I went looking at antique quilts for ideas and inspiration! But instead of making me sleepy...they made me more jazzed, and it is now after 7am and I just KNOW by 3pm this afternoon I'm going to hit that proverbial brick wall that reinforces the fact that I need more than 4 hours of sleep a night..*yawn*
There are too many photos for ideas to post here....so here are a few that caught my eye! Of course the cheddar ones were bright enough to keep me awake at 3am! I love the 9 patch on point (road to jericho I think it's called?) with the really wonky fan quilting! Click the pics to see the enlarged version...very fun! This one makes me think of Tonya and I know she will get a kick out of it. I think all those plaids I found will be great with cheddar as an off set color. I also like the blue 4patch/9patch. So simple but so effective!
And the other one is rows of 4 patches alternated with rows of 4 patches and plain alternate squares, but set on point it is really effective!
So how many shirts did I get cut up last night? ummmm....3? and it was a tedious process! But you will be so proud of me. I grabbed my favorite salvaged cigar box and started putting the recycled buttons in there....
I just love the comfortable homey feeling of simple basic quilts. This is why I am toying with the idea of stripping parts of these plaid shirts down into various sizes of strips so that I can sit and sew easily with them, versus having to iron/trim/cut them one fabric at a time as I decide to make something. What do you think?
I was thinking I could strip down the shirt sleeves and front halves to give me strips to work with, but leave the shirt backs whole in case I need bigger pieces to cut block parts from?
I just know how I work...and at least half of a quilt does come from strip parts for me. Like the wedding quilt below. The creams and greens of the four patches were strips. The tan/neutral triangles at the tips of the black star points came from the precut 2" neutral squares bin. The only fabrics that were yardage were the 2 music fabrics and the gold for the inner star...and then finally the outer border after it was all together. This is why I am thinking I'll get more quilts made if I strip them down somewhat?
I guess that means I need 3 more drawers...I think I'll start with 2", 2.5" and 3.5" plaid strips :c) YES!?
Bonnie
14 comments:
'morning Bonnie. If it makes you feel better I was up some of that time with you! ha ha
I've been reading your blog for just a short while, but I wonder if you "take requests"? :-) If so, I'd like to see/read how you are cutting up the shirts you got. Are you ripping them out seam-by-seam or are you simply cutting them up on either side of the seams? I ask because I'm too lazy to do the former even though I know I'd have more fabric in the end with the latter method.
Thanks in advance and I hope your afternoon "wall" is more like Memory Foam (as in a quick nap) than brick.
Michele
Well, you know sleep is a waste of good time Bonnie ... just kidding of course, but I do know what it's like to just not be able to sleep.
I'm with you - I love the simple old fashioned quilts. The quilts are a bit like me I guess *lol*.
The wedding quilt is just lovely, you're one amazing woman.
*hugs*
Tazzie
:-)
Good morning to you too. For me, the older I get the less sleep I need. Take a cat nap or drink some caffeine this afternoon!!!
Putting a strong color with the scraps in those antique quilts really makes them sing!!!
Glad to see you are collecting all those buttons from the shirts.
Woohoo, you do know me well. look at that beauty. that cheddar is fabulous, and oh oh oh, triple wonky fans. fabulous. 3:00am? Owwww.
Hi Bonnie, Hearing about your plans to process your shirts inspires me to tackle the shirts in my own stash. Cutting them into strips sounds like a great idea. It would make both the cutting up and the using up a lot easier. Hope you get a nap.
Strips sound great Bonnie. I especially love the quilt with the blue alternate squares. You are such a wonder....now take a nap!
I read somewhere that sleeplessness like that can be an early sign of perimenopause. Pretty sure that was the case with me, anyway. I'm with you on making use of the time.
Love that fan quilting on the saffron one.
What wonderful inspiration photos Bonnie -- thanks for sharing! Love your choir director's quilt as well, and the ideas for the signatures -- though, could you have them sign a "book" or something and simply include it with the quilt?
These quilts are great. I was loving the one with the 4X4 squares alternated with the orange? Gold? Cheddar? whatever it is, it is fabulous. But then!...the last quilt with the 3 four patches and one plain square, that is even better! I need to keep that one in mind for a future project...so neat!
I think the idea of cutting the shirts by sections and having strips at the ready is a very good idea. The back of the shirts can stay big for setting triangles or backing squares, and then the rest can be bricks and strips to play with. I just wish I could get shirts at the sorts of prices you get. All the local thrift stores here aren't much of a bargain (those shirts would have been about $5 each here).
Thsoe quilts are so wonderful...hope you get some sleep tonight. Warm milk and honey usually works for me.
When my group made a baby quilt I took some of the fabric and made a "book" cover/quilt and stitched some regular paper pages inside. Everyone who made a block was able to write a message and we put in a photo of us with the quilt.
You better get stripping Bonnie, and we want to see photos afterwards. Of the fabric, silly!
Do the people at the shop know you're making quilts, or do they think you have 14 sons?
Love those antique quilts, no better way to get inspired.
Mmmm - I love them - especially the blue one! Wait till you see the antique ones I got pics of from my trip down to Indy!
I've lurked for a while and LOVE your blog. I love buying and cutting up old shirts from the Goodwill, thrift stores and closets. I even cut the yokes, cuffs and collars up. You are an inspiration. Thank you.
Bonnie,
I made a 4patch/9patch quilt, too. I am quilting it on my domestic machine right now.
Mine's a little different, though because it has sashing with a 4patch as the cornerstone.
It really turned out cute, I think. I have a picture of it on my blog and I'll post a better picture when I get it quilted and bound.
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