T-shirt quilt progress

I'm making progress on the comissioned t-shirt quilt.   Both sides are complete and I'm now in progress of pinning and quilting the monster quilt.   So far 7 our of 35 block pairs are quilted.  

My customer wanted a minimum of quilting in it.   So I'm quilting a 1/4 inch away from the block edges (way too hard to match and exactly stitch in the seam allowance) and then doing machine tacking in the block itself in areas where the t-shirt prints have spaces that match up on both sides.  I've slowly figured out how I need to pin each block in order to get thing lined up for which I'm thankful.  

I'm looking forward to getting the quilting done on this and moving on to the binding!

Top pic is a full size shot of the front of the quilt,  Both are shown draped over a 6 foot tall ladder.   I'm using a light-weight, king-sized quilt batting in the quilt.

Gratitudes:

1. My counts decided to rebound on their own.

2. Gorgeous weather!

Start of a new quilt - sashing, yes or no?

Needed something to sew on this evening in between working the proof-reading job.   Pulled out some novelty print scraps that I had left over from when I last cut swatches for sale (still need to list those!), and black solid scraps to use in between the novelties.    I'm debating on whether to put rows of black sashing between the rows or just to sew the rows together and put a black border around it all.  Am leaning towards the sashing but it'll depend on how many rows I end up with in total.   Two rows are done, and 67 more different novelty prints yet to go.

What do you thinking about sashing - yes or no?

This will eventually  become a tutorial for here on the blog....won't be hard to do just need to finish the quilt top first.  =)

Gratitudes:
1. The PT proof-reading job is interesting and keeping me busy.   So thankful for the opportunity to earn extra money to help pay off bills.

2. The beautiful weather we've been having here in WY this week.

New quilt and pattern in the works

So the not-so-lovely meds that I'm on at the moment for my clotting disorder tend to have some nasty side effects including making my sleep sometimes almost non-existant.   Like this morning when I didn't go to sleep until 12:30 am and then woke up at 3:30 long before my alarm.  

And when that happens I use the time to sew.   This morning, rather than have to frog stitch any of the commissioned items I started working on a new quilt design and testing it in fabric.  =)

I designed the quilt to use up the "bazillion" left over  sashing strip sections from the commissioned t-shirt quilt.  The novelty print fabrics are ones that have been cut for several yrs and were left overs from packs I'd put together to sell.

Pic shows the top half of the quilt.  there are three more rows of novelties and sashing to go.   Then I'll add a final border...thinking maybe two - a white inner one and then a print of some sort.  Am planning on writing up a pattern for it.

Gratitudes:

1. My final W-2 came in today and I was able to get my federal taxes filed.   Yippee!

2. Registration for the students in the club I'm advisor for are registered.  =)

Lots of sewing going on.........

Finished the front to the T-shirt quilt this morning.  Am thankful to have this much finished on the quilt.  Next up is finding the yellow headed quilt pins that I need to take and pin it together with so I can get the quilting started.  

Still aiming to have it all finished by the middle of March...hopefully I'll be able to hold to that schedule with all that is coming up at school, medical issues and the new PT job that I've got.

Next up are the four pillows that I need to get done for the same customer and more scrub tops for my very patient, long-time customer.  Need to get at leas 6 more done before I ship a batch to her and want them done before the middle of March as well if I can manage it.

 And for a change of pace - I bordered a couple of orphan blocks with black to bring them up to 9.5" square.   These will be mug rugs and I'm debating on whether to leave them as is, or to add on a section to one side on each of them to make them rectangular.   The original blocks were from patterns published by the now defunct Foundation Piecer and had been two of 12 stained glass patterns.   I used hand-dyed fabrics in them and love how they turned out......but they were a pain to make and very tedious.   And taking out the tissue paper I used as a foundation was a real pain.     These will most likely be put up for sale when finished.

Gratitudes:
1.  The past two days of fundraising at the high school went well for the Skills team at school and we've made about 70% of what they need to raise to go to state.

2. For my body hurting after working the fundrasing with the kids the last two days because it means that I'm still alive.

T-shirt Quilt is Progressing.....

Am making progress on the t-shirt quilt.  Have 9 of 15 combined rows of sashing and shirts together now.  But next up is making the remaining sashing strips and few 4-patches that I need for the bottom half of the quilt front.  So tonight I'll be cutting 14 WOF strips of the black and white and then doing a bunch of sewing and cutting.   Will sewing the bottom half together before attaching it to the top half because it won't be quite as bulky that way for me to work with.  Am planning to start pinning it on Sunday.

Gratitudes -
1. Drive to/from Cheyenne was a safe one yesterday.

2. Was blessed to win the block design contest for January.  =)

Making Progress and Watching What You Ask For......

One of the things that I'm working on with intention this year is getting my bills paid off and to do that one of the things that I need to do is increase the amount of commissioned sewing that I'm doing.   Along with that finding a PT job that I can do at home here in the middle of the wilds is also one of the things that I need.    All of this has been in my prayers this year.

Both of those things have been amply supplied - I'm in process of getting a PT job that will allow me to work from home and make decent money at the same time....and yes, it is a real job not a scam.   It will really help me to pay down the bills for which I'm thankful.  And at the same time I've been blessed with an abundance of commissioned items at the present time - almost more than I know what to do with...lol.    God is so good at supplying what I need and when I need it.   May I be faithful in my work to be intentional as I work through all He has supplied.


The t-shirt quilt is the biggest current project.   Back is done and the front is 25% done.   Have also started working again on the scrub tops - finished four of them over the weekend and cut four more out today.   So that means I've 16 more total to get made before I start on the tops/house dresses.  Am thankful for the progress on both projects.

When not sewing on the commissioned projects, i'm working on getting UFO's finished up and outta here (to sunshine or American Heroes) and am also making progress on that front as well.

All of this means that sewing for myself will take a back seat for the immediate future, but that is ok with me as I work to better the financial picture that I'm dealing with.  At the moment about the only sewing that I'm doing for me is workign on the blocks that I'm entering in the Modern Quilts Unlimited monthly block design contest.  Am happy to be able to do that much.  =)

Gratitudes:
1. God abundance in supplying all of my needs - even extra work to make the money needed to pay bills off.

2. No snow in the forecast as I prepare to drive a student to Cheyenne this week for school related activities.

New Contest Block and Voting

Voting for this months blocks for the Modern Quilts Unlimited block design contest started and goes through Sunday the 14th.

Votes can be cast by anyone with a Facebook account, you just need to be logged in and then click on the following link "Voting Link" to go directly to the correct page for my block.  Thanks in advance if you choose to vote for me!

Gratitudes:
1. A PT job that will allow me to earn extra money at home has opened up and looks like it will work out for me to work it at least the rest of this year, and maybe into next year - meaning I'll have extra money to help pay off bills!

2. Good weather this weekend allowing me to head to the "big city" of Cheyenne and get some needed shopping done without having to worry about blowing snow and black ice on the interstate.

January Contest Block in process

I know it seems like an oxymoron to say January block, but it is that because of when the block is announced.   This month's traditional block was the square-in-a-square.   I've got it about half pieced or a little more, with one more large pp'd section to go.  Then 8 small sections to do before I can put it all together.  Hopefully will finish it up tonite and then will upload it tomorrow.

Gratitudes -

1. Meeting at school with club officers went better than it could have, altho not as productive as I'd have liked.

2. Weather is warmer!

Word for this year is.....Intentional

I don't usually follow along with what everyone else is doing, but this year as I read about the words that others were choosing for their year I started to think about what I want this year to be like for myself.   And in doing so, there were many things that I want to happen but without focusing on what I'm doing none of them will be reached.

The word that I have chosen to focus on this year is "Intentional".   When you google it, the basic definition comes down to being done on purpose or deliberately.

Something being planned for rather than as an unplanned reaction.  I liked the synonyms that Google listed with the definition for Intentional and a common element to them seems to me to be centered in "Done on Purpose".   To me that indicates deliberate actions that are taken.

So as I go through this year, I want it to be one of actions that are done with a purpose in mind.  Some of the areas and things that I want to apply this to include:

My Finances and Commissioned Sewing -

I really want to make as much headway on paying off debt as I can over, not only this current school year, but the next year as well.   In order to do accomplish that, I will need to be intentional about using my stash for sewing projects (ok, this is a lot easier to do than it used to be since I live 2+ hrs from the nearest fabric store).  I don't need to buy additional fabric or thread or much of anything for most of my personal projects thanks to the size of my stash and my actions need to reflect that.

In addition, I want to be intentional in growing the custom quilting/sewing business that I have had for several years.  The first step I have taken in doing this is in taking the commission for the t-shirt quilt that I am currently working on.  Once this is done I will actively work to promote this side of my business to help grow the side income.    I also will be intentional in sewing up the commissioned garments that I have here and getting them completed so that I can be paid for them.

One thing that I am also considering is doing a FB page for my business, and will research it to see if it would be a good thing to help the business grow or not.  Other areas of possibility are listing some of the many quilts that I have finished for sale on Etsy or Ebay and then using the funds to help pay down debt or to pay for a vacation this summer.

I'm also pursuing a very PT job possibility as well.   Not necessarily a lot of money from it, but every little bit always helps when paying off debt.  Updating my website will also come into this as well and that is under way at this point.

My Quilt Designing -

I want to continue to grow this aspect of my sewing, not only for what I sew, but also into being able to sell my patterns.  To accomplish this I intend to write up some of my designs and try posting them to Craftsy to sell and see how that goes.  I have one design that I need to get made up so that I can submit it for publication as well.  Still trying to decide what magazine to submit it to as well.   One on-going item is my designing for the Modern Quilts International Block Design Challenge that I have been participating in.

The rest of life -

Being intentional also applies to the rest of my life - work, how I react to people and what they do or don't do, and so on.

It will be an interesting year and I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop and work out.

Have you chosen a word for this year?   If so, drop me a note and tell me what it is.

Gratitudes:
1. My platelet counts are up above the critical level - always a good thing!

2. Second semester has started in school and I've got a new class in robotics - should be an interesting year.