4/30/2014

T-Shirt Quilt Done




I was asked to make a T-shirt quilt for a young lady who is graduating in May. To save a bit of time and expense, I decided to try a new technique. 


I cut the back and front of each shirt the size needed. I cut pieces of batting 1/2 inch smaller all around than the shirt measurements and sandwiched it between the shirt front and back. I was able to quilt each shirt block separately. This way there was no need to buy backing fabric or send the quilt to a longarm quilter.


I sewed the shirt blocks in rows, back sides together with a half-inch seam. This gave me the ability to clip the seam allowances on the front of the quilt in the "ragged style" that is used many times with flannels quilts.


It was a quick method. I have not found, during my many years of sewing, that T-shirts fray apart

Scout likes the quilt. I wonder how the grad will like her quilt.

Four in Art Theme Challenges revealed tomorrow. 

Four in Art Quilt Group

I am preparing my blog for tomorrow's reveal of the Four in Art Urban Theme Challenge. The focus for this reveal was Landmark. Do come visit tomorrow and see how I executed my 12" x 12" quilt. And then visit the other 7 Four in Art quilters for their interpretations. 

4/22/2014

LInking up at Val's Today

Val's Quilting Studio


Tuesday Archives at Val's has many bloggers linking to the quilting blog topic of the day. 
I am joining in the Borders link today. The other topic is Birthdays. 

I don't have a past blog related to borders, so I am writing about some of my quilt borders today. 


Some books on Modern Quilting discuss no borders, which are great for many quilts. I made a quilt about 10 years ago with no borders (although, I imagine the binding could be considered a border). I was inspired by a pattern in an old book I got off the quilt guild FREEBIE table. I made it a bit more colorful and used my own technique. I called it slice "em up. I was surpirsed and delighted when an older lady bought this (at my table at a church craft sale) for her grand-daughter who was expecting--the grand-daughter had been one of my kindergarten students many years before!



Sometimes items just don't look finished without a border--like this table runner I designed for a quilting class. It needed something to contain it, therefore, the border.


This king sized bed quilt was just too small for the bed. This was a Merry Mayhem Mystery one New Year's Day, designed as a twin quilt. I added as many of the main blocks as I had fabric for, but didn't have enough. Thus, I added an inner border and the large panels of light fabric. It is now being used by my daughter in her apartment.


I really like quilts where the borders are an extension of the main part of the quilt in someway. Here I added applique hearts that went into the borders. This is my pattern, Love You, available at PatternSpot.com

Another quilt I designed has hearts as the border. I wanted it to have the appearance of a postage stamp.


The final quilt I will show today needed a border to square it up a bit. The strips were free form cut curves and without the border and the star appliques it would have been totally boring. I donated the finished quilt as a Quilt of Valor.


Let me know: Do you prefer borders, no borders, or some of both?
I can't wait to see what other bloggers have to show on the topic of borders. Join me as I head over to Val's to see the links. Vals' Quilting Studio HERE!

4/17/2014

Pincushion Exchange Update and Repurposing Finds

Before I say anything more, Thank you everyone who took on the EQ Photo Fun Blog Hop this past week. Those who commented sounded excited about all the new things they learned with plans to try some of the ideas in future projects. Thank you Carol of Fun Threads Designs and EQ for organizing and sponsoring the blog hop. If you did not see all the EQ fun that can be had with photos, start with my blog HERE and find out what it was all about. 


And the winner of our give away from the Photo Fun Blog Hop is
Connie from Freemotion by the River blog
Electric Quilt Co. will be sending her a package of Inkjet Fabric and a copy of Digital Essentials by Gloria Hansen.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
PINCUSHIONS
I wanted to post photos of the two latest pincushions in the exchange that Bea organized. You can checkout all the wonderful pincushions that have been made for all of her exchanges HERE

I got this lovely woven and beaded pincushion, with its matching attachable flower pincushion, from Wanda last week. I am not sure where I will attach the little one, but I like the idea of having tiny one somewhere that I don't use lots of pins. Thanks, Wanda.

Karyn got the bunny I sent her. I think she really liked it. These are her words: "OMG OMG OMG! I got your pincushion..... she is too sweet to use! I LOVE HER!" I do hope you let her hold some of your pins, Karyn. 

REPURPOSING

So, now, about my repurposing finds. Today I delivered some of my clothes from 2 years ago to Love, INC (In the Name of Christ) - a resale store where the proceeds help people in need. They had men's and women's clothing marked $1 today only. Well, I am having such a fun time making these bunnies, that I thought I would look for some wool items. And this is what I found:  

There is enough wool in these coats to keep the bunnies multiplying for a long time! I think I will use some of it in combination with my other wools in a purse and maybe a hat or two.



I found one spring dress that fits me well. It is long, so I will need to rework the length.


I found two denim outfits in that longer style. I plan to make the long dress into a shirt, adding some details-perhaps with my embroidery machine and EQStitch! The bottom of the dress could be used for a purse or added to my other denim for a picnic quilt I have been thinking of lately. The other outfit needs a bit of shaping, and shortening. I thought it could be used in the quilt and the buttons themselves are worth the $1 spent.





This linen dress will become a top. I am going to use the zebras in the lower portion as fussy cuts for a quilt.  And the ties, perhaps a belt or some flowers.

Have you repurposed items lately? What did you do? I would love to hear about some other ways to repurpose some of these items of mine.






4/15/2014

EQ7 Photo Fun Blog Hop

Today is my day!

I want to thank Carol of Fun Threads for organizing this blog hop. And EQ for sponsoring the blog hop. 

I hope you will try this technique in a project. I have put together a tutorial (somewhat long, but very concise) on how I use my own photos to create kaleidoscope blocks which can be printed on photo fabric. I personally like the EQ Cotton Lawn fabric for my photo fabric use. 

There is a giveaway that all the blog hoppers can enter. More details about that are at the end of this blog. 

Let's Get Started! Use your photos to create Photo Kaleidoscopes for a quilt. 



First, decide on a photo (or more when you get the hang of this) that you have taken. This photo, from a trip I took, is the one I chose.


Select the Easy Draw Block choice. Click the EasyDraw (red arrow) button in the box of choices. (Notice, the EasyDraw tab at the bottom of the screen is highlighted, too.)



This will be a kaleidoscope block with 8 sections. Search for this block in the Block Library as shown below (shaded gray in drop down box).


In the Block Libraries, click "Search" at the bottom of the box (red circle). I choose to search by Notecard (not shown in pic.)  Type in kaleidoscope in the open box (red arrow). Then click on the "Search" button (red star).


The EQ search says there are 8 kaleidoscope blocks to choose from. Click the "OK" button.


I chose the one circled in red and added it to the Sketchbook by clicking the Add to Sketchbook button below and to the right of the red circle. Click the "Close" button. 


Adding the photo to the Fabric Library will allow me to rotate the photo in each of the 8 sections of the kaleidoscope. Select "Libraries" at the top of the screen and choose "Fabric Libraries." Then the Fabric Libraries window (shown below) pops up. Near the bottom click "Import">From Image Files..." 


and search for the photo you want.Select the photo and Open it. 


Click on the box that appears so it is highlighted in blue(even though you won't see the entire photo--mine looks green in the pic below). Click "Add to Sketchbook" then "Close" the window and you are ready to get started. 


Keep at it, now the magic begins!

I will assume you know how to do these steps: 
Select a New Quilt>Horizontal.
From Layout Tab, select 1 block horizontal and 1 block vertical. 
Select NO borders right now. 

Select "Set Block" tool and highlight and set block on quilt:


Select "Paintbrush" tool and scroll to the last fabricin the selection. This should be the photo you added to the Fabric Library. 
Click in each section of the kaleidoscope block (but not the 4 corners)so the fabric is set in each section. The fabric will look like one complete part of the photo (like a puzzle put together). 


OK, this is what you have been waiting for!

You might have to add a few tools to your toolbar. Specifically the Fussy Cut tool and the Rotate Fabric tool. (Circled in red below.) If they are not visible,you will have to select the Add/Remove Buttons... to do this, but it is easy. And check these two tools so they appear on the toolbar. 


Click the Rotate Fabric Button and you will select "Advanced." I leave the Starting angle for first rotation at 0 and the Number of rotations I select is 8 (since there are 8 sections to the block). Later on you can try different blocks with different numbers of sections to fill. 


I start at the top and click on that section once. The fabric will shift in some way. Then go clockwise to the adjoining section and click 2 times (I find I have to click once, pause, and click the 2nd time) so the fabric shifts twice. Move clockwise to the 3rd adjoining section and click 3 times (again, once, pause, again, pause and finally a 3rd time). The fabric should move 3 different times. Continue clockwise around the sections so you are changing the fabrics in the sections 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 times. 

Do you see how the fabric below has been arranged differently from the photo above? 


Fussy Cutting is the next step. Click the Fussy Cut tool. I use the Fussy Cut tool to get the SAME part of the fabric in EACH of the sections for the kaleidoscope. 
I hope EQ does not mind me taking a quote right from the EQ Help in the program:


"The Fussy Cut Tool"


The Fussy Cut tool allows you to move a fabric print around in a patch to better place the print image. This works best using fabrics with large objects, florals and stripes.
The Fussy Cut tool is only available on Layers 1 and 2.

Using the Fussy Cut Tool:

  1. Click and hold the mouse on the fabric in your quilt or block.
  2. Drag your mouse to make the fabric move in the patch.
  3. When you've found the best location for the fabric, release the mouse.
  4. Click Add to Sketchbook to save the quilt and to save the block as a new coloring."
And "To nudge the fabric in small increments, use your keyboard arrow keys to move the fabric in the patch."

I have found that this is sometimes a trial and error event. Don't get discouraged. Sometimes the print in one of the sections just does not want to line up in the same manner as the other sections. So I choose some other portion of the fabrics to focus on and change all the sections by that little bit. 

I select some coordinating fabric for the 4 corner sections so the photo design and the corners seen as one. Keep the block within the 8" x 8" size and you can print it right from the EQ program to your photo fabric sheeets and sew them into a quilt. (This is why I do not add borders.) 

Here are a few blocks I designed by saving one design and using the fussy cut tool to reposition the photo elements and saving the next design, etc. These were all made with the ONE photo I put into the Fabric Library.






THANK YOU for following along with this long tutorial. I encourage you to try the technique. You can add all the blocks into a quilt in EQ, add sashings, borders and get a great idea. 

Feel free to send me a jpg of one of your designs. I would like to see what you have done. 

Be sure to visit all the other blogs on this hop.

April 14th
Beaquilter - beaquilter.com
Seams to be Sew - seamstobesew.com

April 15th
Patchwork Breeze - patchworkbreeze.blogspot.com

April 16th
Sew Incredibly Crazy - sewincrediblycrazy.blogspot.com

Now for the giveaway. 
Below is the Rafflecopter. Follow the directions given and you will be entered in the giveaway. Good Luck. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

4/14/2014

Sometimes things just get away from us. . .

If it wasn't for the email I got today, I would have forgotten that the EQ Photo Fun Blog Hop started today! 
I prepared my blog a few weeks ago and have it scheduled to automatically post after midnight tonight (EST).  But gosh, I sure didn't want to miss the blogs for today. It was the email that reminded me and I am glad. The three ladies did such a great job. Each of them has something different and I learned some new things to add to my EQ repertoire.

If you haven't visited them, do it now so you can get started on some new projects very soon. There is a giveaway from EQ. Comment on each of the sites and you have more chances to win.  Hope to have you all come back tomorrow to my blog. 

April 14th
April 15th
April 16th
and EQ

4/05/2014

Wof B Block

WOB
I finished the Welcoming Hand block last night. I think I may have gone a bit overboard on the coloring. Maybe I should have kept it simple with 3 colors. But I like the block. 



I also made 5 more microwave cozies which include eyeglasses, fish and Noah's Ark. 



Quilt Shoppe classes include the Mug Rug Social and Free Motion and Line Quilting. Looking forward to the day. 

What are you doing today? Any quilting in your plans?




4/04/2014

Newest Pattern Released

It's ready! 
The pattern I designed for Cut Loose Patterns is available now for purchase from your local quilt shops.


It is 2 patterns in one!
Yes, 2 quilts can be made from the fabrics used with almost NO waste.
Start with a layer cake and a few extra pieces of fabric. 
(Or use your fabric yardage cut into 10" squares.)
It is an easy quilt to make.
But don't stop there! 

Here is the main pattern which my longarm quilter named. 
Change it up a bit by substituting other materials such as
photos on fabric, childrens' art work or handprints,
signatures, redwork or embroidery, why even t-shirts would work!
Why not put BFF at the bottom and have photos of the best friends in the branches? 
How about a growth quilt?
There are "tree-mendous possibilities" from this one pattern. 


And, below, is the second quilt that can be made 
with the leftovers plus another fabric cut.




Let me know how you would use this pattern.  Do you have a special fabric, special occasion, or specific place to use one or both of the patterns? 

Ask for this Cut Loose Pattern at your local quilt store.

I want to leave a special thank you to my longarm quilter, Michelle Fialek, who does such a wonderful job of finishing my quilts. We complement each other in this process. I appreciate her great skill. Thank you, Michelle. 



4/03/2014

Fabric Strip Exchange Project



A few weeks ago I posted a photo of the fabric strips (below) I had sewn together for the Edyta Sitar type exchange.



I received 5 strip sets in return. I wondered what I could do with them. I thought a pillow would not be too difficult. I am pleased with the results.


The strip set measured 18-1/2" x WOF. I cut it in half and squared up the two pieces to 18-1/2" x 18-1/2". (Well, yes that is what squared up means.) I then cut the pieces diagonally from both sets of opposite corners. I sewed 4 of the pieces together to get this configuration. 

I added a back which was two pieces cut 13" x 18-1/2". I hemmed one 18-1/2" edge on both pieces and these became the overlapping center opening. The other sides were pinned to fit the square front, right sides together. I sewed all the edge seams, curving around the corners so they would not be like pointed horns when turned right sides out. 

And now there is a new pillow for the chair! 

Here is the layout for the other set of triangles that came from cutting this strip set. 


I think I will use the other strip sets to make a Chinese Coin Quilt. 

FABRIC LANDSCAPE PANELS COMPLETED

Miriam and I finished stapling the fabric panels to the wooden frames. Here is what the finished piece looks like. 


I kept a bit of the floor lamp and rug in the photo to give you an idea of the size. Each panel is 51" high and the center one is 40" wide. The other two are 35" wide. We will have 2" between each panel when it is hung. 

EQ Photo Fun Blog Hop

Mark April 14-16 to check out the exciting projects and tutorials for using photos in EQ. 


4/01/2014

Linked with Beaquilter

I worked on three large artistic fabric landscape panels with a friend today. It is to be hung in the church. We have another day of finishing. We have worked within our conflicting schedules as best as we could for the past 6 months or so. Our stitching, construction, etc. is nearing an end. 

A little glimpse for you: 


We are still working on the fisherman and need to staple the panels to the frames, but they are very nice. And, of course, the photo does not do justice to the true colors.


LINKY!

I was able to look at Bea's blog before dinner and found she has an EQ Tuesday Tutorial working with AccuQuilt Go! dies (hexagon and equilateral triangle). I saw she had a linky and thought I should try to make a quilt in EQ following her lesson and link with her. 

So here is what I came up with:


While it is somewhat small and only two colors, I did learn something new. Since I have not used the One Patch Layout before, I learned that when selecting the Open Patch Quilt from the drop down menu, the quilt defaults to the Hexagons. The choice of patch style is chosen in the box that appears after clicking the Layout Tab at the bottom of the screen. Oh, how easy that was, once I figured it out! 


Thank you, Bea, for the link and thus the learning I just did!

EQ Photo Fun Blog Hop Coming SOON!
It starts April 14, ends April 16, and my post day is April 15. I have a tutorial you won't want to miss. Looking forward to your visit.