Quilt 'til I Wilt

 So..... Following months of looking, my youngest daughter, Vic, finally bought a house.  Well I say house but really mean a concrete pad (the last time we looked) ready for building on.  Amongst the things she wants for her house is a quilt.  Oh dear.... LOL  

I have already made her a quilt, (see photo right) from the colours she gave me to work with and the measurements for her bed (at the time).  Now regular readers will know that maths is not my strong suit so the quilt actually fits my king size bed rather well.  Shame really as she had a double bed at the time (secretly pleased it was too big).  Anyhoo.....

When she moves into her new house, she would like a single quilt of grey and white for her bed.  Having picked my jaw off the floor. I began planning what and how I was going to do it.  This time, instead of 4 inch squares, she has opted for 8 inch ones.  Great, I thought, fewer squares to make. 

However, this was soon going to be a problem.  Friday afternoons - Ladies that Do.... day - is still going on and so my favourite charity shop was raided for plain grey, white and patterned shirts of the same colours which would make up one side of the quilt.  Following conversations with Vic, she decided that she would quite like a single sided, pattern quilt with a plain side of any colour.  This cuts down the amount of stitching and piecing significantly so (of course) I am happy with this.

Having washed and ironed the shirts, I spent an afternoon deconstructing them.  The buttons and some of the button hole detail tabs have been saved for future projects.  

With a pile of cotton material, I searched for my square template.  Sadly, my template is only 6 inches square so not helpful.  I found some cardboard and made my own 8.5 inch square template and we were all set to start cutting.

Previously when I have used cotton material, I used pinking shears as an added fray protection measure.  I realise that this takes time cutting as you have to mark/trace around your shape then cut out, but in the projects I have used cotton for, it has paid off.  Now I am a little more proficient using tools and in the actual sewing, I felt that I would be able to cut out the squares using a rotary cutter to quicken up this process - not that I mind taking my time - and still achieve a high level of finish to the seams.  Using the blade did quicken up the process but it wasn't kind to my aching joints being stood up for 3 hours cutting out the 99 squares I managed to get from the 'shirts'.

The main problem was that some of the shirts I had bought were small and/or medium sized and their sleeves were too small for the template, thus reducing the amount of squares I would get per shirt.  I would also be left with quite a lot of 'spare' material I couldn't use in this particular project. Good job I wasn't paying a lot for them!

Note to self:  if I ever make another cotton quilt, ensure I buy extra large shirts as there is much more material in them especially if the size of the pieces is 8 inches plus!! 

Vic had mentioned that she liked the size of one of the throws I use on the settee so  I bought a similar fleece throw from eBay to use as the 'flip side' and lining.  When it arrived, I laid out the squares as a rough guide and realised that I would only need around 67.  Result!! Although I now have a lot of cotton squares going begging...... mmmmm.  What to do.... lol.

Whilst putting the squares down, Vic stated that she wanted more of the plain squares in the quilt and not many patterned ones.  Oh.  My 99 is now reduced quite a lot so I might have to try and find a couple more plain shirts!  Who knew that grey and white, men's extra large shirts would be in short supply!?  Ah well.  Fortunately have just done a trawl of the local charity shops and found 2 more plain ones so all is well.  

I mixed up the piles of squares so that I would not be stitching two of the same colour/design together.  As she had stated that she wants more plain ones, I have put only one patterned square in the strip of squares I have sewn.  I am doing 9 'rows' of 7 squares which will then be sewn into the quilt proper.  This is how I did the previous ones and it works for me.  I need to know now how I am going to 'fix' the front to the back...  I might just pick out a couple of the squares and stitch in the ditch like I did in the denim quilt (see previous quilt posts).

The last thing Vic said she wanted was for me to 'write something on it'.  I think she means like putting on a quilt label.  I have spent a few hours (!!) looking on line for ideas on what and how and I think I am happy with my design.  Just working out how to produce it but it will be another of the skills learned in the long distant past that I will be using.  Watch out for that in another post, lol.

So that's where I am at the moment.  I am ironing the seams of the rows of sewn squares whilst waiting for the 2 new shirts to dry before deconstructing them.  I have a design for my label currently waiting for me to start - spoilers lol - you'll have to wait!  Until my next post, take care and stay safe. There's a lot of weather out there!!