Welcome to another edition of Tidy-Up Tuesday that didn't post until Wonderful Wednesday!! This one is special. It tells the tale of a UFO Club finish, which is always a happy day for me.
The story begins...
... At the end of last summer and in the middle of our move!!!
Time passed...
The move went on forever, the studio took longer than I ever expected to be set up and functional. Then once then once it was set up, the machine wasn't working properly.
Ugh!!! Thank goodness for flexible deadlines!
Here's what the "blocks" looked like on the "design bed" at the beginning of the month:
One rather plain block - shown near the bottom left in the photo above - was a candidate for a bit of embellishment...
So, it got a few sleeve or pocket emblems appliqued on:
Then...
It was assembly time:
Once it was a completed quilt top...
.. I waited for the arrival of this fabulously textural backing fabric...
... Before loading it on the frame and quilting it right up:
Before I knew it, the quilting was done...
... Except for the LAST TWO BLOCKS!! Would you believe I ran out of bobbin thread? It's true. The 70" x 90" quilt has more than one pre-wound bobbin in it:
I do what I call semi-custom quilting on T-Quilts. A large-ish meander in the "background" with outlines of the focal points of the shirt designs:
Then came the miles of binding...
Along with thread color selection:
After that, I trimmed up the quilt to ready it for the next step:
And started in on applying the binding, which was quickly followed by stitching it down:
Nothing like the LAST MINUTE to get something done:
As the plot thickened...
Thanks go out to my trusty assistant DS2, who once again held up the quilt so that I could get a full photo of the quilt before delivery:
Not SEW fast, Joyful!!!
The quilt was done, but I didn't get a chance to add the recipient's name, as I had planned. What's a quilter to do? Think fast and come up with a new plan:
The story ends with...
... One happy customer:
Thanks for trusting me with these special memories, Jackie! T-quilts are always challenging, but oh SEW rewarding. I'm SEW grateful that you keep returning to me for all of your T-Quilt needs!
Now, let's mark one quilting UFO off the list for the Spring 2022 (Ravelry) UFO Club (and move on to finishing up another.)
Until next time...
Whew!!!
I know not everyone likes t-shirt quilts but I think they make wonderful memory quilts and I’ve made several over the years! This one looks great.
ReplyDeleteGreat T quilt, Joy!! I love how you filled in a rather blank T with pockets and sleeve bits.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful! I love the your way of embellishing the 'plain' block. Great finish!!! ~Jeanne
ReplyDeletefor someone who loves to work on minis--this had to feel like a monster! but look at the results--beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like that turned out great! The block you embellished with smaller pieces is a neat idea. I love the backing and binding, too. Hooray for a finish!
ReplyDeletecongrats on the finish and hand-off!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of appliqueing the pockets and such on that blank block. What a great use of all the leftovers. Happy finish!
ReplyDeleteSo creative of you to embellish the "plain" block that way. Looks fantastic, the block and the whole quilt.
ReplyDelete-Soma
The Queen of T-shirt quilts strikes again! Lovely finish!
ReplyDeleteI read this with great interest as I'm quilting a t-shirt quilt today. Love how you added the recipient's name. Great job on the quilting!
ReplyDeleteGood job! So happy for you to get it done on time, and with consideration for every aspect of what makes a successful t-shirt quilt. Even better that you got paid for it (I hope).
ReplyDeleteI've always said that tee shirt quilts are very special. You've done your customer proud indeed!
ReplyDelete