A Very Special Comission

I've been asked to make a quilt for a friend of my mothers who's husband passed away. She's been hanging unto his ties and dress shirts, and has given me a bin of them to create into a queen sized bed quilt. On a last minute whim, she also tossed in a piece of her wedding dress to also incorporate into the design.

I've been reading up on using ties as quilt material (stabilizing the fabric with interfacing seems to be key), how to cut apart men's shirts, and whether or not to wash the ties and wedding dress (yes). Most importantly, I've been mulling over patterns and designs, wanting to find the perfect one. Making a quilt for someone else can be nerve-wracking, and the pressure's on with this one in particular. 

Thankfully, there's no timeline for completion, so I can take my time to make sure things are just right.

Back in the saddle again!

Well, after almost three weeks without touching my sewing machine, I'm back at it again! 

Unfortunately I don't have anything too thrilling to share, because I'm STILL working on the Nouveau Wedding Ring quilt. Grrrrr. This is when I wish I had two sewing machines, so I could have one set up for free motion quilting, and one for piecing and I could switch back and forth at will. Oh well...at least I'm forced to focus and finish a quilt once I start to free motion quilt, and this one is almost finished, I swear. I'm almost to the binding....

Vacation Time (again!)

Work has been kicking my butt lately, so I have't had any time to sew. My machine looks exactly the same as my last post: 

And now tomorrow, I leave on a week-long Caribbean cruise, so it'll really be dead around here. I'm planning on coming back and sewing like a madman over my Christmas break, so stay tuned. I'm GONNA finish that double wedding ring, I swear!

Memory quilts

Word has spread amongst my coworkers that I "sew things", and I've been approached by two people in the past week who would like me to make memory quilts for their kids. I had to research exactly what these memory quilts were, as I have no kids and am not up on modern mothering trends. Apparently, moms save all their kids sports jerseys and t-shirts, and make them (or have them made) into a quilt for their kid to take to college after they graduate high school. From the looks of most pictures online, they tend to be rather bulky and unattractive, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for the proud mothers and their sporty children. 

This is a quandary for me. I'm completely uninspired by the idea of doing this, however this is a chance for me to make a little money to spend on something I am inspired by down the road. Do I sell my soul now for a little future fulfillment? Do I give the people what they want and sew the damn sports jersey quilts?

Wednesday WIP: Nouveau Wedding Ring

So, the wedding ring quilt top has been complete for some time now, and I started quilting it! I'm doing it in a combination of some angular triangles in the middle, and then swirls and figure 8's in the rings, with a stipple along the edges. There's about a six inch border that I'm not sure what to do with yet - maybe a feather or some sort of paisley would be nice...we'll see. It's all going well sor far, but this is a big quilt and I'm not even half way done yet. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it by Sunday.