You Have to Start Somewhere

It's been almost four months since I poked my head in here, and I'm not sure where to begin!

I guess, for starters, I'll tell you about this little quilt I recently finished.  

This wonky log cabin quilt came about as I was sorting scraps into piles on my cutting table after having made a crib quilt for my cousin from thrifted shirts.  She had seen my Ship Shape quilt on Facebook in December when I was offering it and a few others for sale.  My quilt closet was overflowing so I thought I'd try to move a few from my home to someone else's.  

I ended up selling three and generating some commission quilts in the process.  My cousin asked if I could make a baby quilt version of the Ship Shape quilt for her grandson, as well as two other baby quilts for her newest granddaughters.  

Here's how the "Mini-Ship Shape" quilt turned out. It's more like crib quilt size, about 46x55.

(Back side of Mini-Ship Shape; the center creasing is from where it was folded)

Getting back to the wonky log cabin quilt...  As I was saying, I was sorting through the shirt scraps from Mini-Ship Shape when it occurred to me to make some wonky log cabin blocks with the leftovers.  

I started free piecing strips, which I then squared up to 6.5 inches.  Pretty soon I had 16 blocks done, which I arranged on the design board like this.

I took a quick picture and posted it on Facebook where a friend saw it and messaged me to the effect, "Whatever you're making, I'd like to buy it."  What an pleasant surprise!  I told her it was going to be small as I didn't have enough scraps to make a big quilt.  She said that was fine; she wanted it for her young grandson for a picnic quilt.  Okay!

So I made as many blocks as I could from the pile of shirt scraps and put them together with a light gray sashing and border for a little quilt that ended up around 48 inches square.  I think it turned out pretty cute!

My friend said she'd like two more similar size picnic quilts for her granddaughters, done in whatever scrappy style I'd like.  I have one of the tops done and another is currently in the works.  More on those later, too.  I'm making good use of the stash and scraps.  It's been fun!

Linking to:  Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

~Paulette

Ship Shape Finished

The second quilt finished this past weekend is Ship Shape.  Right around a year ago I started this quilt from my stash of thrifted men's shirts.  I had been inspired by a photo in Country Living magazine years earlier, which I had ripped out and saved in a binder. 

I found the free block pattern, Sail Boat Block 2, at Quilter's Cache website.  I modified the cutting instructions so each block would turn out 9-1/2 inches square.  That meant cutting the small HST blocks at 3-7/8 inches and the larger at 6-7/8 inches.

The blocks were then set 7 across x 8 down.  I liked the no-border look of the inspiration piece, so I just bound my quilt in a red and black print from JoAnn.  There is one pale red pinstripe shirt used in the quilt, and the binding brings that out while providing a nice accent for the rest of the shirt fabrics.

Ship Shape was shipped off to Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting for an all over panto called Van Gogh, which I thought looked like swirling ocean waves as much as Starry Night.  Love the effect!

Melissa did a fantastic job, and fast!  I'm sure my backing was a challenge  (and I'm sure that is an understatement).  I was using up a piece of blue and white older fabric in the backing, as well as a strip of large shirt fabric blocks.  The backing was just barely big enough, were I to have quilted it on my domestic machine.  When I decided to send the flimsy out for quilting, I added muslin strips on all sides of the backing so it would be able to be loaded on a longarm.

I knew it was going to be close, but until I trimmed the quilt after it came home and saw that on a couple sides I was shaving off only about an eighth inch of the actual backing, I didn't realize just how close.  I'm sorry, Melissa, for any gray hairs I caused!  I won't do that again, I promise.

Ship Shape was sleep tested last night, and I'm happy to say it passed with flying colors.  If you've got a shirt stash you're wondering what to make of, I highly recommend giving this simple but stunning quilt a try.  I think it'd make a great Quilt of Valor too!

Ship Shape

Ta-dah!  The shirt quilt top is D-U-N, done.

(Anyone remember the scene from O Brother when the kid is going to R-U-N-N-O-F-T, like his mama, Mrs. Hogwallup, up and did?  F-U-N-N-Y.)

Anyway.  I finished this one and have decided not to border it, remembering that the thing that attracted me to the inspiration quilt pictured in Country Living magazine was its simplicity.  It will, however, get a red binding of some sort.  Eventually.

This is called a sailboat block, but I must be a blockhead because I don't really see sailboats.  What I see more resembles battleships or aircraft carriers, or maybe funny hats.  Mileage may vary, and all that, I suppose.

It's made from recycled men's shirts and measures about 72 x 64, which is a good throw quilt size for our lanky household.

Linking to:

Link A Finish Friday at Richard and Tanya Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Thrifting for Fabric

I've been on a thrift store diet for a little while now.  Trying to cut down, you know.  While I was decluttering a couple months ago, it didn't make much sense to drive a trunk full to the donation drop-off, then pull around, park the car, and go in.

But today was sale day at Goodwill, and I needed some more fabric.  Pink tags were half off. 

I got what I needed in the form of four men's shirts.  As I may have said before, I've already got a boatload of thrifted men's shirts, but I needed some more light colors.

This dark one weaseled its way in because of the cool pattern.  I'll use it in my current project too.

You can glean quite a bit of fabric from an XXL or XL men's shirt.

Isn't this an interesting detail on the inner collar stand?

These will help make a bucket list quilt, inspired by a page I tore out of Country Living a few years ago while I waited in the doctor's exam room.  (Shhh, it's our secret, okay?  P.S. I became a subscriber after that.)

Back before blogging (B.B.B.), I was more organized.  I put it in a page protector and into a 3-ring binder of "someday" projects.

This weekend, I went through my shirt stash and pulled fabrics for it.  I was a little light on the "lights," as mentioned.

These boys will do nicely.

This is the kind of thing I won't sew all at once (that might get pret-ty boring), just a few blocks here and there in between other stuff.  The block is simple enough.  Also B.B.B., I had found the block pattern on Quilter's Cache, printed it out and tucked it in on the other side of the ripped out page.

I made a sample block from (very old) scraps on Saturday.  Decided to make it smaller, so I jotted down the dimensions I'll use for a 9.5 inch block, 9 inches finished.  If I set it 9 x 9, it'll be a good size, around 81 inches square.

Speaking of those who play well together (we were, weren't we?), I have been hitting the replay button on this and other Dawes videos lately.  There is something sublime about brotherly (or sisterly) harmony, like that of Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes.