Thing One is a T-shirt guy:  regardless of the weather, he can be seen wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt.  Over the years we’ve collected dozens of T-shirts from vacations, school events, and other occasions.  The shirts he’s outgrown were taking up a good amount of storage space, but I couldn’t bear to get rid of them — it was a storage bin filled with memories — and then The Gimlet suggested, “Why not make a T-shirt quilt?”

I’ve watched my mother make countless baby quilts over the years (not telling how many years, but the first one was for Uncle B, so do the math) but I’ve been sewing machine-phobic ever since that disastrous quarter in junior high Home Economics, so I wasn’t sure I could make a quilt on my own.  Nevertheless, the local fabric store had a booklet by Better Homes & Gardens about T-shirt and other memory quilts, and I had bought a not-too-intimidating little Kenmore sewing machine to keep my linens, Hardanger fabric, and other evenweaves from unraveling while I stitched, so it was time to give quilting a try.

After cutting off the sleeves and neck, and separating the front and back of the T-shirt, attach fusible interfacing to keep the T-shirt fabric from stretching.  The booklet suggests using fusible tricot interfacing, with the stretch of the interfacing placed opposite from the T-shirt’s natural stretch.  Once the shirts were fused, I cut them into various sized squares depending on the size of the design.

Then it was time to play with quilt top designs and fabric choices!  Nanaimo followed the process with great interest from the beginning, whether stalking the rotary cutter or leaping into the bag of scraps, and laying out the rows of squares on the bed was an open invitation for him to roll around and act silly.  I chose two batiks in aquamarine and brown (looks like burled wood) to provide a neutral (but not boring) backdrop to the variety of colors and designs of the T-shirts, and a cozy blue flannel back that would complement the batiks.

The rest of the process was straightforward:  sew squares, then strips, together to create the quilt top; tie it, and finish up by binding it.  It was an easy enough project for this complete quilt and sewing novice to make, and somebody who really knows how to quilt could achieve more impressive results with a more complicated pattern of blocks (perhaps in different sizes and shapes) and a quilted, rather than tied, top.  One small note of warning:  the fusible interfacing adds an additional tougher layer of fabric to sew through, and I found tying the quilt to be more difficult than the baby quilts have been.  It’s not bad for a first attempt; I can see the mistakes I made but I think the quilt is structurally sound and Thing One loves his new quilt.  Not only is it great to be able to re-use these old shirts, it’s also a a fun way to remember the elementary school science fairs and school carnivals, and family vacations/Gimlet business trips around the country.  There are still several T-shirt blocks left over; not quite enough for a second full quilt but perhaps they’ll make up a smaller lap quilt some day, or I can add more shirts as Thing One continues to outgrow his old favorites.

A T-shirt quilt may be a project for the moms of younger children to look forward to making (you’ll be here before you know it, trust me) and it’s not a bad idea for recycling our own old shirts from Back In The Day which are just too cool to throw out.

Last summer I decided to embroider several Hardanger table centerpieces as Christmas gifts.   Originally I planned to make four gifts, but by the beginning of December it was clear that there was no way I’d be able to complete more than three.  Each centerpiece took about two months to embroider, and while I managed to complete the much larger third project in two months as well, life would have been much easier if I had budgeted 3-4 months for it instead.

My grandmother received the first project:  a 20″ (approx. 51cm) square centerpiece based on a 1905 design from the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.  I stitched it on white Hardanger fabric (22 count) with variegated blue perle cotton from DMC.  The openwork took a lot longer than I thought it would; overall the centerpiece is much more “lacy” than I expected it would be.  (See what it looked like before I did any cutting, weaving, or picots.)  I was also learning each stitch along the way, so I believe if I made this centerpiece again it wouldn’t take as long to embroider the basic surface stitches.

The second centerpiece, Mindy, was given to my aunt.  A little smaller than the Vesterheim centerpiece (18″ or 45cm), I used light blue Hardanger fabric and white DMC perle cotton with dark blue perle cotton accents.  This centerpiece was the easiest and quickest of all the projects to stitch.  One aspect of Hardanger embroidery I enjoy is watching the progression of a project:  each set of simple stitches adds to the overall beauty and complexity of the design.  Here’s a look at Mindy in progress.

Third (and last), my mother chose the pattern “Oldemors Kaffeduk” (Great-grandmother’s coffee cloth) from Lillil Thuve’s book Hardanger Design (Orion Forlag, 2000).  The original design is white embroidery on white fabric, but I decided to use Caron Watercolours Rose Quartz for the surface stitches, and cream Hardanger fabric was a better match with those colors.  Further, I added a personal touch:  my mother’s dining room has a view of her bird feeders, to which chickadees are one of the most frequent visitors.  A Cross Stitcher’s Oriental Odyssey (by Joan Elliott) includes charts for a delightful pair of chickadees which fit perfectly in each corner of the tablecloth.

While the tablecloth design was simple, the size of the project (81cm  or 32″) meant there was a lot more work to do than on the previous centerpieces.  The additional cross-stitched motifs also took extra time to complete — a little under one week per chickadee.  The tablecloth was successfully completed in two months, but the pace was much more intense and many other tasks around the house were neglected to meet the Christmas deadline.

I’m pleased with how the chickadee tablecloth turned out.  The cream fabric and delicate blend of pink, cream, taupe and green in the Watercolours skein give the piece an antique look.  I used ecru perle cotton rather than Caron’s Wildflowers Rose Quartz to weave the bars so the openwork would stand out; I noticed that the variegated thread in the Vesterheim centerpiece makes it difficult to see the dove’s eyes and picots.

Even though the goal of homemade gifts ended up becoming very stressful at the end — and I was very happy to be finished! — I’m glad I made the effort.  It’s been a great learning experience and is a fun hobby (relaxing, too, when there’s no deadline to meet).  The only problem now is that I gave away all my Hardanger pieces and have none for my own table.  I still have all the materials to make the Anna table runner, so I may keep it or give it as a gift this year.  I’ll also take some time choosing another pattern for myself, and enjoy the slower pace as well as the eventual results.

IT’S DONE!

Due to the snow and slush, our family holiday party was postponed until Sunday, so even though the final Hardanger project wasn’t completed in time for Christmas Day, it’s ready to be shown off at the party.  Plenty of posts to write and photos to sort through over the next several days:  check back for our Santa visit, a quiet Christmas at home, bragging complete descriptions of all three Hardanger Christmas gifts, and snow, snow, and more snow.

I decided to take a break from the long process of making embroidered Christmas gifts and stitch a quick, small project for myself.  This Norwegian reindeer ornament by Scandinavian Stitches was featured in the 2008 Christmas Ornament issue of Just Cross Stitch magazine.  I would have liked to have tried using the recommended Danish Flower Thread, but the snowstorms made a trip to the embroidery shop impossible, so I used DMC floss and 30 count Weeks Dye Works linen.

My finishing skills still leave a lot to be desired but it’s not bad for a first ornament.  Mostly it was gratifying to begin a project in the morning, work leisurely at it through the day, and be able to hang the finished product on the tree just shortly after dinner.  After working long hours every day and night on the last Christmas project (and it’s still not completed!) it was a nice reminder that not all projects take a lot of time and energy.

The JCS Christmas Ornament Issue features several ornaments I’d like to try; obviously I won’t get around to them until after Christmas at this point but once the big project is done I look forward to relaxing with a few small goodies.

It’s been pretty quiet around GimletBlog lately, hasn’t it?  At the end of October I started work on Christmas present #3, and it turned out to be a lot more involved than I expected.  The small fact that the project was about twice the size of the previous two should have been an indicator, but no.   As Christmas drew closer and closer, and other household and holiday tasks piled up, about two weeks ago I slowed down, made the difficult (but obvious) decision not to pursue Christmas present #4 this year, and made time to catch up on everything else.

As the post title indicates, it seems like the whole month of November was spent on the wrong side of half done, but now all that remains is the final steps of cutting and weaving bars — no fillings to slow the work down, thank goodness.  Come Christmas, the recipient will get to see the work-in-progress, and meanwhile I will have been able to wrap presents and bake some cookies.  No guarantees on mailing out cards, though!  After Christmas there will be photos and descriptions of the first two gifts, and hopefully the third will soon follow.

At least two people on my gift list will get handmade embroidery for Christmas this year!  Follow the jump for a peek at the newest piece. | …continue reading Hardanger update: second project finished

It was starting to feel like handmade Christmas gifts were too ambitious of goals, but the first project is done!  Follow the jump for a few teaser pictures and cryptic details. | …continue reading Hardanger update: one done, three to go

After completing the band sampler, I had the great (or insane) idea that if I could successfully finish one small band of Hardanger embroidery, the next logical step was to make a whole bundle of table runners and centerpieces for Christmas gifts.  Well, we’ll see how far I get with that.  Beyond the jump are small spoilers — teaser photos and a few details about some of the projects I’m working on — so if you want to avoid any hints of what the elf sweatshop is up to, steer clear.  Look for an after-Christmas post describing all the projects in detail with plenty of photos. | …continue reading Hardanger for the holidays

In addition to my niece’s band sampler, I spent the summer working on several small kits by Just Nan.  These projects are so cute:  lots of color and intricate stitches packed into a small space, and each could be completed in a couple of days.

This sparkly pair of enamel boxes are my new stitching assistants.  Lady Scarlet and Bella Bee (aka Barnabee’s Bride) preside over the dishes in which I keep small stitching odds and ends.  They’re surprisingly heavy, which makes them perfect for holding down the page in an instruction book, or pressing folds into place to mark the center of a piece of fabric.  But that’s not all:  each box opens to reveal a tiny needle book or needle roll.  It’s no surprise that Lady Scarlet and Bella Bee are Thing Two magnets, but he may only play with them with careful supervision.

Equally appealing is this year’s Over the Top/In the Tin series:  four small tins with embroidered lids and a stitching accessory to store inside.  The spring and summer tins were Hop and Sizzle, with a coordinating needle book scissor fob and pin wheel, respectively.  (I didn’t attach the cord to the needle book because I don’t have a pair of scissors tiny enough to fit inside the tin.)  I’ve also completed autumn’s Boo tin, but haven’t started its needle book yet.  Jingle, due to arrive in November, will finish out the series.

Finishing is not my strong suit but I’m improving with each project.  These kits are not very difficult to finish; very basic stitches and careful application of glue are all that’s required.  The Gimlet has been pressed into service to help wind the embroidery floss twisted cords that border each tin lid; enlisting a helper worked a lot better than trying to wind the cord alone using a door knob.

Finally it can be told:  the band sampler was a birthday gift for my niece, who turned eight this week and is preparing to be baptized.  JoAnn’s Fabrics & Crafts did a super job on the framing: a lovely antique-looking frame with roses to match the flowers on the sampler; they also added extra spacers to protect the silk ribbon embroidery; and the pink matboard backing shows off the Hardanger band beautifully.

To see the completed sampler, click on the smaller image.  Earlier posts about the sampler in progress can be found in the “sinister craftiness” category.   I began stitching the sampler in June, completed all but the date in July, then added the date and had it framed at the end of August.  It was a lot of fun to learn all the new stitches, and the sampler was a great confidence builder for future projects.

The poem on the sampler is the first verse from “Shine On” by Joseph Ballantyne, a song in our church’s children’s hymnal:

My light is but a little one,
My light of faith and prayer;
But lo! it glows like God’s great sun,
For it was lighted there.