Madi's T-Shirt Quilt Finished!

Madi's T-shirt quilt is finished.  I did the machine piecing and the binding, but the machine quilting was done by Peg's Quality Quilting.  She has always done good work for me.  The finished quilt measures 85 in X 96 in.

This one shows some of the detail.

The back is a soft gray cotton fabric with a label with the quilt details (who pieced it, who it’s for, who quilted it, when it was finished).

Winter Blues Scarf and Blue Globe Hat

A few weeks ago I bought several skeins of yarn from an estate sale.  I am now trying to find projects to make using the yarn which will only need the amount I have.  All the yarns are now discontinued so I will have a difficult if not impossible time getting more if I'm not careful.  These two projects were made using some of the yarn.

The first one I call the "winter blues" scarf as it was knit during some of the not so nice winter snow and ice that came through.  The yarn is Classic Elite Yarns Fame.  I had about 1.9 skeins.  The pattern is Rainbow Arches Pooling Stole by Gladys We with far fewer stitches so the scarf is narrow.  It measures 7 in X 58 in.

Here is another view of the scarf.

This hat using some blue yarn of unknown fiber.  I think is a cotton blend.   The pattern is Hermione's Globe Hat by Margie Mitchell.

Rainbow Quilt

This quilt top was made from the T-shirt tales from my niece's shirts used to make her memory quilt.  The blocks are 4 in square.  The sashing is 2 in wide and placed in a basket-weave fashion.  The border is 4.5 in wide.  The top measures approx 55 in X 67 in.  I'm still trying to decide how I want to do the quilting.

You can see the basket weave of the sashing better in this photo.

Lots of Hats

After Christmas I started knitting preemie to teen size hats using the left-over yarns from previous projects that were overflowing my basket.  I stopped at 24 hats though I didn't manage to use all the yarn.  These 24 hats were donated to my local children's hospital through their "knitting for noggins" program.

I used a basic pattern for all of them. Here are a couple of closer shots. 

This winter has been very cold, so I hope the hats can be used.

Sweet as Honey Slouch Hat

I love how this hat fits!  The pattern is "As Sweet as Honey" by Flora Cheung.  The yarn is Rico Design Creative Melange Chunky.

The hat doesn't look like much when laying flat.

Not sure yet whether I will keep this one or gift it to someone.

Progress Note: T-shirt Quilt Top Finished

I have finished piecing Madi's T-shirt quilt top.  It has been mailed to the machine quilter.  The top size is approx 89 in X 99 in.  The quilted size will be smaller but will still be a good full/queen size quilt.

The border uses squares/rectangle with graphics that were not enough to create a full row.

Progress Note: T-Shirt Quilt

I've gotten 5 of the six rows done and sewn together.  I still have one more row to complete and sew on.  Then after doing the border I'll either ship it off to be machine quilted or give the top to my sister (her choice). I'm still uncertain what the finished size will be.  My guess is between a full and queen size.

Here's a closer view of a block I made using four smaller print areas from T-shirts rather than cut a larger block from each with lots of blank space.

Madi's T-Shirt Quilt -- Work in Progress

My sister saved many T-shirts for her daughter over the years.  This past fall I was given them to make a quilt.  Actually, I will only be doing the quilt top and later the binding.  I am not comfortable physically quilting bed size quilts on my sewing machine.  I have a home Janome, not a long-arm quilting machine.  So I will pay someone else do the machine quilting for this one.

The main thing in using T-shirts for the fabric in quilt tops is to be sure to stabilize the T-shirt material.  The easiest way is a fusible stabilizer. I tend to cut widely around the T-shirt design I want to feature.  I then iron on the fusible stabilizer before I cut the square or block shape desired.  I then played with the layout of the blocks.  As my blocks were not all the same size, I created a sketch and calculated how strips would need to be added so each row was the same length and each block within the same row was the same height.

Don't you love the block above with the three girls which states "cause you're there for me too!"?  And below the one with the Eskimo and his dog?

My niece's high schools colors were blue and white.  Her college colors were purple and gray.  I chose to use the purple and gray.  Purple fabrics are being used to even up the block size.  Gray fabric is being used for the sashing between the blocks.

My niece played softball and soccer.  She recently graduated from college with a BS in chemistry.

My niece has a very nice sense of humor.

Easy Elegance Mitts

These photos don't do justice to these lovely mitts.  The yarn is a much deeper, richer red.  I took several photos but couldn't seem to capture the color.  The pattern is Easy Elegance Mitts by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer.  I altered it and added the thumb gusset and thumb.  The original pattern only has a thumb slit.  I bought a supply kit from HeartStrings which included red Mohair/Wool yarn (Heirloom Aristocrat 12 ply) with garnet glass beads.

This photos is an attempt to show the beads in the cuff area.

Up and Down the Stairs

This small quilt is for the ALQS8 (another little quilt swap #8).  It is my attempt at an Escher-like effect as the quilt actually works in all directions as you can tell from this diptic photo collage.  I used the photo to poll friends for which way it should hang.  The majority agreed the top one on the left.

Here's the finished quilt.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  It measures 18.5 inches square.

Here's the back.  I still need to add the sleeve to the back for hanging.

Here are my past entries for the other seven:
1st: Laced Ribbons Quilt
2nd: Flower Basket Quilt
3rd: Fractures I
4th: Blue Hawaii Wall Hanging
5th:  Winter
6th: Mariner’s Compass Rose
7th:  Country Garden Small Quilt

More Hats

I only intended to make one or maybe two minion hats but three friends asked me to make some for them.  I sent this one off to a great-niece whom I hope will like it.  The pattern is Minion Hat by Maura Houston.  The yellow yarn for this one is Berroco Ultra Alpaca.  I used scraps for the black, white, and grey from my scrap basket.

And the second one was made for a friend's son. The yellow yarn is Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Prints.  Again the black, white, and grey are from my scrap basket.

Four more minion hats have been knitted at the request of friends.

This one is not a minion hat but rather uses the pattern Percy Jackson's Camp Half~Blood Beanie by Nancy Fry.  The yellow yarn is left over from the first minion hat.  The duplicates stitches for the horse were down using brown, white, and grey yarns from my scrap basket.  Hope my great-nephew like it.

More Knitted Hats and Some Fingerless Mitts

I have a lot of nieces (11)/ nephews (11)and a growing number of great-nieces (up to 8) with two new ones this year) and great-nephew (3 now).  I've been on a roll this year with knitting gifts for some of them.

These first two were made using left over yarn from the slippers.   Both were made using the pattern Regular Guy Beanie by Chuck Wright.  Both went to great-nephews for Christmas.  I downsized the regular guy beanie pattern, casting on only 72 stitches rather than 84.

Second regular guy beanie made in child size:

I used the regular guy beanie pattern for this one for a nephew.  I used two yarns from my stash (the brown is Berroco Ultra Alpaca; the other is leftover Maine Woods hand painted wool).  The effect was almost camouflage. 

This one will go to a great-niece.  The pattern is Purple Stitch Project Beanie by Paula Pereira.  The yarn is Adriafil Knitcol. 

This one is didn’t photograph well.  The colors are pink and orange.  Another great-niece will get this one.  The pattern used is Hermione's Globe Hat by Margie Mitchell.  The yarn is  Manos del Uruguay Maxima in peach melba.

This one (for another great-niece) uses the same Manos del Uruguay Maxima yarn.  The pattern is Techno Hat by Colleen Powley.  

These two are for twin girls (great-nieces).  I downsized the regular guy beanie.  Unsure what the yarn is.

These fingerless mitts are at the request of a brother-in-law with large hands.  The mitts are large on me so hopefully will fit him.  The pattern is Man Paws by Chelsea Fabrizio.  The yarn is  Lion Brand Heartland.