Denim Quilt Finish

 Mr. Podunk's camping quilt is finished.  He's one happy camper!  The denim and flannel in this quilt were cut from old jeans and flannel shirts collected over the last 2 to 3 years.  A big thank you to the extended family who donated old clothing destined for the trash or thrift shops.

This girl is heavy and should keep him nice and warm this winter on his hunting trips.  The squares were cut at five inches so they finish in the quilt at 4.5 inches.  The quilt measures about 67 x 90.

When cutting the jeans I chose to use the imperfections such as holes and bleached spots.  This gives the quilt a little character.  Some of the back pockets were removed in order to use more of the denim.  This also added a little more visual interest. 

For the first time in many years I did not use 100% poly batting.  I wanted 100% cotton batting but Hobby Lobby only had Hobbs 80/20, so 80/20 it is!  A blue wide backing from Hobby Lobby for the back.  To finish her off I pulled an old blue homespun plaid from the stash for the binding.  

Working with denim and flannel isn't hard but it definitely requires a little more patience.  I broke a needle while piecing the rows together.  Then came the shredding of thread due to a bad spool of thread.  The Coats and Clark quilting cotton spool was tossed in the trash after about the third shred and break.  The piecing and quilting was finished with Guterman serger thread and I had no shreds or breaks.  But when I put this girl on the frame, my old quilter decided to literally fall apart.  I made 3 quilting lines, well 2 and half, when the thread guide fell off.  

How this didn't break the needle was pure luck.

It took about an hour to remove a few parts and reattach the thread guide.  After this it was smooth sailing.  No more problems, the quilt was quilted and bound by the end of the day.  

Until next time...

I hope you find the time to stitch up something sweet!

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New Camping Quilt and Shipping Quilts

 The Halloween quilts and pillows are on their way to the grandkids.  Finding a box large enough was impossible.  So I had to split it up into two boxes.  The four quilts and three pillows were stuffed into large vacuum bags and I used the vacuum cleaner to suck out the air.  Of course granny added a few fall themed treats and goodies.  

Now it's time to start on Mr. Podunk's camping quilt using old blue jeans and men's shirts.  I deboned and cut up the jeans and shirts back in August so this should go together pretty quick.  Just lay out the squares and start stacking.

I'm pretty sure I can make more than one quilt.  This quilt will need 315 squares.

I didn't count all the squares when cutting but it looks like there's more than enough.  Here's the picture I posted back in August when I gave up on counting.

After stacking the squares it was time to lay them out.  I did not plan for it to look uniform.  I don't like the way it looks.  So I asked for Mr. Podunk's opinion, after all he's the one that will be using it. He said he didn't care if I changed it or left it as is, it's just a utility quilt.  Great!  This is staying as is!

Denim fabric is notorious for breaking needles.  Let's hope all goes well because I only have two heavy duty needles on hand.  One in the machine and one extra.

I'll be using Coats and Clark Quilting thread for the piecing and the quilting.  I haven't used this stuff in years but it is what I used in my first jean quilt 20 yrs ago.  It worked out fine way back then so why not use it again.

Then while sewing together the first two pieces, this happened.  Of course I immediately blamed the cheap Coats and Clark thread.

But as I dug out the tangled thread I noticed the filthy bobbin area.  This might be the issue and not the thread.  I can't remember the last time I cleaned the bobbin area.  I used to be really good about cleaning it out after every project.

Well, looks like I owe Coats and Clark an apology.   The first to rows went together without a hitch after cleaning. 

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

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Forever In Blue Jeans

Done, Finished, Completed, Finally! Shew, cutting up the blue jeans and flannel took much longer than expected.  The song Forever in Blue Jeans kept rolling through my head as I cut and cut and cut.  Yes, Forever working with blue jeans.

Why so long?  Because the five inch die pooped out on me.   It's my fault.  Silly me tried to cut four layers of jeans at one time.  The pressure bent the top blade of the square causing it to no longer cut.  I could buy a new die but it would take about a week for it to get here so the rotary cutter it is.

The die broke somewhere around the 200th square.  I quit counting and starting singing Forever in Blue Jeans somewhere around square 300.  The total amount of squares?  My guess would be 800-900.  I'll worry about counting when it comes time to make the quilt.

The quilt plan is simple, half blue jeans and half flannel.  The finished size will be about 67 x 90.

300 squares total is needed for one quilt.  Looks like I might have enough squares for several quilts.

 Taking the time to stack them neatly was not for the purposes of a pretty picture.  I'm not that crazy, yet.  As much as I would love to start sewing up Mr. Podunk's new quilt, I can't.   These need to be neatly stored away until it's time to make the quilt. 

 

To keep them in plain site and free of dust I put them in small clear trash bags.  Hopefully I can get this one worked into the quilting schedule and finished by hunting season this fall.

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

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