Kitchen Fabric Art

A little more sewing has occurred, but, yep, it's still kitchen related. Perhaps this year should just be called the year of blogging about the kitchen, with a teeny bit of sewing thrown in. Or not.

Anyway, this was a project that I also started (and mostly completed this summer). A quilted table runner. My mom and I had purchased a kit at the Houston quilt show when we attended way back in 2009. Mom made hers earlier this year, and that inspired me to get on the ball, and get mine made, too.

The pattern is Table Art by Calico Carriage Quilt Designs, and is still available. The kit at the quilt show, had some fabulous fabric, that has kind of an industrial look, which completely goes with our kitchen design.

A close up:

The quilting was free motion, and pretty random at that. Different sections got different designs, but mostly it was straight lines on the circles, outlining the big circles, and the fabrics with "pictures" also were outlined. I used a variegated thread on the top. My bobbin thread was initially a quilting thread (no Ellen... don't use that!!!... wait... where were you when I quilted almost 2/3 of the thing that way) Oh, I'm back. Quilting thread in the bobbin completely messed up the tension and I just couldn't get it to look right. Thankfully, the part that looks the worst is the back which is resting against the table, and I can completely live with that. So much that I even "signed" it...

Secret Sewing Revealed

I mentioned sometime earlier that I was doing some secret sewing, and now I can talk about it, since they were gifts for Laura, and her birthday has passed. I'll just show you one of the things today, though.


A little background story is in order, though. Last year (or 2 years ago maybe) when Laura was going through her possessions to prepare for a move, she brought me 2 shopping bags full of t-shirts, and asked if I could make her a t-shirt quilt. I agreed, because I'm sentimental about things like t-shirts (crazy, I know), even though at the same time I think that t-shirt quilts can look a bit too crafty. Not sure that makes sense, but anyway.


Then Patty made a gorgeous quilt, and said that her inspiration was the new modern quilt movement. I started browsing through blogs of modern quilters, bought this book:

and inspiration hit. (I was going to show you a picture of the exact inspiration quilt, but I can't find it online, AND I can't find my book. Arghhhh! It was a variation on the Chinese coin quilt if you're familiar with that.)


I dumped out all the t-shirts, and whoa! There were a lot! But they could be categorized, and I decided to make the first one from all her t-shirts from the University of Georgia and their Redcoat Marching Band that she was a part of.

 To consolidate the "journey" I've made a slideshow of the quilt coming together...

A final look:

The Front

The Back

In a Quilting State of Mind

Are you as relieved as I am that June is over with? I've been sewing lately, but have I ever mentioned quilts? I've made quilts on and off since, oh, 1982. But I like to actually finish things, and quilts originally, for me, took FOR.EVER. The first 2 I made were queen-sized, and hand quilted. But starting around 2008 or so, I discovered that now people machine quilted (please don't tell me it became popular before that... it's just that quilts were not on my radar). Besides, my kids had outgrown my sewing, and I hadn't rediscovered sewing for myself, so quilting it was.


But Patty, the Snug Bug re-piqued my interest with her gorgeous wedding gift quilt and she mentioned the Modern Quilting movement. Huh? Again, I was out of the quilting loop, and did some investigating. According to the Modern Quilt Guild, modern quilting is a new twist on traditional quilting. You can see their full definition here.


I bought 2 books:

and after looking at some gorgeous pictures, realized that I've been "modern quilting" for a couple of years now, and just didn't call it that. Here are a couple of quilts I made for my Down the Street etsy shop that have sold. I made them in 2009.


A table runner from a jelly roll (2-1/2" wide pre-cut strips for you non-quilters)...

And a string pieced wall-hanging:

Kinda wish this one hadn't sold.


Yes. Modern quilting before it was called that. Specifically.


Why am I rambling on about quilting? I have a good bit of quilting cotton, including fat quarters and strips and general scraps that is crying out to be turned into quilts. I have 2 bags of t-shirts from Laura that she wants turned into hip and happening t-shirt quilts. Hmmm, modern t-shirt quilts. That's what she wants. Definitely a challenge.


And an awesome UFO that needs, yes, really needs, to be finished. It's almost done, and why did I stop? It's complicated.


Oh, and yeah. Almost forgot. I just made a little dog quilt. For those spoiled rescue dogs we have. Here's a look at how we torture the poor creatures.

"Look at poor little us, forced to lay on the hot concrete. We've been out here for hours, a couple minutes, and we must come back in."

The reality is that these poor creatures pretty much lounge about on virtually every couch, chair and bed in the house. At this very moment, they are at opposite ends of the sectional, "watching" House Hunters with me. During the day, they like the chairs in the great room with its big window (so they can keep tabs on the evil squirrels). The chairs are actually kinda nice though, so they have little quilts on them.

This one was originally for sale in my shop, but nobody bought it, and now it's mine. It "goes" with the plaid, don't you think?

This is the new one. About 25" x 25". Look at the cute little doggie prints. And it really goes with the yellow chair I made it for.

The arm of the chair is a perfect support to be able to peer out at squirrels.

Wow, this whole post may have really been TMI about me and my quiltmaking journey. Be thankful I didn't take pictures of the first quilt I ever made.


Edit: I added the link to Patty's blog and the post about her gorgeous quilt!