Friday, November 9, 2018

T-shirts transformed

Hi everyone! How is it possible that it's already Friday again?  This week just flew past.  Maybe I just got too into buying presents.  Yep, I started the Christmas shopping.  It will be here before we know it, and before the holiday even gets here there's another important event in our family: our twin grandchildren are turning one soon.  I can't even remember what life was like before they were born, and now they're growing so fast.

All I managed to do this week was finally, finally finish the binding on my daughter's t-shirt quilt:


Done at last!  In spite of what you may have read elsewhere, I didn't find that making a t-shirt quilt was particularly difficult.  The only problems I had were ones I created for myself, so if you want to make one, try it!  This was my first one and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.


The old machine didn't have a serpentine stitch, which I really like, so I used a very large zigzag, which I elongated by fiddling with the width and length so it looked a little wavy. I started to think of it as "lasagna quilting" because it reminded me of lasagna noodles.  I just quilted lines across in random spacing, which actually worked out to be a very low-stress way to quilt this.  My only problem was that I used a heavier batting than I usually do because she wants it to be very warm.  The batting made the quilt really heavy and made it drag a bit, which was annoying.  But it all turned out just fine in the end!


In addition to the lasagna quilting, I also did some crosshatching in matching thread on the larger shirts themselves.  This was just to fill in the quilting because there were large empty spaces between the quilting lines on the green.  The green is just Kona Pesto and it worked great with these t-shirts.


The backing is an Allison Glass print that is supposed to be aqua.  I always find that the colors of these prints are off and so I don't use them much.  It does work great as a backing here, with the dark green on the front.  I did keep thinking that those white parts of the print were hanging threads, though!  Good thing I didn't try cutting them!


This quilt has been packed off to my lovely daughter, who was thrilled with it even before it was quilted.  It's getting quite chilly up there in Maine, though, so I'm sure she'll love having a snuggly quilt for watching TV and such.  I just hope the cats like it, too.

Hope you all have a great weekend!  I'm going to spend much of the weekend writing and doing work stuff, but it's going to be rainy and cold, so I don't much care.  There may also be some more presents to choose, too, and you know that once you're on the Internet in shopping mode, anything can happen!

Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finished or Not Friday, and TGIFF.

8 comments:

Sara said...

Enjoy that big birthday party and the upcoming holidays. I think you did a great job of quilting the t-shirt quilt.

Our twin grandbabies are already 5 and yes - they do grow up too fast. They are in pre-school. My daughter always says that first year was a blur for her with the twins. Sleep deprivation in the extreme.

Bernie Kringel said...

They will be one - already??? That is nuts. I hope you are going to be there to celebrate!!
The quilt finish is great - It looks perfect for snuggling under this winter!

KaHolly said...

Wow, turning one already! It just doesn’t seem possible! Your t-shirt quilt came out great and I’m sure she was thrilled. That’s one type of quilt I’ll probably never attempt!

Louise said...

Your daughter's quilt turned out really well! The Kona pesto makes an interesting background; I really like it. It will coordinate well with the piney woods up in Maine :) Congrats on the finish, and happy birthday to the twins!

sue s said...

It's funny you mentioned about the fabric color in Alison Glass fabrics. I ordered a few of her fabrics online and was very disappointed with the colors when they came. I'll have to remember that!

Kate said...

Congrats on a very fun finish. T-shirt quilts are very warm, even without extra thick batting. Your daughter should be quite cozy. Good luck with all your writing and such. I hate having to work on weekends. Hopefully you'll still find some time to stitch a bit.

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Beautiful quilt, and I love the backing. Great gift!

Preeti said...

Obviously she was thrilled. It is filled with love, warmth and fond memories. Love the aqua/turquoise backing.