Friday, January 17, 2014

January update including quilt progress pictures


Hello!

My interview show, Makers in Business is taking a break for January 2014, and will return in February with a brand new episode I know you are going to really love :)

In the mean time please check out previous episodes of my TV show on my Vimeo page or listen to an audio-only podcast online here or in iTunes.

BTW: This is what I'm working on lately: hand sewn quilts! These are for my personal enjoyment. I need to take time to play after an intense holiday sales season.
I am thoroughly inspired by this vintage hand sewn log cabin quilt made with old clothing. I bought it as a pick me up after a dentist appointment a few years ago. Its unmatched seams and hand stitching got deep into my heart. I decided to make one of my own.

First I got a large, warm cat to press my fabric
 
Cutting old shirts into 1 1/2 inch strips was a bit tedious!

14 vintage and new shirts cut into strips and a stack of 2 1/2 inch red squares cut only from fabrics I had on hand, the reds don't all match, which I love.

The first log cabin square! Turned out more mod than vintage looking. More preppy than I had imagined. Looks good to me! Now calling this my Cape Cod quilt.

Hand sewing all the pieces together. I hand sew only because I love it. Very relaxing and I'm in no hurry. I'm not creating any overall pattern. I'll eventually tie it in white.
This is part of another quilt top I'm working on at the same time. It's a patchwork from vintage and modern yardage in blues and whites, stripes, checks and solids, including some fabrics from my mom's stash. This one is going very fast!
Bought this bundle at a thrift shop on Cape Cod in the summer. New-old stock. Yardage purchased years ago at B. Altman & Co in New York and never used, tags still attached.
All the fabrics for the patchwork cut and counted so I could make a pattern on my computer which I printed out on 4 sheets of paper.. 
 
I'm sewing squares into rows, then sewing rows together. I've divided it into quadrants. This is the top left, or what I'm telling Dell is "his section". I'm calling this my Martha's Vineyard quilt. I'll eventually tie it in red.
Now I've never made a quilt before so I will have a lot to learn when it comes time to add batting, backing, and binding. Luckily there is ALL THE INFORMATION available in books, online, and in at least a dozen people I know in real life and hundreds online.

Cheers!
Liz