One More 2016 Finish: Ole Miss T-Shirt Quilt

Chalk up one more quilting finish for 2016!

 

I finished hand-stitching the binding and label on this quilt earlier this week.  It's a t-shirt quilt commissioned by my good friend for her daughter and son-in-law.  The t-shirts represent memories of their school days and courtship at the University of Mississippi, better known as Ole Miss.

 

The quilt's recipient requested all the t-shirts be the same size, and she selected the sashing fabric (Kaffe Fassett's Paperweight in cobalt blue).  BTW, "Hotty Toddy" refers to a famous cheer at Ole Miss, not a warm alcoholic beverage! 

 

I made a small label, commemorating the wedding - which followed graduation (names covered for their privacy).  It's hard to believe they've been married almost 20 years - it seems like the wedding was only yesterday!  I saw their oldest daughter two weeks ago - she'll be a college freshman this coming fall.  Her parents aren't too happy - she's going to Louisiana State University, not Ole Miss!

 

Last Vintage Montage of 2016

I find most types of traditional shopping tedious:  groceries, clothes, shoes, home decor - all boring!

 On the other hand, antique malls, flea markets, thrift stores, estate sales...and fabric stores - I'm in shopping heaven!  Dear Husband and I enjoy the hunt for treasures in all these places (he's not crazy about fabric stores - probably just as well!) and have had some good finds lately.

 

 

This log cabin cream and sugar set in cobalt blue glass caught our eye in an antique mall near my mom's house in Florida. 

 

More cobalt blue glass - a calf on a lidded dish.

 

Vintage sewing items always catch my eye.  The needle packages are from an estate sale.  The Clover sewing tin was an unexpected surprise.  Clover makes all kinds of sewing, knitting and crochet notions, but their modernist take on design made me think the company was a twenty-first century production.

 

Apparently not - as the interior of the sewing kit is definitely mid-century modern!  That sassy, sewing cat is a hoot!

 

Also tucked into the sewing kit was this store guide to a Japanese department store.  It's a little surprising the guide is in English - were Westerners common visitors to Japan in the 1950s?  Was the kit purchased by an American visiting Japan at that time?   

 

Lots of vintage linens have come home with me in the past few weeks.  These Scotties are my favorite!

 

I found this fabulous sewing machine cabinet and chair at an estate sale in my own back yard!

 

The sewing machine is one I've had for a number of years.  It's a Model 201k from the 1950s.  Unlike the traditional black cast iron models, this one is made of aluminum, so it's not quite as heavy.  It still sews like a dream and can sew through just about anything.  I look forward to using this machine on a regular basis now that it has a permanent cabinet!   

 

 

Spools & Binding & Scrap Jar Stars

I'm sure by now most of you are sick of hearing me talk about The Bind-A-Thon.  I'm kind of sick of it, too, but I persevere!  The T-Shirt quilt is almost finished - one long side to complete - and then I can start binding the next quilt in the pile. 

 

I did take a little break from binding this week to make some Spool blocks.  I pulled strips from my 1 1/2" strip bin and got the components cut early in the week.

 

It didn't take much time at all to stitch up the blocks using speed piecing.

 

Now I have an even 300 blocks for my RSC Spoolin' Around quilt top.  I don't know when I'll actually get around to piecing all the blocks together, but they're ready and waiting. 

 

I actually finished this Bind-A-Thon entry a week or so ago, but didn't have an opportunity for photography until today.  

 I started making the 16-patch blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt sometime in 2014.  The 16-patches morphed into Scrap Jar Star blocks, and the entire quilt was finally finished this year.   

I really enjoyed this pattern - what a fun way to use up lots of scrappy parts and pieces!  My only regret was that I ran out of the background fabric (I was working from my stash) and didn't have enough to add a final, outer border.  It would've stabilized the edges of the quilt and added a little extra width & length.  

 

As usual, my LAQ Cindy Braiwick, did a fantastic job with the quilting!  I suggested something with circles, and this is what she came up with.  The heart-shaped flowers line up with the 16-patch blocks and the circles fall into line in the sashing and cornerstones.

 

It's difficult to see the binding, but the fabric looks like it has water droplets on it.  I've washed and dried it so it's nice and soft, but even with color catchers, I see a little bit of red bled through from one of the red scraps on the front.  This is going to my mom - she has several quilts I've made for her, but all of them are hanging on the wall.  I wanted to give her something she could wrap up in and think of me! 

I'm writing this on Friday, anticipating lots of activity tomorrow - the RSC link-up AND Christmas Eve!  Wishing everyone happiness and plenty of time with family and friends as we all enjoy this special time of year!

 

 

Breaking from Binding . . . For Spools

Folks, the bind-a-thon continues, but I took a break today to play with some spool blocks.  After seeing Kathy's wonderful top, I was inspired to dig out my spool blocks.

 

I used Bonnie Hunter's Spoolin' Around block in 2013 as a leader-ender project.   I didn't plan or color-coordinate anything, just tried to use up small scraps.  I finished up 270 blocks.  Not sure why I stopped, but I could use more yellow, aqua and brown blocks to make an even 300.

 

Since the blocks are so random, I think I'll use a random layout for them.   And I'll definitely set them on point, even though the assembly is a little more time consuming.  These are only 3 inch blocks, so the quilt top won't be huge - once I get it assembled I can decide if more blocks or some borders are needed.

The bind-a-thon has not made much progress in the past two weeks.  I needed to finish the Scrap Jar Star binding so I could give the quilt to my mom in person last week.  I didn't finish the binding before leaving for Florida and I didn't have many opportunities to work on it while visiting family.  It came back home with me and I'll have to ship it to her when it's finished.

 

I did finish binding the memory quilts I made for my nieces.

 

My local long-arm quilter, Cindy Braiwick, did a fantastic job with the quilting.

 

I especially love how she quilted the gold borders.   The girls loved their quilts and immediately wrapped up in them, even if it was a balmy 75 degrees outside!

I'm linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge one more time this year, as the spool blocks were inspired by the RSC.  And now I'm done spoolin' around - it's time to get back to binding!