Monday, May 22, 2017

Planning and Cutting

But first, we have our internet/TV/home phone restored, YAY!!! Everything mysteriously came back a little after 9:00 last night. I didn't realize how much I'd miss it all until we didn't have it.  

I spent Friday working off-line in EQ and prepping for a new project. DH wants a flannel quilt, and I'll need to get started soon to have it finished for his b-day in November. 

I've been saving his old shirts that are too frayed to wear anymore, and I bought some cuts of flannel in Paducah recently. I played in EQ, came up with a plan, and spent Friday cutting. First, though, I ran the new fabrics through a couple of hot water/high heat dry cycles to preshrink them as much as possible, since the shirts were already well washed and shrunk. Do you have any idea how much lint that preshrinking process generated?!!!  I should have taken a photo. 


I used the die cutter DH recently gave me and was able to make a test block that went together well. Does anyone recall the name of this block?

On Friday I spent most of the day cutting. With no internet or TV, I had nothing better to do, right? 
I cut
  • Lights and darks for at least 140 HSTs 
  • 70 light squares
  • 105 dark squares


With the die cutter, it went well and my day was very productive. I now have everything cut and kitted up in a project box for upcoming sew days with friends. I even got started on some of the HSTs, which came out just right with no trimming needed. What a time-saver!

See that red plaid on the lower right? That's from DH's all-time most favorite shirt, an LLBean shirt that he got more than 20 years of wear out of. We have a photo of him wearing it in 1989, and we didn't take that shirt out of the rotation until after he started wearing a beard in 2012, when the collar became too frayed to wear anymore. Yes, the fabric's a little thinner than the newly bought flannels, but so what, this is a quilt for him to use, not an heirloom. 

So here's the plan, as drawn in EQ, 12" blocks with 4" borders, 68 x 80" before quilting. 

DH has specifically requested wool batting, and I'll use the leftover shirt backs and flannel yardage to piece the backing. This quilt may not be a beauty, but it'll sure be cuddly. 

So as the saying goes, I have my work cut out for me. I'm looking forward to a sew day and camp weekend with friends where I can work on piecing the blocks. 


Since Judy L. has retired from hosting Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, another Judy has taken over. Check out everyone's Design Wall Monday posts at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.
Also linking  up with Em's Scrapbag and Love Laugh Quilt

10 comments:

  1. This is going to be one very cuddly quilt! And warm, too. How nice that your husband has asked you to make him a quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay for being back online - and yay for the cutting you did - that is quite an accomplishment!! it will be a beautiful quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The block is a slightly modified Old Maid's Puzzle block, maybe? I'm glad everythign is working again and the quilt sounds like it is going to be perfectly cozy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (Reposting due to spell check error.)
      I said: I love plaids, and will look forward to seeing this quilt when it is finished. It will be great! Thanks for posting on Design Wall Mondays.

      Delete
  5. I could use a few days of no internet so I could get something done. Now, a day without electricity would not be so productive. Kudos to you for using up those great looking plaid shirts. That's what quilters used to do for years; Take what was still good from worn out clothing and make something new. I wonder if my husband would miss any of his Hawaiian shirts?

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is going to be such a delightful project with all the memories involved. If my husband was interested in me making him a quilt, I'd be thrilled.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a wonderful gift for your hubby. This is going to be a great quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a very fun quilt! I love those plaid flannels. Hope it goes together fast. You picked a great pattern to show case those plaids.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I, too, am working on a shirtings quilt for my DH (not flannels though). He's retiring soon and I'm using a number of his dress shirts (the favorites remain safely in his closet for occasional wearing). About to begin cutting - and yes, the die cutter is a HUGE time saver when it comes to trimming corners!

    ReplyDelete