The Final Two and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  This week has been a flurry of activity around here.  I've decorated two Christmas trees (I put up four each year) and refinished my dining room chairs (they needed a facelift), but before all of that, I buckled down and finished up the final two memory quilts in the set I've been working on.  Check out my last post if you missed the first three.

These two were a little bit more involved than the other three because of the HST's.  Oh, how I hate trimming HST's, but with shirt fabric that is already a little stretchy, trimming was unavoidable.  As with the other three quilts, these two use the same Kona Khaki background and Kona Chocolate binding, and the backing and quilting are exactly the same on all five quilts as well, which succeeds in making them a unified set.

I'm so happy with the way these five quilts turned out.  They look so warm and cozy, and I truly hope they are a treasure for their recipients.  Memory quilting isn't always the most glamorous and I don't always have time to fit them in my schedule, but when I do them, it is always rewarding to see how treasured they are.

Last week's party was filled with amazing projects, like this pretty quilt from Better'n Dog Biscuits-

This quilt by heARTS Creations is so cool- and it's mounted on canvas!

And finally, Anne-Marie at Stories From the Sewing Room linked up this striking quilt-

NTT will be taking a break next week for Thanksgiving, BUT be sure to check back next Friday for a roundup of some fantastic Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals from my favorite shops around the web.

Okay friends, let's get our party on.

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Sewing Pedal to the Metal and NTT

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all.  I have been sewing like crazy this week, and actually have three finishes to share with you.  I'm currently working on a series of five memory quilts from men's shirts, and these three are the first set.  

I had originally planned to make the entire set of five quilts in one giant batch, but realized that I don't have enough safety pins for basting to have five quilts basted all at once.  So, breaking them up into two smaller sets was a good alternative.  

I've chosen to keep the background, binding, and backing consistent in all five quilts.  The Kona Khaki background works really well with the earthy colors in the shirts, and the Kona Chocolate binding creates a nice frame around them.

I quilted each quilt with a nice relaxed stipple which serves a couple of purposes.  Since clothing fabric is more worn than brand new fabric, it shouldn't be "quilted to death," and the stipple pattern blends right in, allowing the shirts to take center stage.

Each quilt also has a consistent chambray backing with a stripe of Kona Chocolate down the center.  I feel like pairing the shirts with these fabrics is almost like putting them with jeans or khaki pants.  It's just classic.

I am so pleased with the way these have turned out, and I'm also loving the way they look photographed with the sunlight and fall leaves behind them.  It makes them look extra snuggly and perfect for the season.  I already have the fabric for the final two quilts all cut out, and tomorrow I'll get busy on them.  This wasn't really a Christmas order per se, but I think it will be nice to get them finished and sent off as soon as I can.

Okay friends!  It's almost time to show what you've been working on this week, but before you do, take a look at some of the fantastic projects from last week.  Gretchen's Little Corner linked up this awesomely scrappy quilt-

Dreamworthy Quilts shared this pretty quilt.  It looks so warm and homey.

JanineMarie at Quilts From the Little House showed off this amazing quilt.  The quilting adds so much movement!

Quiltpiecer linked up this oh-so-amazing stunner-

And finally, this scrap-happy snowball quilt is by Jayne at Twiggy and Opal-

Are y'all ready to party?  Let's do this!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Shirts Galore and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday!  I've been swimming in men's shirts for several days this week.  Ordinarily, when I take a commission for a memory quilt (which is not very often), I make one or two quilts, and continue on with my other sewing at the same time, but right now, I've been processing 26 shirts and cutting out five lap size quilts from them.  When my commission is so large though, I have to put everything else aside and get down to business.  

I always choose fairly simple patterns when working with shirts, partly because I don't want to take away from the patterns in the shirt fabrics, but also because very often, the shirts given to me are not 100% cotton, which is the case with these.  Many of them are cotton/linen blend, a few are cotton/poly blend, and a couple are 100% linen, which is challenging to sew to say the least.

I usually keep the background, binding, and backing fabric consistent when I make "sets" of memory quilts.  For these, I chose Kona Khaki as a background fabric to give them a unified look, and I love the look of men's shirts with khaki.  I'm planning to "batch" these quilts to finish them as efficiently as possible.  At this point, I have all five quilts cut out and ready to piece.  I'm hoping to have these done and shipped off well before the holidays (even though this isn't actually a Christmas order).  They will definitely be keeping me busy for awhile.

Before we get to the party, let's check out the projects from last week that are keeping you busy!  Take a look at this stunning autumn quilt finish by Quiltpiecer.  I just love the fall colors!

Anja Quilts shared this lovely quilt.  The chunky hand quilting is so pretty!

This icy snowflake quilt top is by Celine at Espritpatch-

I love this sampler quilt by Lori at Crossquilt-

And finally, Frederique at Quilting, Patchwork, Applique showed off this cool quilt finish-

Okay, y'all!  Let's get to the party!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)