The Less than Exciting Navy {Quilt}

"Navy. Never looks like it's trying too hard- It's understated cool."

After a week of seeing our 14 year old son's long legs and arms hanging off the edges of his twin bed, hubby and I agreed it was time for an upgrade to a full sized bed frame and mattress. 

Only problem? New bedding. And working with teenage boys and home decoration can make a person beat their head against the wall. Not to mention that finding bedding to fit that awkward transition between boy to man can be a task worthy of a saint.   After weeks of showing him a million online options and bringing home different quilts and comforters from local stores?  He finally just said, "Mom.  Why can't you just make me a navy blue quilt?"

Uhhh.....why didn't I think of that?
 

Enter in 5 yards of Robert Kaufman 108" wide solid Navy. 

Note:  Lint.  SOOO much lint while making this quilt

6 M class bobbins filled with Navy Blue Superior Threads Omni Thread.

 And a Paradox pantograph by Urban Elementz. 

I translated his "it's fine" as 
"YOU NAILED IT, MOM!!"
after I took it out of the dryer and it was warm and crinkly.

I, personally, love how the pattern reflects the pattern in our carpet and his Minecraft Slime Quilt. 

 I *may* have pat myself on the back for finishing what is, generally, a boring whole cloth quilt in less than three days.

He even vetoed any "different" color or texture of binding. 
More Navy cotton *yawn*.

Quilt Stats

Measures: 86" x 94"

Fabric: Robert Kaufman Navy 108" wide

Pattern: Whole Cloth

Thread: Superior Threads Omni Thread Navy Blue

Quilting: Paradox Pantograph by Urban Elementz on HQ Avante. 

Meanwhile, Button has been patiently waiting for me to finish his older brother's quilt so I can start his new quilt. 

I have a feeling it's going to be a bit more exciting!! Stay tuned!

Gypsy {Quilt}

 This Gypsy Quilt was made for the new owners of our Houston house.  They put a contract on it and they kindly agreed for us to lease it back until the end of the school year so our boys could have some sort of routine before we moved to Salt Lake City in the summer.  

I chose this kit from my stash because it had so many pinks and purples and screamed "GIRLS".  Ironically.  Our house was trading 4 boys for 4 girls and this was perfect for them.   I don't normally buy a ton of kits from Joann fabrics, however, this one was on clearance when the store moved from small store to their super store.  It had 14 fat quarters and was a whopping $3.99.

 Really.  How could I resist?

The blocks were quick and easy to construct. 

 It was all about making each one as scrappy as possible. 

I really don't miss having my machine in the garage!!

Since I was going for "quick" and easy. I loaded it up and chose the Daisy Galore pantograph.

 The backing was also from my stash. A hot pink floral and stripe from Joann's circa 2007.

I framed it out with a purple floral binding from my stash. 

Excuse all the wrinkles.  I had it all packed away so the movers didn't misplace it before I left it behind.

 When asked why I felt the need to make the new homeowners this quilt?  I simply say that I was every grateful for them to be so accomodating.  We were able to host After- Prom night for our oldest son's "last hoorah!"  We were able to have our families from afar and come celebrate our oldest son's graduation.

Quilt Stats:

Size: 54" x 63"

Pattern: Joann Fabric Kit

Fabric: Joann Fabrics

Batting: Warm & Natural

Quilting: Longarm Daisy Galore Pantograph

Auction T-shirt Quilt

We couldn't stretch it out too much..the wind kept blowing it all over!

 93x93 inches of gloriously stained, stinky (perfume!) and colorful 8th grader t-shirts quilt is done!

Fits a queen bed beautifully with a nice drop of at least 12-18 inches on each side.

Blue minky backing makes it absolutely comfy! 

The picture above was sent along with a few others to the 8th grade parents Friday night.  I wanted to make sure that if they didn't like the idea of a bunch of t-shirts on their bed, they could always just fold it so all the memories were tucked up inside at the end of their bed!

Did I mention how heavy it was?

9 lbs heavy

 How do I know? 

I weighed it!

Why did I want to know?
When you spend 10 hrs on your longarm machine and halfway through, the crank stops working when you want to wind the quilt...it makes you wonder!  

Did I BREAK something?

 As soon as I unpinned the quilt off the leaders, Ole Betsy groaned in relief and the crank was back in action! 

I had to get at least a tiny bit of modern fabric on it, so dotted binding was the flavor of the day. Five hours to bind. Ugh.

The "Carnival" variegated thread by Superior Threads 

(purchased from sewthankful.com) sewn with a "popcorn" pantograph pattern.  Regrets?  I should have used an even larger pattern.  It was very dense, but I couldn't turn back once I realized it!

And I am now very "into" making borders for my printed quilt labels.  I am not sure if anyone else does this, but I always find a poem, if I can, to place on the label.  Especially if it an auction quilt for our school like this one. I also added in the 20th anniversary logo to commemorate the special year!

The only thing that I just didn't expect and want to pass on to you, my quilting friends, is the fact that certain t-shirts had an almost rubbery printing on them.  It was NOT very friendly with the foot of my long arm machine. I had to slow down, stop and go to get it "unstuck".  Sometimes it would even snap the thread.

I can say, however, the Pellon Tricot Stabilizer was AMAZING. 

All 15 yards of it! Yes..I used every single bit of the bolt except for an 18 x24 inch square.  A few asked about it and the one thing I must say is to make sure you read the directions that come with it very thoroughly.  There is a stretch to the tricot and you must make sure when you fuse it to the backs of the t-shirts, you iron it on the opposite direction of the t-shirt stretch.

And you can quote me about the following.

I feel confident that I will make more of these in the future....however, minus about 30 or so of the t-shirts.

Despite all the planning HERE, and all of the trouble Button caused during this adventure.  And thank you for all the encouragement HERE!  I am really happy with it!

 I am anxious to hear how well it did at the auction Saturday night, but it always seems to be a secret!

Are you surprised that I have three or four quilts on my mind and already have my studio closet cleaned up and ready to go for some projects?

I am.

Dots and Checks: The End!

The top?  

Started and finished it in 2 days last year.

A simple "Snowball" pattern.

Then I finished the back in one afternoon about a month later.

And promptly folded them both up and put them away....

I think I wasn't sure about the unknown velour-like fabric I had chosen from my stash.  Or I think I just didn't know how I was going to quilt it.

Either way, I completely forgot about it!

But I think it was fate that I found it again recently.   Otherwise, I wouldn't have had a complete quilt to take a spin on Ole Betsy.   It made my Thanksgiving day a bit brighter while the boys and Mr. Boss cheered on their Dallas Cowboys.  (pssst...I am so tired of sports in our house.  I wake up every morning to the ESPN sound)

I started with FMQ and it just wasn't looking well.  I tore out all the stitches.  Two hours worth.  I just checked on my Turkey in the roaster every once in while!

I finally found a maple leaf pantograph and took it for a spin.

Not perfect...but it will do, I guess.

I didn't watch any vidoes (even though I have TWO from Handi Quilter) on how to do it with the laser.

So I had a few oopsies where I trailed off the border.

Of course, this weekend, I watched the videos and realized that I should have tried to use the pattern for my border.  It would have looked better than my free hand leaves.

And can you please squint....those stitches along the binding need to be pulled out. They were the stitches that were holding my quilt to the leaders.  They are supposed to be hidden by my binding.

I REALLY need to work on that skill getting it closer to the edge of my fabric!!!

Otherwise, I am pretty happy with it overall.

Lessons learned?

Watch as many Handi Quilter videos as possible.  I am so thankful they gave me 7 free DVD videos with my purchase.  

Many things are much clearer now after watching them while ironing and sewing costumes!!!

Am I a good girl for showing you my failures? 

Or have you lost even the small amount of respect you had for me as a quilter?

 

Grateful for the Ordinary

I realized yesterday that our Thanksgiving Day was ordinary.  Ordinary other than the fact that I made a big meal that took all day to cook.  But only 15 minutes to eat.

But I am grateful for the ordinary. 

Ordinary includes: 

Mr. Boss watching a little football with his boys.

A little basketball out on the driveway in gorgeous weather.

My boys spending time together.

Bunny enjoying his favorite activity.

 Button drooling all over his Turkey appliqued shirt and bib.  

I would show you the bib, but it is currently covered in Sweet Potatoes and Prunes.

So I will entertain you with me realizing that I officially lost my model.

He's a sneaky baby, this one.

 I even had some time to do the quilting on my Dots and Checks quilt top.  I thought I would give Ole Betsy her first "official"spin on a real quilt.

I gave some FMQ a try, but didn't like what I came up with.  It took about 2 hours to pull out the work.

Of course,  I had to make things difficult and choose a pantograph design.

 There is a lot "ugh" and "ewww, yuck" quilting, but it sure was fun!

 I just REALLY had to use the maple leaf pattern.

It isn't my finest quilt, but I think I will love it for being a bunch of firsts.  The first time I did a quilt again after the loss of my daughter in 2009.  The first time I did a pieced backing.  The first time I used my long arm machine.  And the first time I made a binding with different colored fabrics.

Which is still getting finished today!  I will share the complete quilt when I get it all finished!

But the biggest reminder that yesterday was just an ordinary day?

A pile of dishes always reminds you that a woman's work is never done......