2018 Christmas Cards

Once again I made a batch of Christmas cards from old Christmas cards, gift tags and various other bits and pieces.

Here is a sampling.  

Another T-Shirt Quilt

This is a queen sized T-shirt quilt for a guy who has three daughters.  There is a unique mix of Canada fishing T-shirts, sports fan T-shirts and grade school girl T-shirts.

I learned that queen size T-shirt quilts are really, really hard to baste.  I think I will stick with twin size quilts.  The extra weight and size meant I fought with it more than I would like to.  I expect to fight with T-shirt quilts.  They have a habit of acting like they are made of stretchy material that doesn't want to lay flat.

I also had someone gift me with 3 pillow forms.  So.... of course the daughters got pillows.  We'll see if I managed to represent all three girls in the pillows.

Then like a goofus, I wait to the last minute to take pictures and my phone won't work.  I give up.  So Claude sent me a couple of pictures and I do not pictures of the pillows.  I did learn that I was a success with the pillows.

And my phone problems?  When I put it on charge, I got an automatic download of the operating system and then everything was good.  What?  Android comes out with an update to the operating system and the phone no longer works?  I don't get it.


Nancy

2018 Thanksgiving Cards

I keep seeing wool applique and think that looks really nice.  I of course have old wool clothes stashed from when I wore work clothes made of wool in the winter.  I found a jacket and cut out some leaf shapes.  I tried hand embroidary on one leaf.  I never even finished.  I did go to the sewing machine and stitched veins in the leaves and blanket stitch around the leaves.  So these became Thanksgiving Cards.

The background is black fabric and the words are simply printed on cardstock.  Nothing fancy.

I got a new phone and the camera just isn't very good.  I will have to deal with that problem.  Yes I bought a cheap phone, but I have no contract.

Thanks for stopping.
Nancy

2018-2019 Row by Row Exchange – Round 1

At the December guild meeting I picked up the row by row project for Grace Marko.  Grace’s project is a set of 1930’s reproduction fabrics and asking for simple blocks that were in use in the 1930s.  Seeing someone else’s take on kitting for a row-by-row exchange was interesting:

1.  I have this rather large bag.  Grace has a 12 x 12 inch plastic box with a handle that is maybe 4 inches thick.  Obviously, Grace had more of a clue.
2. Grace has a large selection of fabrics.  Most are fat quarters.  All of them are pressed and starched.  She did a lot more work preparing fabrics than I did.  Also her fabric size is more in keeping with making a few blocks.
3. Grace has a one page typed sheet for her directions.  I wrote a lot more, but Grace was effective in communicating what she wanted.
4. This is a row-by-row exchange project.  Grace’s directions say “do not sew your blocks together”.  What?
5. Grace did not provide a row as requested, so I have no idea what she is really thinking.
    
   I got done with my blocks and wondered how I was going to show them at quilt guild, so I tacked them to strips of fabric. 
    
   
   
   
   

2018-2019 Row by Row Exchange – Round 0

I am participating in my quilt guild, Mukwonago Crazy Quilters, Row by Row project beginning fall of 2018 and will finish in summer 2019.  The guiding rules of this exchange are:

Small Groups

Two months to work on each row

Easy, simple pieced blocks

 

So I need to determine a theme, make a row, write up instructions and kit fabrics.  Everything is due at the October guild meeting.

Chosen Theme:  Blocks with Strings

I am on such a kick of using up scraps, that I went that direction.  I don’t care what kind of block is made, just as long as it includes some strings.

What’s a string?  Somehow sewing small bits of fabric together got labeled as strings.  The classic string block is simply a square made with strips on the diangle.  To assist the construction, a foundation is used.  The foundation can be fabric or paper.  I bought a ream of newsprint cut 8.5 x 11 inches that run through my printer.  It is wonderful paper for paper piecing.

My Row:  Churn Dash String Blocks

I made the first of these blocks at the September sewing retreat hosted by my guild.

My Directions:  A booklet printed at work.

Oh what an adventure that was.  I had grand fun trying to get Microsoft and the printer to talk nice.  At one point I had all the pages in the correct order, but absolutely backwards.  The first page was the last page, the second page was the next to last page and so on.  I eventually gave up and asked one of the admins at work for some help.  She found that if you went under printer properties, you could choose something called “Magazine Format”.  That worked.

Pull Fabrics:  Several fabrics

Actually I missed the fact that you needed to supply fabric.  So at the nth hour I grab some half yard cuts and grab a bag I had set aside for Goodwill. 

So I go to the October meeting and find that so many people have not met the deadline, it gets moved to November.  I leave my bag with the lady running the adventure as I think I will be in Houston in November. 


I'm sure the ladies in my group will hate me, but I thought I needed to participate.


Nancy

Another Table Runner

This one came from examining the bag of scraps I bought at a quilters rummage sale.  I had teal blue and orange pieces that I really liked.  I found some other scraps to put with it.  The dark green is still left from buying Ralph Lauren sheets when the Wamsutta outlet store closed in Kenosha.

 

The backing fabric and a couple of the patches is leftover fabric from the first T-shirt quilt.  A fun handrawn looking graphic that isn't babyish.

Scraps to Christmas Gifts - Flag Table Runner

Somewhere online I saw a bedsize quilt with this great flag design.  I needed to try that.  It is all just using up scraps.  I quilted wavy lines with a walking foot.   I like how that came out.  I did not mark anything, just went for it.

 

 

So when I got to finding something to put on the back, I used up Christmas fabrics.  Once upon a time I bought a bundle of 6 inch x 20 inch strips.  I still had several left.  I had to add some solids to it, but I had enough for the back of the table runner.  Now that I had a two sided table runner, I felt obligated to sew the binding down by hand.  That is a task that takes way longer than I want it to.

Forgive the lousy picture.

Nancy

Christmas Wallhanging

I have a new Christmas wallhanging.  I started this in a class at Frank’s in Waukesha.  For this class you had to purchase Feathered Christmas Tree pattern by Cherry Blossom Quilt Studio. 

The pattern is actually how to use the Accuquilt die set.  The picture on the pattern shows a red print fabric for the tree and a white background.  Of course, that meant that every student came to class with a light background and a colored fabric for their tree.  That is everyone, but me.  I fell in love with the new metallic fabrics that have hit the market.  The printing process has changed and now you can find shimmery gold, silver and other metallic colors on quilting cottons.  Unlike metallic inks of the past, there is no noticeable difference in the feel of the fabric when metallic inks are used versus standard colors.

We came to class with the fabric for the tree prepped with fusible web.  In the class, we used the Accuquilt cutter to cut the pieces for the tree, place them on the background and iron them into place.  We won’t discuss how many months it took me to finish this….

2018 Halloween Cards

Halloween cards involved making a pumpkin stencil and painting pumpkins on fabric and die cutting bats out of black paper.  They are simple, but unique.  

There were two different fabric backgrounds  The first were made from a scrap of material I picked up at the Sheboygan guild show.  The print is a antique French newspaper.  I picked it up thinking it was great for cards, but what would anyone else do with it???

The rest of the cards just had a simple neutral background with the addition of a bat.

Thanks for stopping.

Nancy