Happy May Day! Bet you thought April would n-e-v-e-r end, right? And it may stay April on my whiteboard calendar - because I managed to pick up a sharpie instead of a whiteboard marker when I filled in the dates last month! Oops..... Oh well, along with the first of May it's a Friday, and you know what that means - time for us to get our whoop whoop on! So let's get started!
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Last week I got a commission job for an ENORMOUS t-shirt quilt - queen size, in puzzle style, which means that the blocks are cut different sizes and laid out in no particular pattern. I've done several of these now and while it is getting easier, it is quite an undertaking and will really tax your quilt math abilities! So after photographing all the t-shirt with templates to determine the size the blocks would be, last Sunday afternoon I took some time to create a scale diagram of my plan for the quilt.
Thank heavens for graph paper! This is a time-consuming part of the job, but it makes the rest of the quilt go so much faster. I made scale representations of each block from graph paper, then added a thumbnail of the t-shirt itself. Four sheets of graph paper taped together gave me a large enough piece to mark out the whole quilt and then I proceeded to "work the puzzle".
Monday I cut out blocks, and Tuesday I started laying the blocks out on the floor. I am so excited to have a floor large enough to lay out big quilts and not have to worry about it being in the way!
As I laid them out, I watched for colors that didn't work well next to each other, or where one color was too heavily represented, and moved some of the blocks around until I was happy with the layout.
Wednesday saw the start of sewing the blocks together. Fortunately, by laying out a scale representation, I avoided a lot of quilt math problems, and things mostly went together smoothly!
And by Thursday afternoon, the quilt top was assembled! And wonder of wonders, it actually turned out square - always a tricky proposition when you don't have clearly defined rows and columns. So today I'm going to rest on my laurels and gird my loins in preparation for quilting this 90x95" quilt. I think it's time to make more face masks! We've had a request for some for the residents of a nursing home so I think I'll see how many I can whip out today.
So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?
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And now it's your turn!
What's making you whoop it up this week?
What's got you doing a little happy dance?
Share! We want to dance right along with you,
And it's always more fun to dance with friends!
The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.
Hope to see you there!
Hugs!
Sarah
Gird your loins, don a face mask, nitrile gloves and prepare to do battle with anything that comes your way!! This is really magnificent, the colours laid out so well, and I'm SO sure this will be a treasure forever.
ReplyDeleteI like the collage layout of your T quilts - the movement and colors are more pleasing than the plain setting.
ReplyDeleteWindex may be able to help with your whiteboard, I would give it a try. Good Luck!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome job of this T-shirt Quilt! Enjoy your rest before quilting it :)!
ReplyDeleteKathy R.
ReplyDeleteThe T-shirt quilt looks great. You can try Goo Gone to take off the marker on your whiteboard, the bottle states it removes grease, gum, stickers, crayon, tape. I have used it and it works.
Here is a link with ideas to try for your whiteboard.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.wikihow.life/Remove-Permanent-Marker-from-a-White-Board
LOVE the puzzle style t-shirt quilt. Fabulous job!
ReplyDeleteI think you did the really hard part! Enjoy your resting before the quilting, but I am sure that will be easy in comparison to the construction. Great quilt!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic accomplishment! Truly amazing!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was an art teacher, some middle school kids would use sharpies on my white boards just because. The cheapest hairspray will dissolve and take it off. Any color.
ReplyDeleteYour t-shirt quilt is looking so good! I'm waiting on interfacing order.
ReplyDeleteT-shirt quilt is coming along nicely!
ReplyDeleteRunning alcohol might clean your whiteboard. Good job on the t-shirt quilt.
ReplyDeleteReally nice job on the quilt lay out. :)
ReplyDeleteYour quilt turned out wonderfully!!!
ReplyDeleteI love how this style of quilt works and you have such a good eye for color placement! I'm anxious to see how you quilt it!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah-- Hand sanitizer will take care of that Sharpie for you, If you're willing to spare it, that is!
ReplyDeleteARE YOU KIDDING ME, SARAH?!?!? Sigh... You went from getting the commission, prepping the shirts, and completing the top in ONE WEEK? You are a T-Quilt Puzzle wizard!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with The Joyful Quilter...you are a wizard! A queen size t-shirt quilt is a monster to manage, all those shirts get pretty heavy after you start piecing it together. It looks phenomenal!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteSarah, that T-shirt quilt looks great! My daughter requested one and I haven’t tackled it yet ... three years later.
ReplyDeleteThe T-shirt quilt top comes out looking great! I can't wait to see the finished quilt. It's gonna be marvelous too, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteVery smart to lay it out on paper first. Those puzzle quilts are tricky, especially with Quarantine Brain. It's a real thing, I know :)
ReplyDeleteFabulous layout! What's more --the speed you accomplished that layout. Seriously, I never thought I would associate the word 'elegant' with a t-shirt quilt, but elegant does apply to this one.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much extra work and effort are required to pull off one of those T shirt quilts successfully. People who don't quilt really have no idea -- and you do it so well! Curious -- do you save the scraps from the T shirts after you cut out the designs? Wondering because the mask pattern I've been using for our family uses old T shirt fabric for a soft lining against your face, and I've been wishing we had more fun colors to choose from for coordinating linings to outer print fabrics. Nothing but black, gray, and navy in this house full of boys and men!
ReplyDeleteI was glad to slam the door on April. Here's to a better May. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteThis is really terrific. You are a master at these.
ReplyDelete