That Little Shirt Quilt Top

Here's the latest on that little shirt quilt top I keep posting about ... It's coming along! In yesterday's post, I mentioned lots of nine-patches and snowball corners ... the results of those particular pictures is the quilt top in tomorrow's post. But the middle of THIS quilt top was the "test run" for that one ... 

I mentioned the triangle border in some of my (many) previous posts about this quilt top (here and here and here) ... Below is the picture right after the triangles were added. (This is before the most recent narrow outer border in a neutral color.)

One of the reasons I love this border is how cute and little the triangles are! (That's also one of the reasons why it took this long to get the border put together and stitched on!)

This quilt top is made completely out of shirts - which I love. 

Speaking of shirt fabric, I recently cut some "fat quarters" from cotton shirts - and those "fat quarters" are for sale this week in my eBay listings. They're standard fat quarter size (18" x 21") but they're cut from recycled shirts. So, if you know anyone who wants to sew with some great solids, stripes, and plaids, without the fuss and muss of cutting up shirts - take a look at my latest eBay listings! 

Right now, this quilt top is 38" x 48" ... I'm thinking of more borders to add, so it'll probably be a while before this one is done.

Shirt-Quilt Nine Patches and Snowballs

I've had this plan drawn for a while on graph paper, and I've been working bit by bit on a couple of quilt tops made out of recycled cotton shirts ... 

The big quilt top has seventy-something EACH of nine-patches and snowball blocks; the other quilt top (the test one) has just a few.

Lots of progress has been happening on both quilt tops; I'm hoping to have some pics of both by the end of the week, so stay tuned.

It's kind of fun to have made some quilt tops entirely out of recycled shirts! (Now, I'm wondering, should I keep the "shirt" thing going by making the quilt backs entirely out of shirts?? Not sure ... We'll see.)

Like I said, more progress pics to show later this week. Aaaand, I'm hoping to list some fat-quarters-cut-from-shirts in my eBay listings later this week too. 

A Mini Window Quilt

I've been meaning to make a mini window quilt for the other window in the girls' room ...
Since this one was little (about 30" x 30"), it went quickly.

I used the same flowers as the big floral window quilt - I just used a little bit of floral on a background of white-and-off-white squares cut from sheets. I quilted this one with a bigger-than-usual loopy free-motion design.

Actually, I used the same snowball-corner technique as on the shirts-and-sheets window quilt - but for the corners on this one, I used bits of the same floral as the girls' big window quilt. So it's all nice and coordinated. :-)

Beads - Pink and White and Blue

Here's a necklace I made for one of my girls for Christmas ...

This one has the three strings of beads connected at the clasp ...

I had fun with lots of pink, white, and blue glass beads ...

I made a similar necklace for each of the girls for Christmas ... and I'm pleased with how the necklaces turned out.

Little by Little

I've been working on border-pieces for that little shirt quilt ... (and, yes, I realize I called that last post "Little by Little Something", too, but, it really is a small bit of progress.) I'm pleased with the little bit, though - especially since those little bits really do add up!

Lots of little triangle units all sewn together to go around the middle of my latest shirt quilt top. It's been fun to play with fabrics from some of my favorite fabric designers. :-)

Beads - Blue and Silver and Black

In December, I had fun making some things with beads ...

I made a set of three necklaces out of blue and silver and black glass beads.

I decided to do "easy", so they have no clasps - they're just the right size to pull over your head.

The necklaces coordinate, but can also be worn separately.

I gave these to my mom for Christmas, but I've got some more beads like these, which is a good thing, because I think I'll make myself a set, too!

 

I've decided that stringing beads onto nylon thread and making easy necklaces is fun and (relatively) relaxing, so it's one of my latest "couch" projects ...

Anyhoo, this was a fun set to put together.

Keep an eye out for some more pics of my latest bead-projects ... 

My Life is Like a Quilt

There's another new page on my blog (in the tabs at the top) ...
It's called "My Life is Like a Quilt"

I've always been fascinated by the quilt designs that require sewing a bit and then cutting a bit, sewing some more, and cutting some more. 

In reality, that can be a lot like the way life works sometimes. If you read the new page, you'll get what I mean. 

I've been trying to figure out a way to make this story a part of my blog. For me, there's always the feeling that this blog should be a little bit anonymous, since strangers read it. But, at the same time, our life stories often contain elements that might encourage somebody else. So, the new page is my effort in that direction. While remaining a little anonymous ...