Denim Medallion Quilt

This is the denim medallion quilt. It's a tied quilt. I have completed it at last. It uses parts of old blue jeans mixed with fabric scraps. Also included are some quilt blocks of wonky houses and basket pattern. I plan to use the idea of mixing parts of old jeans into patchwork quilts again soon. It's so much fun to do a bit of recycling in a quilt. This quilt could fit in many categories. It has so many influences--quilting books by Gwen Marston, Gee's Bend quilts, Bonnie K. Hunter books, among others.
I was already using this quilt last evening, to cuddle in while resting on the sofa.

continued

It's been so long since my last post. Needless to say, it's been a full week. I did a little crochet and knitting. And at last today I got back to the sewing machine and sewed the binding on that denim quilt. I have to hem it down during the week. This year I decided to keep track of everything that I finished during the whole year. Here it is nearly the end of April and so far, if my math is correct, I have totally completed 6 quilts and wall hangings, 2 granny afghans (those were donated to charity), and 28 hats, 7 sweaters and 3 pairs of socks. I made more than that, but I'm not going to count the dishcloths and toys and etc. The secret is to be able to knit or crochet while watching TV. I suppose I have a strong desire to complete my projects, because "it ain't finished until the fat lady sings."

Log Cabin Baby quilt

I made an applique duck for the center of this baby quilt. You see, I've been tying one quilt in the living room and sewing another at the machine. I made a lot of four inch strips for this little creation. The quilt top measures about 39 by 49 inches, and the center rectangle is 11 by 14 1/2 inches (without the seam allowances added). A very interesting thing occurred yesterday, I received a phone call from a second cousin that I had lost track of for many years. They asked their 11 year old granddaughter to get on the computer and locate me! I was able to send them an email and several family photos. Oh these kids! My 5 year old great-niece can already look up the translation of words on her Mom's I Pad.

The denim quilt progress

As you can see in this photo I'm in the middle of tying that denim quilt. I have found that it's so much fun. I don't have a quilt frame, I have simply done a lot of pin basting, and I tie the quilt while holding it in my lap. A friend gave me a ball of blue crochet cotton (bedspread or #10 size thread) and I thought that blue would go well with that denim and assorted scraps. I use a curved needle for tying. I can do some tying while I watch those lawyer or detective shows on TV, but not while I'm watching a hockey game! I love when the hockey playoffs start. Go Ducks! Meanwhile, back at the sewing machine--I have started another baby quilt. I always have to have some machine sewing to do. I'm so glad that I managed to mail off that baby quilt for the survivors of the Japan disaster. That particular quilt was very quick and easy to make. And one of my grown-up grandsons seemed to want something with his name on it. That's just a dream in the back of my mind right now. I have to come up with a design. Speaking of dreams, last night I had a very realistic dream that it was morning, and I could see out the window that it was raining on the green grass. I opened my eyes and saw that it was pitch black and about 3 AM! Darn I hate when that happens!

Baby quilt for donation

Spring has sprung. Lots of flowers are blooming. I took a photo today of the flowers by my door. And happy dance time, I have completed this baby quilt. I used some conversation prints and a red solid. And I sewed on a strange print fabric that sort of resembles bananas floating on a pale green background for the outer border. The backing is flannel with birds printed on it. I free-motion quilted it on my sewing machine. I want to mail this quilt to Quilter's Newsletter magazine, where they are collecting donated quilts to ship to disaster survivors. I published their link a couple of posts ago.

I hope that the quilt will comfort some child who has suffered in this terrible event.

And back on the quilting scene, I have to do some major cleaning in my sewing room. I've simply been working at a frantic pace lately. I have gone to the hardware store today and purchased another magnet on a stick--I already broke the first one that I had--to use to pick up stray pins on the floor. And if I scrape up all the bits of scraps scattered here and there, I can actually vacuum this room sometime in the near future. It's a small room where my computer and sewing machine live happily, with modem lights glowing in the dark at night.

Heart applique wall hangings

Here they are, completed wall hangings. If you look closely you will realize that they are each unique. Similar but not the same--appliques or buttons. And the manatees are swimming on the fabric background. I'm fascinated by those creatures. And although they are bulky, it's nice to know that they are vegetarian and will not take a bite out of swimmers!

A few notes about the sewing construction: First the appliques were made by drawing the heart shapes on the back of iron-in non-woven interfacing. These were placed sticky side to right side of the fabric, and then sewn all around the whole edge. Trim seam, cut a small slit in the interfacing. Turn right side out. And there you have it, the edges are turned under. I hand sewed the appliques to the wall hanging using black embroidery thread and a blanket stitch. Secondly, I didn't sew any binding, I just did a pillowcase turn. I used a solid blue backing, that matched the edges of the wall hanging. Thirdly, I didn't use batting in the wall hangings but I interlined them with flannel. I didn't use any new flannel either, I had a discarded nightgown (washed of course) and I cut the interlinings from the skirt. I edge stitched the wall hangings, catching in a flap of fabric to use for the curtain rod later. But I didn't hem that down in the back until after I had sewn on the button trims.

I hope that I explained that all OK. Actually, it's a very simple sewing method.

Now back to work on my two other quilts that need quilting!

Wordless in Las Vegas

Baby quilt for donation

OK, I admit that I haven't finished the denim medallion quilt that I was making in the previous posts (although I did pin baste it.) And I didn't finish those heart wall hangings (but I completed all the applique.) However here I am working on another project while the others languish in the living room, draped on chairs. I wanted to hurry up and start on a baby quilt. I hope to get it completed in plenty of time to donate to the drive for Quilts For Japan, which I mentioned last time. There's a deadline for the end of April. I guess you could call this one an "I spy" type of quilt. And I did select a backing for it already. Why all this rushing? Because now it's Spring Cleaning time around here, and I've already begun on the closets. I work from the bedrooms to the bathrooms, then the living room and finally the kitchen and dining room. Those last two need the most work.