The long quilt journey(Connie's shirt quilts)

Over the last few weeks my quilt focus has been on this UFO.   Finally it's complete.    What a journey it has been from the word go.  I've been stealing a few minutes here and there to get it quilted.  It took about 4 weeks once on the frame.  The quilting design was kept simple.  You can read more about how I went about making my decision for the quilting here.

 I hope Connie loves it as much as I do. That's Connie below.  She was so proud of her new quilty adventure.

Connie had a vision for this quilt when she saw an origami shirt quilt pattern in our local quilt shop.   The pattern for the shirt blocks can be purchased here.  

We worked together folding and temporally attaching the little shirts to the background fabric.  The plan was for a simple on point quilt alternating the shirt block with a solid blue alternating block.  She quickly ran out of steam while making these blocks.  So I offered to finish the quilt for her.  After getting her finished blocks and a bag full of her husbands shirts to my Studio the quilt stare began.  There was great potential hiding in that bag of shirts... I just couldn't stay with her quilt plan.  So I asked if she minded me working a little quilt magic on her blocks.  Of course she gave me the go ahead.  All the but the background fabric is her late husbands shirts.  I designed the applique wreath and basket blocks for a separate quilt but after months(years) of trial and error it became clear to me to use them with the shirt blocks.

 Many quilters think you can only use one type of applique on a quilt.  Not true.  There's 3 different types of applique on this quilt.  The shirt blocks are hand stitched applique.  The baskets are freezer paper applique, edges turned with an iron, invisible machine applique.  You can see how I use freezer paper to make applique here.  And the letters are fusible raw edge applique.

This quilt barely made a dent in the bag of shirts.  It would be a shame to let them go to waste.  Why not make a few quick cuddly quilts.  The quilt below I love just as much as the Heirloom above.  It's so soft and cuddly and looks sorta patriotic.  Since my time is limited and I wanted a quick finish, the decision was made to tie the last two quilts.  Have you ever tied a quilt?  Oh my goodness it's so quick and easy.  It gave the quilt a vintage feel.  I may need to make one of these for my couch.  A tip for tying quilts is thin soft yarn or embroidery thread to make the actual ties.  I used baby yarn, it was super soft and thinner than normal yarn.  I tried using plain ole red heart yarn and I couldn't pull it through all the layers. 

Here's the last picture before packing up the quilts to be shipped.  Hand delivering them would be ideal but at this time it's just not possible.  She only lives about 30 minutes away, so I bet I'll be able to hear her squeal when she opens the box!...LOL!

Before I go I wanted to tell you about a challenge on Instagram hosted by Sherri Lynn Wood.  It's called the make do quilt challenge, #makedoquiltchallenge  it's all about using what you have to make a quilt, recycling and upcycling.   You can read more about this challenge here.

~ Lea Anne ~

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The making of an Heirloom

Every quilt I make has a special meaning to me.  I've often talked about this here on the blog.  My quilting designs are inspired by the world around me, good and bad.  Every quilt has a story to tell.  So when someone asks me to make quilt just for them... it can be quite the challenge.  This quilting project has been years in the making.  It's shameful that its taken so long but that's my process.  I need to be inspired.  And if it takes years then that's what it takes.   The quilt below you've seen many times over the last couple of years.  It's the third quilt I've made using men's shirts.  If your interested in reading more about them you can use the search tool in the sidebar, search Connie's shirt quilt.  It will bring up a list at the top of the blog of many posts.

A little history on this quilt before continuing.  My friend Connie made the shirt quilt blocks.  I was asked to put them into a quilt.  I wanted it special she would be happy with anything.   The center applique is my own design, representing their marriage. And the baskets, one for each member of her family.

When quilting for someone else you need to know what they want.  Well Connie gave me quilt design and quilting freedom.  You would think that would make my job easy.  NOPE.  What she really was saying is " We're friends you should know what I like".  And I think do.  She's a simple down to earth kinda gal.  The little things in life make her the happiest.  So here's what I took into consideration when designing and quilting this quilt.    

1. She's not a quilter
2. She may want to cuddle with this quilt to comfort her missing her husband
3. This quilt will become a family heirloom

Now I need to translate those 3 facts into a quilting design.

1. Not everyone likes heavy quilting, especially non quilters
2. Quilted to death doesn't cuddle and she may use it as comfort when missing her late husband
3. Pantographs and all over quilting designs don't make nice heirloom quilts.

Several design ideas and about 3 days later a design was finally marked on the quilt top.

You would think straight lines would be easy but when the fabric shifts....things won't line up!  UGGG!  Well all that's over and I'm super excited about the design and that I'm finally nearing the end of this project. Delivering these quilts to Connie will be an exciting and emotional day.

 Here's the other two quilts made with the shirts.  Both were quilted super simple. My thoughts when quilting them is they could be used as everyday couch quilts or gifts to her children.  No need for fancy quilting if it's a utility quilt.    I'll be doing machine binding on the two below and hand binding the quilt above.

So you know I love to hear feedback from my followers so here's my questions for you.  

1. When making a quilt for others do you consider their likes and dislikes or do you just pick fabrics you like and quilt what suits you.
2. Do your quilts reflect emotion?  Example...when I'm sad I tend to add more browns and blacks to my quilts.  When I'm overwhelmed by daily chores my quilt designs are simple patterns such as charm quilts with simple quilting.

Happy Stitching!

~ Lea Anne ~

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Change is good

 Earlier in the month I said I wasn't going to change anything about Connie's "Main" quilt.  Ehhh....what can I say...I'm fickle.  As you can see below I changed the white flowers to blue.  This applique was originally on a brown background fabric that looked like chocolate milk....ewwww...yuk.  When I switched to the lighter background my little flowers wilted away into the background.  Connie would have love it, even with the wilted flowers, but this only took about an hour to fix.

BEFORE....................................AND....................................AFTER

All that's left is to stitch the lettering in place.  The baskets and wreath applique were made using freezer paper and turning the edges under before glue basting them to the quilt.   Invisible machine applique using Superior Threads Mono-Poly thread made this process much quicker.  The lettering is raw edge using Heat -n- Bond Lite.  Normally I wouldn't use two different types of applique on one quilt but with my rush to get these quilts finished it's a must.  My thoughts on adding more applique were just that...thoughts.  I'm ready to call this one done.  One more afternoon of sewing and she'll be ready for the "Quilt it" pile.

The wreath was designed special for Connie.  But I'm thinking I might eventually make a wall hanging or design entire quilt around this one center block.  It's the little blue birds that keep drawing me in.  Even with the hard to work with shirt fabrics they are just adorable.

A quick note about yesterdays First Kiss Quilt tutorial.  If you read it early in the day and saved the PDF you'll need to go back and do it again.  I realized after publishing that some of my measurements were wrong.  It's fixed on the blog and in the PDF.  Thanks for you patience and understanding.  

~  Lea Anne ~

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#2 Quilt top finish, Connie's Quilts

Shake it, Shake it!  Yes mam' that's my happy dance.  Tickled pink doesn't even begin to describe how I feel this morning after getting the final borders on this quilt.  All the fabrics except the blue inner border are men's shirts.

 Stealing a few minutes here and there to get this one together quickly really paid off.  I've always said with each quilt I learn something new.  This quilt was no exception.  The lesson was ...cut BIG pieces.  The bigger pieces made the quilt go together quickly and it actually makes it look less busy.  Now I've heard Bonnie Hunter say "If you think a fabric is ugly you just haven't cut it small enough."  Not true in this case.  Cutting smaller only  makes these uglier and very busy to the eye.  Don't get me wrong, I love Bonnie and her quilts, but her rule of thumb didn't work out on this one.

 The little pups were so much fun to put together.  

 As I stitched them down I sang an old song...."How much is that doggie in the window?  The one with the waggily tail?" 

I'm still humming it this morning as I race around preparing for an afternoon of more applique. 

Here's whats left of Connie's husbands shirts and fabric she wanted worked into the quilts.  Not sure I can make 3 more quilts from them but I'm going to give it my best shot.  The goal is 6 quilts, lightly quilted by March 1, that's Connie's Birthday.  In order to meet my goal I'm planning on taking my sewing machine along with me while I care for mom.  Being away from home for about 12 hrs a day, 4-5 days a week doesn't leave much time for sewing after doing the cooking and cleaning.  

 Today's plan is to start stitching down the applique for the "Main" quilt.  

If you missed my previous posts, the quilt below is Connie's quilt (the main quilt, with her origami shirt blocks).  All the other quilts made from the shirts are for her 4 children and a grand daughter that she's raising.

Wish me luck, cheer me on and if you live near by, get over here and bring your sewing machine and chocolate!  ....LOL!

~ Lea Anne ~

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Puppy Bow

 Happy Monday morning!  My little puppy quilt is almost complete.  Instead of sharing my quilt top progress today I decided to share how I made the bows for this cute little free Westie quilt block.

My original plan was to hand draw the bow and make applique templates.  Well doesn't that sound like a lot of work?!  Why not just sew a real bow to the block?  Sounds soooo much easier.  

Now remember the fabrics in these blocks are all old shirts.  So I can't tell you how long to cut your pieces, but I can tell you how long to sub cut them.  You'll need one strip that is 1.5" wide by at least 5" long.  And one piece that is cut 1" wide and at least 1.75" long.  On the 1.5" piece, press a quarter inch seam on both long sides.  On the 1" wide piece press the long edges towards the center.  Stitch down both sides of the 1.5" strip after turning the edges.  Sub cut the 1.5" strip into 5" lengths.  Cut the 1" inch wide piece into 1.75" lengths.  This might make more sense if you look at the pictures below.

Okay now that everything is pressed, stitched and cut let's add a few drops of applique glue(washable school glue works too!)  I use these handy close pins to hold them while they dry.  Now would be a good time to have a chocolate and pet some pretty fabrics in the stash.

Or in my case look for my camera tripod....it's still lost.  So lets improvise...cloths pins for fingers.  A picture is a 1,000 words so I'm going let the next group of pictures speak for themselves.

The only reason the pin is in the first picture below is because I needed my hands to take the picture.  You gals understand that you can add the glue without pinning.  Again I used cloths pins to hold it tight.  Or you could use your iron on Medium heat to set the glue.  I let mine dry with cloths pins while I caught up on some wifely chores.

Now that they're dry we can attach them to the cute little puppy using a medium heat setting.

Since the red shirt fabric was kinda thick I also pressed from the backside just to make sure it was good and dry.

It's really hard to see my invisible stitching....hence the name INVISIBLE.   The red dashed line below shows where I stitched.  I wanted the bow to maintain as much "fluffy" as it could and still be secure.

Here's the finished block.   I put the scissors and pencil in the bow just to show where I didn't stitch.

Hope this answered your questions Britney. 

~ Lea Anne ~

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Podunk Pickin's # 19 ~Sew DOG-gone cute~

Did ya'll know I'm a dog lover?  Yes ma'am! And these blocks make me sit pretty and beg for more.    I'm that crazy lady you bump into at the pet shop that asks if she can pet your dog, then 20 minutes later your wishing you had said "NO"  Why?  Because I must pet every dog, love on it, and ask a slew of question about your little fur baby.  I've never met a pooch that didn't make me baby talk until it's owner is totally annoyed.   

Normally a quilt in these dark colors would turn me off,  and quickly become a UFO.  Not this one.  It's so doggone cute!   You can find the template for the FREE dog applique here.    Two free templates are provided.  One large dog and one small.  I'm using the large one for my blocks.   Of course if you need a larger size I'm sure you gals are tech savvy and can figure out to enlarge them.  The bows are my creation and not part of the freebie.  The addition of the little bows took this block over the top.  They  are made with a little stitching and some applique glue, then glued to the 9.5" block and stitched in place.

It's hard to believe that each block is 100% shirt fabrics, even the background.

Here's the quilt layout plan below.  I know it's off balance but it's crunch time.  I'm working with what she gave me ...and at a very fast pace.  It's about memories not perfection.  

Okay that's my Podunk freebie Pick of the week.  You'll want to make sure you come back next Sunday for a new free quilt block design, designed by little ole me.  Here's a hint...You're going to "LOVE" it.

An InLinkz Link-up

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More about the shirts pattern

These little shirts are a hot topic in my email box.  It happens everytime I post pictures of them.  There's been many request for a tutorial.  Well girls, I would if I could.  This is a published pattern.  It's called "Aloha Shirts" By Beyond the Reef.  

It's been a few years since Connie purchased the pattern at a LQS....So...

After a little searching I found the pattern at Aloha Quilt shop, click here to go straight to the pattern. The little buttons were purchased at Joann's a few years ago but I'm sure they still have them. 

Just how big are these blocks? Well they are 9 inches before setting them on point.  My blocks finish at 12 inches.   Now I'd like to tell you they were super easy.  But we had to use the folding instructions for each and every block.  Maybe it was because we were talking and quilting, maybe it's because we're dense.  Whatever the reason I'd definitely make these again even though I found them a bit complicated.

Our quilt is still on the wall collecting dust while I piece the easier quilt patterns from Connie's husbands shirts.

See you tomorrow when I'll resume Podunk Pickin's and hopefully another quilt finished quilt top.

~ Lea Anne ~

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A Flimsy Friday

The decision was made to make the easier of the many quilts first.  If you have no clue what I'm talking about you can read about it here in my previous post.  I've been stealing 5 or 10 minutes, here and there over the last couple of weeks.  It finishes at about 74 x 86.  

After a lot of digging through old picture files I found this hilarious photo of Connie when she first starting making the shirt blocks for the quilt in the previous post.

The next quilt is already in the works.  Being that my time is so crunched and limited I'm opting for easy, and using someone else's pattern.  You can find the Scottie/Westie dog pattern here.  

The cute little doggies are coming along quite quickly. My plan is to use the red shirt fabric below for little red bow dog collars.  Awe...hopefully it will be as cute in real life as my minds eye says it is.

Thanks for stopping by and cheering me on during my quilt crunch month. See you in a few days with another flimsy!  Wish me luck!

  

 ~ Lea Anne ~

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Connie's Quilts...shame on me

Long, long ago a dear friend started making a quilt from her late husbands shirts.  Her progress was slow due to many unfortunate circumstances.  

It took her about 2 years to hand applique all the little shirts.

Her plan was to make several quilts for her and their children from his shirts.  Quite a job for a lady that had never made a quilt.  So after many discussions about how she thought she'd never get the job done I offered to help.  Oh boy did this man have a lot of shirts.

She trusted me to get the job done.  So I started planning for her quilt by drawing up an applique for the center of her quilt.   The plan has changed a little and there's 5 more quilts to make.  Oh boy,  I've got my work cut out for me.  One of the 5 quilts is already cut and ready to be pieced and another is in the designing stage.  Now to come up with a plan for the others. At this point I'm open to suggestions.  Over the next few weeks you'll be seeing more of these quilts.  I'm hoping to make them all before March.  Short deadline, huh?  I think it's doable if I keep the other quilts simply pieced and simply quilted.  Cheerleaders may be required!

  

I manage to get the wreath applique made and glued to the background fabric before losing interest(about 2 years ago)  The original background fabric we chose was way to dark and just not the right color.  This weekend I pulled a better fabric from my stash.  The little white flowers in the wreath kinda blend into the fabric but it staying as is.

I'll be doing invisible machine applique to stitch this down.  It will make this go along much faster.

 My favorite part of the quilt so far is these little love birds and tulips.

 This little basket is so darn cute I might just make a few for myself, in bright colors of course.

Designing quilts for me is more often than not a design as you go process.  The first plan for the shirt blocks was for them to be in a quilt all by themselves.  The quilt top was complete and I hated it, so I took it apart and let my imagination take over.   Now I'm obsessed with making these quilts even though it's WAY out of my comfort zone.  Quite the challenge.  So here's my plan so far.  I want to add their names and the date they were married.  The letters will be raw edge applique, much easier and faster.  She loves yellow and blue, so I'd like to add some more yellow and blue flowers somewhere.  The quilting will be simple because she's not a quilt it to death kinda gal.

Well I better get stitching, the clocks a ticking, wish me luck!

I'm linking up this post.  I've added all the blogs I link to in my blog list in the side bar.  The most current is at the top of the list, just click and go for inspiration galore.

~ Lea Anne ~

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