Thanks Sjoerd! Today, I took a break from gardening. I worked on the latest quilt top instead. Here it is I didn't expect to get this far, but here we are. Next - the backing and the cotton batting. I didn't want to go to the local fabric emporium, but it's too much driving and they are too expensive. So I ordered some. The backing will be flannel. I haven't decided which one.
I like both patterns. The newest one reminds me of a split rail variation. It'll be nice once it's completed. A friend of mine, that I gave a quilt, is sending me a jean quilt (that I also made). I guess he had it stored in a plastic bin and something got in and I guess some of the edges need repaired. If it's the one I'm thinking of, I think I (in my infinite wisdom) put corduroy on the back. Fingers crossed it'll be easy to fix. But corduroy with denim really??? What was I thinking? Obviously I wasn't!
Here's the finished tropical shirt quilt. It was fun because I learned some new (to me) things. The quilt used eight shirts for the top, plus one for the binding. The amount of waste was minimal. I wanted to use a flannel backing. I found an unused, queen-size fitted flannel sheet at the thrift store for $6, a fraction of the cost at the fabric store. It was large enough that no piecing was needed. Also, I thought the quality of the sheet was better, a bit heavier. I cut off the elastic and the seams, soaked in liquid starch, let it dry, and pressed it. The flannel soaked up a lot of starch, and when dry it was a bit like sewing denim. My usual sewing machine for the final quilting would not sew the assembled quilt. I guess it was too much resistance. I couldn't get the settings right. So I put a walking foot on the old Kenmore, and it sewed easily with no skipped or uneven stitches. It was also nice because I usually have spots where the backing bunches up and causes a crease on the back. That didn't happen at all this time. After finishing, I washed to remove the starch and fluff up the batting and flannel. The flannel backing is very warm and soft. I want to use that again, for the next quilt project.
It is beautiful! I have loads of fabrics waiting for me to get at various projects. I hope to get at some of my projects over the winter. I love the navy blue and white theme also.
Thank you! This is the next one. I wanted it ready by Christmas but that doesn't seem likely. But, at least I'll be working on it. I bought a roll of strips, and pieces of fabric that remind me of Christmas wrapping paper. I'm going for a variation of the Hunter's star pattern. I don't know how it will turn out. These fabrics are much busier than the traditional ones. Always an experiment. This is an antique Hunter's star that was on Etsy. Obviously, mine will be quite different.
I'm sure it will look nice, Daniel. And I'm glad you found a flannel sheet for the backing. Isn't it so much easier than regular fabric? I'm making an advent calendar for my granddaughter this weekend. We have 5 days off (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and the weekend). She asked last year for one from (Thank you Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things) ULTA ( A chain beauty store she was 13 then). So I went ahead and bought it, but there were 2 things I didn't really like (other than the price). The first was; it only had 12 days worth. The chocolates and Legos always had 24. The other was that, as she opened the little doors there were several things that I knew she wouldn't use. She was talking about it this year and I started looking at reusable ones. I saw one that I liked and figured out the pattern last weekend. I'll buy her little things, I know she'll like and use. And I can use it every year.
One of the quilt tops for a grand. We've been off for, this is the fifth day. Today it was the chill factor. Too cold for bus riders to stand outside. So I decided to work on a quilt. I'm iffy about it. Looks very busy to me. It didn't turn out quite like I thought it would.
That's very nice! They will love it. I haven't done anything with my quilt projects in a while. The remodeling work has the house in chaos.
Quilt 1/5 top almost done. Just need to sew the split rail pieces together then sew those strips to the main quilt. Silly cat; I had to take the picture quick. She thinks when I put something big down, it's for her enjoyment to play on. It took 4 tries because she kept moving the unsewn edge strips.
