T-shirt quilts lead to t-shirt yarn

I'm on my 3rd t-shirt quilt.  This one is for my daughter, Margaret, who's graduating this year.  I can't believe she's already getting so close!  As they say, times flies.  We're so incredibly proud of her.

Since I've made a few of these quilts, I've discovered Pinterest.  Dang!  That can really be addictive!  Through leafing through the site, I found t-shirt yarn!  Who knew!  So, as I cut up my daughters shirts, I tried to save as much of the bottom of the shirt as possible.  Through watching a video on youtube on how to cut them up, I learned how to make a continuous piece of material that when stretched, gives you yarn!  How cool is that!  Now what to make with it?

Here's all the balls of yarn that I have so far.  There still are a lot of shirts to go yet.

Quilt of Valor of to Afganistan

It's been a while since I blogged!  I really need to carve out time to blog more of what's going on in my life.  Since I've gone back to teaching, I haven't had a lot of time to dedicate to crafting.  However, I received notice that one of the quilts that I helped top stitch is on it's way to Afghanistan.  Needless to say, I cried.  Soon after, I received another email from a quilter that was sending her QOV quilt top. The interesting thing about that one was there was a journal to go along with the quilt where they quilter, Beth, described the journey she was on while she created the quilt.  That's something I'll definitely have to do next time.  What a great idea!

An all over swirl pattern with stars thrown in.

The finished quilt on the way to Afghanistan.

loved these!

Beth's quilt top stitched!

I've finished a few more quilts and a few crochet projects.  It was cold here for a couple weeks in August, especially unusual for around here.  But, it put me in the mood to crochet some scarves.  I also completed 4 baby blankets, one of which I give out tomorrow and another 2 I give out to twins that were born a few months early and will be spending the next couple of weeks in ICU.  They were four pounds, so they have a pretty good chance of making it out okay. I haven't seen them yet, but I understand they are quite cute!  My prayers are out there for them for a quick and speedy healthy exit out of the hospital.  The fourth quilt is also for a baby that's already here.  I've seen pictures and still another cutie!  In addition to all of the baby quilts, I made a quilt for my brother Don, who served in Vietnam and recently did a stint in the hospital for a blocked carotid artery.  There were some moments that were touch and go, but he's safe at home now.

My daughter Rachael graciously offered to model the scarves.  I made the gray one for her.

Baby Quilt top completed

There are a lot of babies on the way in my neck of the woods.  I have finished 6 and have to quilt 4 of them and bind 5.  I still have 6 or 7 more to do.  I lost count of the babies that are coming up.  I think I should probably make a list.  This pattern is from one of the Quilter magazines.  I can't tell you which one since I tore it out of the magazine years ago and filed it in a protective sleeve in a binder.  It's utilizes HSTs and 1 1/2" strips and squares in between.  I also decided to dive into the dragon fly fabric that I've had for years.  I don't know why I was so afraid to use it.

This one I completed a few weeks ago, but I think it needs another border along two sides.  I'll have to think about it and figure out what I want to do.

Octagon House Quilt Show

There's an octagon shaped house near where I live that was built in the 1800s.  Ever since I saw the structure, I've wanted to go in and this was the perfect excuse for me to take a look.  I took some pictures of some quilts on display there.  I was so enamored by the quilts, that I forgot to take pictures of the house.  Below are some of the quilts that were on display and caught my eye.  There were some old and some new.  I was especially impressed by the one that was a whole cloth quilt that had been completely cross stitched.  I saw two different versions of this quilt with different colored threads used for the cross stitching.  What a lot of work and love went into these quilts.  I wish I had taken pictures of all of them along with the house.  It was a nice little diversion from life and I even talked my husband into joining me.  He really wanted to see them inside of the house as well.  Here's a direct link to the group that is trying to save the house if you'd like to see a little bit of the history behind it.  It was actually a stop on the Underground Railroad.  Pretty cool!  I apologize, but I didn't take pictures of the names of who made the quilts either.  Next time!

http://www.octagonhouse.org/

 

The quilt below used repurposed materials to create it.  There were laces, buttons, fabric and all different types of materials used and it looked like it took a long time.  This one got my vote for the most creative.  They had one there made out of neckties, one made out of handkerchiefs and another made out of t-shirts.

The quilt below was the one that was crossed stitched.  Incredible amount of work!

Madrona Road Citrus Fat Quarter Giveaway

Fave Quilts is hosting a giveaway for some Madrona Road Citrus fat quarters.  So, if you would like to enter for a chance to win, go to this website.  These are some nice prints and they would make a beautiful quilt!  The contest runs until August 7th.

http://www.favequilts.com/sweeps/Madrona-Road-Citrus-Fat-Quarter-Bundle-Giveaway

Great Granny Square Complete!

I finished my Great Granny Square Quilt top.   It was a lot of fun and something a little different.  So far, both girls and dad like the Hometown fabric.

 Now it's onto another baby quilt.  I'm putting this together with the scraps that I had from the New Year's Eve Mystery Quilt along this past year.  I try and keep all those scraps from the backs of half-square triangles and this quilt is a result.  I have some fabric left over from that quilt along and I had to add a few more HSTs to make a total of 8 blocks.  Now what to do with them in a quilt top????

Oh my gosh!!!  It's HOT outside.  I guess that means it's a really good time to quilt!  I'll have to take a dip later tonight.  Hopefully, it cools off enough.

So, I've been working on a few projects these past two weeks.  One that I thought I should share was a quilt that I received from Shirley, a Grandmother making a quilt for her granddaughter.  The back and front were both equally interesting.  On the front, she had string diamond shapes in black and white.  Her granddaughter asked for the sash color in between.  On the back, I was originally concerned about some applique that Shirley had stitched on, but my machine seemed to handle it with ease.  She embroidered some stars that represented the life of her granddaughter.  I thought this was a really neat idea and felt like I should share it.  It was definitely a fun one to top stitch.

I'm still working on my Great Granny Square blocks and have about 4 left.  If I finish today, I'll post all of my blocks later.  These are definitely fun blocks to do and not that difficult.  When I'm finished, I'll have 16 blocks all at 12 and 1/2 inches.  It'll be a pretty big quilt.  I may have to change out the one on my bed with these.  I really like them. :)  Hometown fabric is really cool right alongside moda snow.

Now that I'm updating my blog finally, I just read through the comments posted from others.

I'd like to thank the Starwood Quilter at http://starwoodquilter.blogspot.com

for nominating me for the Liebster Award!  "Liebster" means "favorite" in German.  This award is given to recognize your favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, so that they may be discovered by new readers.  When one receives the award, they are supposed to do the following:  

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog.
2.  Copy and paste the award to your blog.
3.  Present the Liebster award to 5 other blogs that you think deserve recognition.
4.  Let me know by leaving a comment on their blog.
5.  Have faith that your nominess will continue to spread the love.

I have to think about blogs that I have been to and now that I have time during my summer break, I can't wait to search around for those that I think are great sites.

Thanks Starwood Quilter for nominating me.  I've learned a lot from your site and hope to keep hearing from you regarding your grandmother's diary.  Our links and connections to the past have always been important in my life and I hope I continue the same types of feelings in my children.  

Wow! It's been a long time since I posted anything.  I guess I'll start where I left off and finish with my latest project.

I finished the top to my Swoon quilt.  I've been trying to decide what type of top stitching to do on it.  In the meantime, it sits waiting.  

 I created this quilt with the leftovers that I had from the swoon quilt.  It also needs to be top stitched.  I've got to put my long-arm to use here in the next couple of days!

I also completed and shipped a few other quilts.

This one I completed for a dear friend in my home town for all of the work she's done in trying to save my childhood home from destruction.  She has it sitting in her living room.

The picture above was a Quilt of Valor quilt that I top stitched for a girl in Michigan so that she could ship it off to a soldier. The one below I top stitched for a local soldier.  There is supposed to be a presentation ceremony.  I'd love to be a part of it. :)

A friend at work was expecting his 2nd child and I got busy and created this one myself.  I figured out which size blocks I needed and designed it around the fabric that I had available.  There are a couple of different fabric lines in this, some of it so old that I forgot I had it.  They actually went really well together and I thought that it was rather cute.  I'm hoping to put together a tutorial on my blog.

I've made some progress on my quilt along.  I think I only have about two to catch up on and then I have to wait to see what's next.  I need to visit the blog again to make sure I'm not really behind.  I don't plan on completing 12 blocks as are on the blog since I'm only making a baby quilt of this one.

I finished the last 3 blocks of the 2011 quilt along.  Now to figure out how to put them together.  This was a mystery designed by Sandy Gervais.  Her web address is www.piecesfrommyheart.net.  I'll have to visit it quick to see how the blocks are set together.

A couple more Farmer's Wife Quilt blocks.

A baby quilt for Luca.  Shhhhh...he hasn't seen it yet.

My latest top finished.  My first T-Shirt quilt.  It was fun putting this together.  Now, what to do with it?  I think maybe we'll auction it off at work after I let it hang in my office all year.

The two pictures below are of the blocks I've completed with a Craftsy class that I joined up with for free.  Gotta love free.  I'm a couple blocks behind and now that I look at my pictures, I can see one of them needs to be fixed. Yikes!

I joined the Granny Square Quilt along put up by Bee in My Bonnet off of her blog.  I've been waiting to start this block and finally have a reason to start.  It was something that I haven't done before and will definitely continue to do until I finish a quilt.  I'm using the Hometown fabric line that I got about a year ago as a grab bag of 2-1/2" strips.  I love it!