Five to go

I got the border done on one more t-shirt block so I only have five more to stitch and then it will be on to stitching around the lettering on each shirt.

I was surprised to see a few more flowers on my Icelandic poppy this morning including a red one.

At least I know the deer won't eat them. How? Well this morning I saw one of these two deer come from the front of the house to the back yard. They have not touch the lavender (which is growing quite well), the poppy, daisies, or coneflowers. I didn't look at the day lilies. I still am not use to the deer wandering the neighborhood.

My plans this weekend are: my nephew has a show which I will work if we don't get rained out, stitch on the R.E.M. quilt, get started on sewing together the Harley quilt, and watching the Tour de France which starts July 1. I would take vacation on Monday, but since I am alone on the job site somebody has to be here when the contractor is working. They are also working on the 4th - total bummer.

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Six to go

I got the jet plane block border done last evening.

I started on the next block which is number six left to stitch the borders.

I have to get this piece photographed and submitted to the Akron Art Prize this weekend. The deadline is July 10th, but I don't want to wait until the last minute. You are allowed to submit work you are working on and I will make sure I explain that in my submission. I am to submit two photos with one being a detailed shot. I have one t-shirt block all embroidered so I think I will add either a guitar pick or a patch and use that as my detail shot.

Bit more stitched

I got the rest of the orange star shirt border stitched after I made a run to the store to get more of that green floss.

My next t-shirt will be this jet plane block. It is a smaller one so it won't take too long to do the border. After the plane shirt, I will have six more shirts to stitch the borders. Several of those are smaller blocks so the last of the blocks should go quick. Once I get all the borders stitched, I will then alternate my time between stitching a denim area then putting more detailed stitching on a t-shirt.

2nd post - T-shirt tutorial - filling in

I have two Harley t-shirt tank tops in the pile of shirts for the Harley quilt. I wanted to use them, but the cut in for the tank needs filled in so I can square them up. Here is how I did it. First, I took off the binding around the armholes. I didn't just cut it off because I didn't want to lose any more fabric. There was only two rows of stitching and it didn't take too long to get it off.

Then I cut off the bottom of the front and used that material for filling in. Here I have the filler piece face up and laying under the tank top. I have the tops of both layers lined up - this is important because then I will be able to match the top edges so the curves can be sewn together.

Next I traced the curve of the tank top armhole with my rotary cutter cutting the filler piece.

Ready to sew. For this I have the pie piece on top and the crust on the bottom.

As I sew I match the edges being careful not to pull and stretch the fabric. I also reach behind and gently move the already sewn seam around to the side to free up the fabric so it is easier to match the two pieces as I sew.

Seam sewn and pressed. I should have pressed the seam open to spread out the fabric. I was in a bit of a hurry and wasn't thinking. It will be easier to quilt this with the seam pressed open.

Now to do the other side. Layer and line up tops

Trace curve

Sew - this time the crust is on top - yes, I do it both ways. I am crazy like that. The difference being that you want to move the edges together and not stretch the crust edge. I sometimes use a seam ripper to help ease and hold the fabric in place as I stitch a few stitches at a time, then adjust the fabric, and stitch as few more stitches.

Done!

I worked on the R.E.M. quilt a bit too. I got partway around this shirt, but then I ran out of the lime green thread I was using.

AHIQ 2nd quarter finish - 1st post of the day

I posted this quilt last week when I had finished it, but I am making another post for the AHIQ fourth Tuesday of the month posting on both Kaja's Sew Slowly and Ann's Fret Not Yourself blogs. This quilt started out as this - just a pile of my neighbor's jeans

Because they put their house up for sale I needed to get the quilt done for Father's Day instead of for his birthday which is in November. My thought process was to use the backs of the jeans for the main body. Then to follow the guidelines of using two different blocks in a quilt for this quarter's AHIQ challenge I would add a section of blocks to lengthen the quilt. For the blocks I wanted to make simple, large scale blocks because denim is heavy and I wanted as few seams as possible. The improv striped blocks and drunkard path blocks would work. I used the fronts of the jeans for making them.

I free motion quilted it and made the triple loop design large or otherwise the quilt would be to stiff and firm. Here is the back.

It was hard trying to quilt around the pockets, but I got as close to them as possible. I finished the quilt off with a batik striped binding. I used Warm & Natural for the batting, Essentials in the bobbin, and Auriful for the top thread. I had saved most of the labels and used those to cover holes in the jeans and for decoration. The quilt ended up 74" x 82".

Lots done - lots to do

I made some big progress on the R.E.M. piece. Three borders done and I did a bit of sashiko in one of the denim areas.

Saturday evening I trimmed the front yard, but couldn't mow until Sunday evening since it had rained a bit just as I was getting ready to trim so the grass was too wet to mow. I did see that my Icelandic poppy bloomed.

Sunday morning I went over to my brother's and worked in his backyard. 2 1/2 hours later I called it a day. I still need to go back to rake and bag up all the debris. Here are the before and after pictures

If that wasn't enough, I cut up the t-shirts and interfaced them for the Harley raffle quilt. I have two shirts that I need to add fabric too in order to make them usable. I will post how I accomplished this tomorrow. I am glad I kept all the bit left over from last year's quilt. I didn't have enough shirts that the lady sent to me this year so I just added some of the saved ones.

Another border done!

I did good last night! I got the border on the rabbit shirt done! My chubby little fingers were a flyin'!

I got started on the next t-shirt. I am using a variegated green thread that also has just a touch of yellow in it.

After that my next shirt will be this one. I am thinking of using a yellow thread for the border, but I haven't auditioned any yet. You will have to wait until Monday to see what I end up using.

I stopped stitching last night for a bit to go out and water my new plants. It was hot yesterday and even though rain was predicted today, they needed a drink. Here is the daylily that the deer usually eat all the flowers. Last night there was one apricot colored flower that survived.

This bargain basement coneflower from last year is blooming nicely!

The new Icelandic poppy looks like it should bloom soon.

The lavender is doing well.

Just as I was headed out for work the rain came. Yeah! We haven't had much rain in the last few weeks so this is needed.

I get notices from ebay when new R.E.M. patches, pins, or badges come up for sale. This is how I am collecting items to add to the items I already have to embellish my R.E.M. piece. I got a notice yesterday for a patch I had never seen. It is a bit pricy. I will wait and see if no one buys it then maybe the seller will post it again at a lower price.

Have a great weekend!