Placemat progress

I got a bit of quilting done on the placemats. I decided I am going to get these finished then get back to the t-shirt quilt.

I will be away for a few days. My nephew has a couple shows. I hope we get to see part of one of the bands we are opening for. It is a Prince tribute band and they looked pretty good with the videos I saw online. I will catch up with you all on Monday!

Tote bags, placemats, weeding and deer

I tried hard this weekend not to goof off. Overall, I think I did pretty good tackling the to do list. I got 15 tote bags made for the band's show on Wednesday.

Got the tote bag made for that polyester panel quilt.

I could not believe it that the backing fabric I order Wednesday afternoon arrived on Friday! The place I ordered it from is in California.

I worked on the placemats. I have two quilted and ready for binding.

The other four placemat sandwiches are ready for quilting

The binding is made. I figured I needed around 10 yards of binding for the six placemats.

Then there was yardwork. I didn't get outside as early as I should have on Sunday to try and beat the sun. I started at 7:15 a.m. and that was not early enough. I was trying to get the center bed done. It was a mess. It is better now, but I still have about a quarter of it to weed; I couldn't finish because that part was in the sun. It was hard pulling weeds because the ground is so hard and dry. Here are the before and after pics

I ended up with two wagon loads of weeds and one load of debris from deadheading the Shasta daisies.

I watered and did some trimming in the back too. After three hours I called it quits. The deer were hanging around this weekend. I saw both doe and four fawns. I don't know where the fourth fawn came from, but they were all hanging out together.

The one doe decided to take a stroll thru the neighborhood. She walked out to my front yard, smelled my plants and decided there was nothing she wanted, so she moved on with the four fawn following her.

I didn't get to the t-shirt top this weekend, but that's ok. I was happy with what I did accomplish.

Getting ready for the weekend

I was tired when I got home from my kinesiologist/chiropractor appointment. Getting gone over feels great, but it tires me out. I did go out and water the plants, then I decided to get my table cleared off and projects lined up for the weekend. On the list is a tote bag for that quilt, placemats, and tote bags.

I want to get the t-shirt quilt top done too so when the backing comes next week, I can get it pin basted. I have weeding and mowing to do so I have plenty of activities to keep me busy this weekend! Have a great weekend!

T-shirt quilt top center row progress

I made some good progress last evening on the center row. All the shirts got the add on fabric sewn, trimmed all the shirts to size and started sewing them into the row. I only have to sew one more seam which is the one between the Nasty t-shirt and the red one. I am going to have to clear off my big table so I can lay one of the other two row units down so I can get the right length for the center row.

The fabric sample arrived for the backing fabric. I had sent the etsy store a question asking about the fabric quality since I was making a sentimental quilt, and they said we would be glad to send me a sample. Another place I had contacted wasn't as accommodating. I ordered the fabric yesterday and it is already on its way to me!

I finished stitching this little sampler yesterday. It didn't take very long to stitch. I will be making it into a small pillow to add to my collection.

Adding to t-shirts

I spent some time adding to the t-shirts so I can keep the center row as wide as possible. For the basketball jersey I needed to fill in the armholes and add to the sides. The back of the jersey had no printing on it so I use that fabric for filling in.  I didn't fill in the neck area; I will trim that off.

This white shirt also had a plain back so I could use that to widen this shirt a bit. The pieces I am adding are wider than I need, but I wanted extra for squaring it up.

I didn't have any more of the blue t-shirt so I am going to add some of the camo to it. Why not?

I spent my morning out on the job site since the ironworkers were getting ready to push beams. Lots of people involved in the project wanted to see this done. After 3 hours the sun was getting so hot and I was wilting. I am such a wimp! I had my prescription sunglasses on and my regular glasses in my safety vest pocket. Somehow when I went to pick up my water bottle my glasses fell out of my pocket and I didn't notice that they were gone until we were almost back to the truck we came in. We went to the truck and I sat in the A/C while the other two people I was with went back to the site, probably a 5 minute walk, to see if they could find my glasses. They found them - woohoo! I think someone had stepped on them because they were a little out of wack and scratched, but I can still wear them after I straightened them out.

It was a busy weekend

I got more done on the t-shirt quilt top. The border is now sewn on both side panels. All I have left to do is get a basketball jersey squared up and then I can sew together the center row.

I decided to get the panel quilt bound and out of my way. It was icky to work on because the batting is polyester and there was a bit of mildew on it. I got the binding machine sewn on it Saturday and got the hand sewing done Sunday. I had to push myself to get this done. I did have to shorten it by one row because the batting and backing did not extend all the way to the end and there was a hole in the backing. This quilt was not worth the effort to spend any more time than necessary, so I just cut one row off. It turned out 82 1/2" x 85.

As soon as I was done stitching the binding, I threw it in the washer using hot water and lots of soap. It came out fluffy and clean! I now will have to make a tote bag to put it in. It had arrived in a giant plastic bag which I am not going to reuse or clean because of the mildew.

On Saturday I did get a lot of trimming around the yard done and got the front and one side mowed. Sunday, I weeded for a couple hours until the sun came around to the front and then it just got too hot for me. I still have the other side yard and the back yard that need mowed. I did finish this small sampler.

and here is another small sampler I finished the week before that I forgot to post

Border pieces, more t-shirts and weekend plans.

I got the camo bibs taken apart and now have border pieces ready to sew together.

I went thru my quilting thread to make sure I had all the colors I would need once I get to quilting the t-shirt quilt. I did have every color I needed.

There was a big box at my front door when I got home.

I knew this box was coming. It contained 13 Harley t-shirts and a quilt that needs bound.

The quilt is nothing great; it's just made from panels. Someone had taken the time to hand quilt the panels. The lady who sent me the Harley shirts, Andrea, got this for nothing from someone downsizing. The person's mother who was downsizing had quilted it, but the lady didn't want it. I told Andrea I would bind it for her. It would make a good couch quilt.

My plans this weekend are to get yardwork done. I need to trim, mow and weed! It is going to be cooler so I will get up early Satruday and Sunday and try to put a dent in the mess. You can see by this picture of the three fawns I took this morning, that the back needs mowed!

I would like to get the t-shirt top finished. I am looking around to try and find fabric for the back. The fellow wanted fabric with a baseball theme. Then I need to put some time into tote bags again. We have a show at the end of the month and I like to make bags that are more themed to the audience. Last year at the venue, the Dutch Wax African Fabric bags went over big!

Have a great weekend!

T-shirt borders

I was glad to get the border sections sewn. I didn't think I would have enough yet and I don't. 

I still have some red t-shirt fabric and I will combine that with the fabric from these camo bibs and add that to the borders.

T-shirt quilt progress and tote bag cutting dimensions

I had a hair appointment after work so by the time I got home I didn't have much time to sew. I did get some of the improv piano key border cut and laid out so I can start stitching those together tonight.

Mary, you came up as a no-reply so I will post the answer to your question about the tote bag cutting sizes. I cut the handles 27" x 4 1/2" wide. I press them in half, then press each side to the middle so the handles are just a bit over an 1" wide. I topstitch both sides of each handle. The bodies I cut 15" wide by 34" long. I press under the ends 2" then tuck the raw end under to get a 1" hem. I sew the handle the same time I stitch the hem down. This saves time! I set the handle 3" in from the side. After the handles are sewn on, I stitch up the sides just using my presser foot as a guide for the seam allowance. I only zig zag the seam if the fabric easily frays. I cut the bags 15" wide because an album will fit in the bag. I hope this makes sense. If you have any more questions you can email me or leave a comment.  I hope this helped. 

T-shirt quilt top progress

Here is the progress I have made on the t-shirt quilt. The left row is sewn together. The right row has 5 of the 6 shirts trimmed. I need to add a bit on the sides of one of the shirts or else I would have to trim the whole row narrower which I don't want to do. The quilt top is already going to be a bit narrower than I would like even with the piano key borders that will be added.

I need to check my box of quilting thread to make sure I have plenty of red thread.

Fixing stuff and the band

Got a new parachute clip on the camera bag

Sewed up the seam in the pants

Made the cover for merch road case 3

Saturday the band had a show in Broadview Heights, Oh. It was hot. The load in was very easy for once. No hills, gravel, long distances, steps, or mud. There was a great crowd.

There was an intermission with fireworks! The fireworks were wonderful and really loud!

The kids came back and played for another hour. Michael and the drummer trade places during their rendition of Voodoo Child. Each play the Tambolis and have a drum solo.

I got to bed at 1 a.m. and I was still tired when I got up. The heat just took the energy out of me. I did go outside finally around 10 to trim back the Shasta daisies. It only took me about 25 minutes to cut and clean everything up, but that wiped me out.

I did some stitching and then fell asleep in my sewing chair. That went on most of the afternoon - stitch then fall asleep, then repeat! LOL!! I did get some of the t-shirt quilt sewn together, but I forgot to take a picture.