Denim Quilt

This is the second and final denim quilt that came from Ethel's stash. There were already five columns pieced, each 2 blocks wide and 12 blocks long. Fortunately, there were no missing squares and I did not have to add any new blocks from my denim scraps. I played around with the layout a bit before sewing all the columns together. The blocks are a colorful mix of denim in white, light blues, and dark blues. Some pieces had the shadow of a pocket that had been removed.

Laying out the five columns

The sewing was done on my Bernina 717. It's a flatbed in a table and this gave me a bit more space to maneuver the heavier fabric. 

No issues with the sewing

I measured a few of the previously completed seams and decided to use a 3/8 in" seam to finish the top. Clearly, Ethel had taken her time to press all of her seams open, so I continued in that fashion. 

Seams pressed open

 For the backing, I used another piece from Ethel's collection. After washing it, I cut it in half and put a seam up the middle. That made it large enough to cover the back.

It was a very long piece before washing and cutting

70's colors, I think

Help sewing the center back seam

Early one morning in June, before the heat of the day kicked in, I basted the quilt on the back patio. There is shade back there until about 7 am so I started at about 6 am and finished just as the sun was starting to come over the tree tops.

Backing

For the batting, I searched online for alternatives to cotton or poly batting. The denim top itself is a bit heavy and will be warm, so I was looking for something lighter weight and thinner. One blog writer suggested using a flannel sheet for the middle layer. I didn't have any flannel sheets, but thankfully, mom did.

Flannel sheet instead of batting

Pieced top

Not a bad view while I was pinning

Completed just as sunlight starts to come through the trees

I didn't have a sewing machine with enough harp space to accommodate all this fabric while I was quilting so I watched a tutorial online and tied my first quilt. I used two colors of button and carpet thread and tied each square once on each of its four sides and once in its center. 

Needles and thread for tying quilt

Blue thread on the sides and tan in the block centers

 Good napping quilt even with safety pins in it

Very sharp needle needed to push through the seams

Knots were tied and the ends trimmed short

For the binding on this quilt I used some leftover blue windowpane fabric that a co-worker Martha shared with me this summer. There was just enough to cut 1.5 inch strips for the binding.

Binding sewn on to quilt

After trimming off the extra batting and backing, I finished the binding by hand. 

Binding at the corner

I found out that I cannot use these quilts for Project Linus because they are made from recycled denim, but they will get a good home eventually. For now, I think one or both of the denim quilts will hang in my classroom.

Back side

Red Stars Quilt

Shining in the sunlight

This quilt was started more than 5 years ago. All of these fabrics are from mom's stash. I started with a few small stars and then headed back to mom's to pick out as many complementary reds, whites, and off-whites as I could find. If I had a plan at the time, for what this quilt would look like, I do not remember it at all. Judging from some of these pictures, most of the piecing was done on my Pfaff 131. 

Making stars without an end goal in mind

Making a large star

Large star filled with other stars and squares

Filling in the large star

Large star is finished

Background of darker squares

Hanging in the dining room

While it was waiting for the next step the pieced top spent time hanging in the dining room, hanging in my classroom for the 2018-19 school year, and sitting folded in a pile. Finally, while we were self-distancing in March of 2020, I got around to making a backing for the quilt. This was a fun backing to make as I had to use only the fabrics that were in the house. Originally, I wanted to use only reds and browns but I had to branch out a bit when I realized I didn't have enough scraps in that range.

Back was pieced over spring break

Looked like it was going to fit

This quilt was basted in April while we were social distancing. Normally, I would have taken the quilt over to mom's so that I could work on carpeted floors, but I had to get creative at my house this time. I ended up taping the backing to my floors with blue painters tape and then sliding my rotary cutting mats around under the layers so that I didn't damage my wood floors with safety pins.

Backing taped to the floor

Layer of batting

Stewie admiring a job well done

Once the quilt was basted, I started hand quilting the star in the middle with concentric circles. I used my PVC lap frame and worked when I was watching movies or during Loose Ends. It took a couple months to finish the circles at that rate.

Finished circles viewed from the back

Finished circles

When the circles were done I decided that I wanted to machine quilt the background. For that I used my Bernina 717. It took the remains of 4 different spools of brown and tan thread, but I don't think you'll be able to see where the thread color changed.

4 empty spools

The seam guide on the walking foot saved me from having to mark every line with chalk

Hand and machine quilting finished

When it came time to do the binding, I had very few fabric pieces of any size left. Most of the extras had gone into the backing. I pulled out any and all scraps I could find and it ended up making a strip that has a seam about every 6-10 inches. I sewed the binding on by machine and then finished tacking it down by hand.

Piecing scraps for the binding

Working on the porch late one evening

Binding done, ready for the wash

All those concentric circles

The patchwork backing is almost as interesting as the front of the quilt

The clothes line needs to be a bit higher up

The last thing to do was sew a sleeve on the back so that I could hang it on a dowel rod. I finished attaching that by hand and then hung the quilt in the dining room.

Floral Willow Tank

In the garden with the squash plants

This is my third version of the Willow Tank. The first one was made per the directions, the second one got a button up front, and this one changed to a size 14 top with size 12 sides to improve fitting. The fabric is a Waverly remnant from Ethel called "Courtship Rose".

Upholstery or curtain fabric possibly

After pre-washing, drying, and ironing the piece I had, I began to consider possibilities for the limited yardage.

Two and a half bouquets

I folded the fabric in half and moved the two pieces of the Willow Tank around to try out different flower placements. The front lined up very well with the flowers framing the neck and shoulders, but the fabric piece was too short to then cut the back piece from the remaining piece. I ended up having to turn the back piece upside down and to put in a center back seam.

Someone doesn't want this to lay flat

 I decided to put the center back seam in the yellow area to make it less noticeable. That ensured that there was no flower pattern to line up.

Center back seam

 The flowers now seem to wrap around from the sides, and I don't think it's particularly noticeable that the fabric is upside down from the front.

Center back seam is top-stitched

 The sides are finished with french seams.

French seam over the bust dart

For the armholes and neckline I had two options for bias facing. I ended up choosing the yellow as it matched the background of the flowers perfectly.

Pink or yellow bias facing

 All sewing, including the bias facing was done with my Bernina 1230.

Trimming the sleeve facing

Here is the shirt finished except for the hem.

Front

Back

After the hemming was finished, the shirt stayed on my dress form for a few days before I actually wore it. There wasn't a need to wear anything other than workout and work in the yard clothes. Eventually, I had to run an errand and I put this on for the outing. There was driving involved and I see that sitting down put some wrinkles into my shirt. That didn't stop an impromptu photo shoot though. Pre-pandemic, this business district was often bustling with pedestrians but all is quiet now. I parked my car and hopped out to set up the camera in the window of an empty storefront.

Dressed up for errands

Great flower borders on bottom and top of front

Side view

Flowers frame neckline beautifully

No people, bikes, or cars

A few more pictures were taken in the garden when I returned home. It was a very hot day and I was trying to move quickly before I started sweating.

Checking out the zinnias

Happy zinnias right outside the back door

Back length is good for sitting

Where does my shirt end and the garden begin?

Back view

Squinting a bit in the sun

I think I have the fit for this tank looking good now and will consider it a TNT. There will be more versions of the Willow Tank, I'm sure.