T-shirt Quilt

Finished T-shirt quilt!!!   

This quilt was made for a man that actually graduated with my Mom and Dad.  He has started several fundraisers and charities in our local area.  He was a very well-respected and loved man of the community.  He passed away a few years back, but his memory lives on through his good deeds.

"Mator" is his nickname - and his sister Polly collected the shirts and had this quilt created as a gift. 

 This quilt was pretty big -  about a Double/Full size.  But with the number of shirts I had, I could have made 4 king size quilts!!!  LOL

Here's a closeup of the center of the quilt

If you, or someone you know would like a custom T-shirt quilt, please send me a message via email or facebook!  Detailed price list on my facebook page under "general info" and photos of additional T-shirt Quilts under the album "T-shirt/Clothing quilts"

KatiesQuiltsandCrafts@gmail.com
facebook.com/KatiesQuiltsandCrafts
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And these next few photos are just me taking photos of my babies - being silly ;c)

Small Giveaway - hand dyed "jelly roll"

I would like to share a small bit of my hand dyed fabric with someone.

Here are some photos:

There are about 23 different fabrics gradating from light to dark and blue to red. They are HAND-cut (by myself) into 2.5" strips. The red group of strips are a bit shorter than the blue and they are different lengths. What I'm saying is this is NOT a perfect group of strips, but I would love to see what someone else can do with them.

As you can see by the photos, the dye within each strip will be lighter on one end, and darker on the other. Some will look more solid, and some more dyed/marbled.

Leave a comment on my blog by Friday January 27th telling me what you think you could do with the strips and I'll pick a random winner and mail them out the following Monday.

Giveaway only open to US residents (I'm sorry.)

Please include your email in the comment if you're signing annonymously so I can contact you if you win.

Double Delight UFO progress etc.,

As I mentioned before, I have two "big" projects coming. Both of them are memory quilts (quilts that will utilize inkjet printing on fabric.) I have finished all my current-running projects and didn't want to start anything new or "big" because I knew these two quilts would require my FULL attention and were going to be started very soon.

So as I'm here, twittling my thumbs in a way. I can't start anything new, so I've sorta been FORCED to dig into my UFO pile. . .which everyone knows is a GOOD thing. I knew I would dig these things out ONE day. . and the day has come!!!

UFO #1: String Quilt.

Remember the string blocks we swapped on quiltvilleswap yahoo group? I paired these, with my (now ufo'd) RRCB neutral string blocks and stitched these into an odd top. I say this is odd because there are many more neutral blocks than colored ones. I don't have a photo of this just yet, but will have very soon and will share it ASAP.

UFO #2: Double Delight.

I pulled this baby out today, and this is what I saw.

I was constructing this quilt using the QAYG method (as usual) and since it was on-point it was very INTERESTING to put together... Here you can see that all my blocks were put together in rows, and the sashing already added. All I had to do was put the rows together and the center would be done.

I don't know why I UFOd this in the first place. Yes, I just used UFO as a verb. I was SO CLOSE. So close in fact, that I finished the whole "center" of the quilt in just a couple hours!!

Here's a few more photos of the finished "center" section of the quilt:

Tomorrow, I will wake up, get my coffee, turn on the latest episode of "WEEDS" that I'm watching on netflix, and start on the borders. I had a pile of new fabric in the same bag, so I'm assuming that's what I had already chosen for the borders. Hey, works for me! One less thing I have to think about.

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Last week, I finished another batch of hand-dyes that I was hoping I could use for Sindy of FatCatPatterns.com's BOM "Fiesta"

I made a Flickr Slideshow of all the gradated fabrics and you can view them here.

I only used 4 colors, and did 2, 12-step gradations.

Brown -> Red -> Ecru

Brown -> Blue -> Ecru

I used procion mx dyes by jacquard and the actual colors are called "Carmine red" and "MEdium Blue" just in case you were wondering.

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One more thing!!!

I'm SUPER excited about the upcoming quiltvilleswap yahoo group CIVIL WAR swap!!!

FatQuarterShop had a sale of the eXACT fabrics I was eyeballing at the eXACT time I was wanting them!!!! So I bought a yard of each so I could have about a 1/2 yard of "leftovers" for me ;c) The other 1/2 yard I cut up into 2.5" by half WOF strips to swap. I took some photos of them just because I think they're so awesome. . . .

Look at all the squishies!!!!!!!

Art---> Quilt---->Tote

A while back, my sweet friend Tamara, did me a huge favor by giving me her old blackberry cellphone. I go through many phones and the one she gave me has lasted longer than any other.

I wanted a way to thank her for her generosity.

Tamara is quite the artist, and one day she posted this photo on facebook:

Isn't it beautiful?? I told her that one day I would make it into a quilt....well, a quilted TOTE actually ;c)

Here is my interpretation of her piece of art, and the resulting quilted tote.

Here's a step-by-step:

Leaves and STems

adding flowers

Adding Birds

Basting

outline quilting/ raw-edge applique

Quilting the heart background

Quilting Paisleys in the tote background

Opposite side of the tote - quilted with paisleys

The "wrong" side of the "quilt" - This orange fabric will be covered up with lining.

Finished Tote!

Back of finished tote

again

Lining/Pockets

Tamara's ARtwork once again

My interpretation - can you see the little beaded embellishments? I used beads as the flower stamens, and eyes of the birds!

Cheap and Easy and YUMMY Chili (for 2)

It has been a cool 70 degrees today, and around 50 degrees in the evenings here in South Eastern West Virginia. Weather like this makes me crave for Fall, and everything that comes with the Fall Season. I love a good, thick, spicy chili on cool evenings. This recipe is super fast and easy and can be whipped up in less than 1/2 an hour. It is also delicious, and to me, it tastes better than all those fancy chilis that cook all day and have 100 ingredients.

Needed:

*1 package McCormick's chili seasoning (I like the HOT, but it IS HOT)

*1 lb Lean Ground Beef

*2 -15oz cans tomato sauce (or undrained crushed tomatoes)

*1 can kidney beans drained

*1 small onion - chopped

*1 bell pepper - chopped

1. In a large saucepan brown the beef adding the onions and peppers while cooking.

2. When beef is browned and veggies soft, add the dry McCormick's seasoning packet and stir.

3. Cook for 1 minute and then add both cans of tomato sauce.

4. Add kidney beans and cook for 5 minutes, or until hot.

5. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and/or crackers!

Makes 4 small bowls or 2 large bowls.

Rachel's Tee-Shirt Quilt

I finished my sample tee-shirt quilt for the class I will be hopefully teaching very soon.

My dear friend-of-the-family Rachel was kind enough to let me use HER tee-shirts as a sample for class. She will of course receive her finished quilt AFTER the class has been completed ;c)

She had a very nice mix of tee's - alot of color! I think every tee-shirt quilt should have at least ONE tie-dye ;c)

So here it is:

This is the front/top of the quilt.

For the back I pieced together some pretty Amy Butler Teal-colored fabrics.

Closeup of one of the "blocks" -

Closeup of the tie-dyed block -

Closeup of another one of the blocks -

I call this style of tee-shirt quilt "tetris" style. which means it does NOT use uniform-sized blocks and it does NOT use sashing.

If I get enough interest, I might offer a tutorial on how to do this . . but not until AFTER the class is over... ;c)

The tutorial for how to prepare your tee-shirts for a tee-shirt quilt can be found HERE.

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What else am I working on??? My friend JRB has put me to "work" making some beautiful totes as seen HERE. Of course I can't consider this "WORK" at all because I absolutely LOVE it!!

Also on my TODO list - I'm making a quilt as a secret gift for a friend of mine and his wife but I can't say much about that at this point ;c) TOP SECRET.

One other project that is in the works right now is "Lucia's Memory Quilt" I am making a snowball signature quilt for a lady who is adopting a daughter from Mexico. She is raising funds for the adoption fees and this quilt is one way we can help. There are several sponsorship levels and options. You can choose to just have your signature in one block, a Bible verse, or even a PHOTO. If you would like to be a part of this very special project you can go see Tracy on her blog HERE.

Preparing Shirts for Tee Shirt Quilt

Here is a small photo tutorial on how to prepare your tee-shirts for a tee-shirt quilt.

I am in the process of making a tee-shirt quilt class available and want for my students to be able to finish the whole quilt IN CLASS. In order for us to finish the whole quilt, you will have to do your fusing at home. This is not a difficult process at all, just time consuming.

What you will need:

*1 bolt of of Pellon Fusible Stabilizer (Available at Jo-Ann's for $9.99 - look for a coupon)
Pellon Interfacing Lightweight Fusible 40 YD BOLT White

*Tee-Shirts

*Scissors

*Iron

*Spray bottle with water

*1 yard of cotton quilting fabric (you can just use a scrap piece, this is just to protect your iron)

*An Ironing board or several towels to protect your ironing surface

~~Click on any of the photos below to view them larger~~~

**Make sure to wash all of your tee shirts thoroughly with hot water especially if they are new. Do not add any fabric softener or spray starch.**

Cutting the Shirts:

1. Lay out your Tee, and smooth it out.

2. Make a small slit in the armpit of one of the sleeves.

3. Stick your scissors in the slit and begin cutting - cut just INSIDE the seam until you have the whole arm part completely cut off.

4. Here you can see where the seam is cutoff WITH the arm piece of the tee.

5. Repeat this step for the other Arm piece - your tee should now look like this:

6. Pick up your shirt like this, you will now be cutting the shirt along the shoulder seam

7. Cut along Both shoulder seams, it doesn't matter which side the seam is on - you can even cut those off if you wish.

8. Carefully fold your shirt in half lengthwise to find the side seam. If there is no side seam try to just eyeball it.

9. Cut along the side seam and repeat for the opposite side.

Fusing the Shirts:

~~You will only be using the side of the shirt that has a logo on it. Sometimes there will be a logo on the front AND back, in that case you will fuse BOTH sides. ~~

1. Lay out one of your tee shirts, Right-side down, WRONG side facing you. Smooth out your shirt with your hands.

2. Get out any wrinkles by PRESSING with your iron on medium-high heat.

***You will not be IRONING at all, what you are going to be doing is PRESSING. Start in the center of your shirt and press down slightly with your iron. Press for a few seconds and then pick your iron all the way up, and lay it down next to the indention you just left. You will be able to see the indention the iron made previously, and so you will be able to see where you have already pressed and what has NOT been pressed. Please try to avoid ironing, (sliding the iron back and forth over your tee shirt) we are working with knits which are easily stretched. Once the woven stabilizer is fused, it will keep the tee shirt from stretching. If the shirt is already stretched when the stabilizer is fused, it will be stretched permanently. . . which is not a good look! ;c)

3. Place the stabilizer *rough* side down on your tee shirt. Cut the stabilizer to fit just inside your tee-shirt, because you don't want any fusible on your ironing surface ;c)

4. Spray a generous amount of water over top of the stabilizer. You want it damp but not soaking wet. Remember that if it doesn't stick the first time, you can just go over it again.

5. Lay a piece of cotton quilting fabric over top of your work, wrong side down. Press your fabric like in step 2 above. This time you will want to use medium-high heat, and press each section for at least 5 seconds.

6. Now your piece should be nice and smooth and look a little something like this:

*BTW, you can use scraps of stabilizer if your piece doesn't fit the whole shirt. Just overlap the scraps just a bit, and it will be just fine.

7. Check all corners of your stabilizer to make sure they are all thoroughly fused. Pull gently on the stabilizer - if it comes off easily like this - then you need to re-fuse. Spray a little water, cover and press again.

8. If your stabilizer doesn't come off - or tries to shred like this - you are finished.

If you have any questions - feel free to email me - or ask in the comments section, I will respond ASAP.