When I was sorting through the clothing I had to grin. My aunt was a fan of stripes and she wore a lot of black, denim and navy. At least the color palette is quite consistent throughout! A lot of the clothing is knit, so I'm stabilizing the squares with Pellon SF-101. This is uncharted territory for me, making a quilt out of knits and denim, but so far, so good. I'll probably be holding my breath the entire time, so I better hurry! Ha!
On a side note, I've actually started using my design wall as just that--a design wall! Normally I keep my orphan blocks or works in progress on the design wall (it's ever-changing artwork) and I lay out my quilts on the floor. Now that I'm using it for it's intended purpose, the floor is clean(er) and my husband it thrilled. It's pretty sad that it took me this long to figure it out, but hey, better late than never, right?
Happy Monday to you!
23 comments:
What a lovely memory. It makes you wonder a little what palette one would leave behind.....I would like to think red and polka dot for me!
Hmmm, yes my design wall is a catch all for stuff.....must clean up my act now you have pointed this out.
Yes! please get that thing done, so you can breathe again! :)
Thia ia going to be so special.
It's looking good but surely now your orphan blocks are on the floor?! ;)
I think I like your Aunt clothing colour palette, denim and stripes. Awesome
I am wondering what exactly a design wall is? Is it felt and the fabric squares stick to it?
i actually like the blank/negative space in your design. guess that may not work for some? lovely memory quilt :) so special for family
I too made a memory quilt for a friend. The gentleman was a farmer so lots of denim and thread bare plaid shirts. The hardest part of making the quilt was cutting into the clothing....not sure I want to do many of those types of quilts, it's hard on the nerves! But I was pleased with the outcome and my friend was elated!
My new sewing room has space for a design wall but not sure how I want it made. Did you just tack the flannel directly to the wall?
You rock. Your project is well timed for me. I have to make a memory quilt as well and I was supplied with all knits. I knew I needed to back them as I did with the t shirt quilt I made but I couldn't remember which interfacing to use. Good luck with your quilt. I'm sure it will bring great comfort and joy.
Amanda Bridle,
A design wall can be made from a few different things...a flannel backed table cloth, a large piece of batting or flannel. In my case, I use a king size flat sheet that I have tacked up to the wall with push pins. Yes, the blocks stick to the flannel-most of the time, anyway! :)
Hope that helps!
AJ
Carolyn,
Hurray for room for a design wall in your new sewing space! Yes, I just tacked the flannel into the wall using push pins. I did use a hammer to help, but very gently! I have used a stapler before, but the push pins seem to work better.
I agree with you, cutting up the clothing is nerve wracking!! But I'm sure the results will be worth it.
Hope that helps!
Hmm yes. My wardrobe is full, but only 6 inches to the right is in use, and it's all blue, black, grey and sludge. Time for a clear out maybe. But those stripes will be great to work with.
That is very sweet of you to do this for your cousin. She will cherish it I am sure. It is not easy to work with fabric of all different kinds and get it all to work. Fingers crossed it all comes together without too much trouble. Look forward to seeing it when it is finished.
Please share more about the process of using clothing for a quilt as it all comes together. I have some of my Mom and Dad's old clothes and have never gotten up the nerve to make them into a quilt yet. Probably wouldn't have thought about using a stabilizer of some type.
I've made a couple of memory quilts from my Da's clothing as well. My grandmother (from Peterborough) was a great quilter for using clothing bits. It was somehow comforting to identify specific blocks or pieces in the finished quilt.
Just a tip from doing a couple of t shirt quilts...piecing the blocks that are stabilized goes much better if I use my walking foot, but you probably already knew that! :-)
Love the look on the design wall. And I bet looking at it brings a smile to your face, remembering your unique aunt.
Love the way your current quilt is coming together, beautiful color and a lovely idea.
Nice to see your work in progress up on the design wall. This quilt will be such a treasure!
You make me smile! I love it when we finally do something that makes us realize why didn't we do it sooner! Very special quilt in process it seems. Keep us posted. Also wanted to say I am so glad you have kept the Finish it up Fridays going in the summer. It really is fun and inspiring to see everyone's finishes. Thanks- K-
I'm not sure what interfacing you're using, but having two t-shirt quilts under my belt now, I found that using a woven fusible interfacing worked much better to stabilize the knits. The pellon interfacing i used the first time didn't completely keep the knits from stretching and caused some problems when I quilted it. I had much better luck with the woven product. Good luck with yours - it's looking good!
sorry, I saw your older post and my name was on that! You can delete my posts!! :)
The denim and the stabilized knits will work just fine. It will be thicker to quilt through, might need to change the needle in the machine during the process if it becomes blunted. It will be a heavier quilt too, but that will make it even more comforting. I made a memory quilt from plaid shirts for a friend who lost her dad, earlier this year. It means so much to the recipients.
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