Quilt-As-You-Go T-Shirt Dresden Plate

So - this was fun ...

With some leftover T-Shirt fabric, I cut some Dresden Plate shapes ...

So that I could try my hand at a new way to quilt a Dresden Plate quilt block.

Nice thing about T-Shirt jersey cotton? The fact that the edges won't fray, so, no need to finish the outer and inner edges.

So, I got my rainbow of colors cut ...

Sewed the "plates" together ...

... and admired them ...

... amused that my middle daughter (who was also admiring them) happened to have a matching nail-color that day!

I made 5.

I made a couple of extra quarter-"plates", to try out some quilting ideas.

I quilted these practice ones onto some denim & batting. Might turn them into pot-holders, since my kitchen could use a few, and since they're kind of random and messy.

I chose a swirly design, and I was thrilled at how great it looks, but how easy it was!

I had fun quilting these ... onto some black cotton jersey fabric that used to be a Twin-Sized T-Shirt sheet.

When I was trying to figure out how to quilt all this stretchy (knit fabric) stuff together, my oldest daughter suggested that I cut the black background (and the batting) into squares, and quilt the 15-inch squares, instead of trying to quilt a big, stretchy 50-inch square.

I love how the little edges give this a bit of a 3-D effect ... they're not going to fray, and they are securely sewn on, but they're free to curl up a little.

The backs of these Dresdens look pretty neat, too ...

Love these!

So, now I've got 5 blocks with one Dresden Plate each ...

And I also quilted some plain black blocks to go in between ...

On the black, I quilted with variegated thread (of course!)

So, one of these days, I'm going to put all my Quilt-As-You-Go T-Shirt Dresden Plate blocks together into a little quilt ...

Stay tuned for more details, when I get some more finishing work done.

Random Catch-Up Blog Post

So, it's been a while since I've blogged! Apparently, I'm not one of those nice, consistent bloggers who plans "breaks", and lets you know ahead of time when a month-long blog-break is happening. Anyhoo. As usual, I'm always either working on a project or two, or dreaming up the next one (or three!)

When I've got bits of time to "sit around", I'm still hand-stitching my Vintage-Inspired English Paper Piecing, and making some progress on the white(ish) border.

I've also been cutting dozens of T-Shirts into T-Shirt Yarn. (I've done this before; see my T-Shirt Crafts label in the blog sidebar.) Sometimes I use the yarn to crochet (LOVE to make bags & baskets & rugs with this stuff!), and I'm selling some of the yarn on eBay, because I've found that other crafters often find it handy to buy their recycled T-Shirt Yarn "ready-made". 

  

Stitching letters into quilts is a fun and easy way to personalize a quilt. I've done a lot of regular, single-line-stitched cursive letters, which is fun. Another technique I've been trying is a little more involved, but has a great look. Here's an in-progress photo of a recent project (pink letter-quilting on white; blue lines are water-soluble marker):

I haven't given up on my Batik Double Wedding Ring Quilt ... Every once in a while, I pull it out and piece a bit more ... getting close to a (small) milestone on the piecing:

Before long, I'm planning to machine-quilt a Dresden Plate quilt top that my mom sent for me to quilt. It's vintage, and gorgeous, and a family heirloom. I figured it would be helpful to practice, since I've never quilted a Dresden Plate quilt, and since there are so many great options for custom-quilting a design like this. 

So, I made my first-ever Dresden Plate block, so I'd have something realistic to practice on. I haven't decided what quilting design to use, so loops and scallops worked as a fun start. That went well enough. I figure I can add this block to my gingham sampler quilt eventually.

Another thing I've been wanting to try is applique-style quilting, using cotton jersey fabric (from T-Shirts!), and the Dresden Plate idea made an appearance here, too. The non-fraying quality of jersey fabric helped me out here, and made the Dresden Plate construction super-easy.

Had a lot of fun quilting these. Surprisingly easy, too. 

So, anyway. Been busy. Summer is off to a great start.

It's possible that these pics will each turn into their own blog post, eventually ... maybe.