blue”).  Free form quilting. 7 bobbins. Experienced some problems with the machine not forming stitches. Contacted Nolting who said to loosen top tension. That tweak worked for the most part. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Blue print wide back from Mother's inventory. Bought from a JoAnn’s sale.
• Batting: 80% cotton/20% polyester Winline “Comfort Blend”.
• Binding: Solid red in Patty’s inventory
• Pattern: "Spice Market" by Vicky Wozniak from a McCall's advertisement.  
• Piecing by Mother and Sally
• Pinned into frame February 26, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter March 2-4, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer

Message in a Bottle (Finishing 2019 Quilt)

Quilt was sent to niece Stacy Wong Rangel for her baby Miles Xavier Rangel. August 4,2020 8:50pm

8.2lbs 21inches

• 37 1/2" x 46 1/2"  Baby-size
• Quilting: Quilted in shallow wavy lines, similar to ocean waves. Used light aqua 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Light Turquoise"). Free form quilting. 4 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Gray flannel left from quilts made for nieces and nephew
• Batting: 80% cotton/20% polyester Winline “Comfort Blend”
• Binding:  Dark blue cotton printed with small colored dots from my inventory
• Pattern: Two charm packs, sewed into rows. Name of charm packs “Message in a Bottle”, hence the nautical theme for the quilting. Piecing done in 2019 at sewing group meeting. Then my eye went bad, so quilting not finished until 2020.
• Piecing by Patty
• Pinned into frame January 31, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter February 7, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer.

Sleep Tight (Kit, PIGS List, Grandniece Quilt)

This is a kit I bought some time ago for a potential David child. The fabric features hedgehogs and David had a pet hedgehog as a boy. Also the fabrics are neutral and work for a boy or girl. As it turns out, the baby is a girl and the colors serendipitously go with the Harry Potter neutral color scheme David and Chelsea selected for the nursery. This quilt is #17 on the new PIGS list. It’s a win-win-win all around!

“Sleep Tight” is the name of the fabric line. “Brioche and Baguette” is the name of the pattern. The pieces are fairly big, the seams are straight, there are no corners or points to match—all wins for my current bad eyesight.

As I quilted in wavy lines, I thought about Sally’s favorite books when she was a child, the Mother Westwind stories with the Merry Little Breezes. The wavy lines are the Little Breezes. If the Mother Westwind books were Sally’s favorites, and the Harry Potter series was David’s favorite, what will be Baby Quinn’s favorites? The popularity of children’s books changes rapidly. I can only imagine the progression in children’s literature.

• 39 3/4" x 58"  Crib size
• Quilting: Quilted in shallow wavy lines, similar to modern quilt all squares and sashing that I recently saw in a quilting magazine. Used cream-colored 100% polyester thread (Omni from Superior Threads-named "Cream"). Free form quilting. 5 bobbins. Quilting by Patty.
• Backing: Tan, neutral-colored print from a fabric.com sale of wide cotton for quilt backs
• Batting: 80% cotton/20% polyester Winline “Comfort Blend”
• Binding:  Black print cotton from the kit
• Pattern: “Brioche and Baguette” from the Connecting Threads kit.
• Piecing by Patty
• Pinned into frame January 22, 2020. Quilting on long arm quilter January 24-29, 2020. (Patty). 
• Binding by Patty. 
• QC by Spencer.

THE HEDGEHOGS

Nap Time, Quinn at 4 months