recycled quilt

Yuck .. I have been quilting -- still working on some older things moving forward slowly. I worked on quilting the red and white one today - I just did stitch in the ditch. George and I are doing OK.

Ive been working on more tee shirt quilts. I love using recycled fabrics - and am learning to cut better and tp piece better. Tee shirts can be so streatchy. I am learning!

I am in love with cool weather -- I get depressed for a week or so knowing its comming but, then when its here I get really happy!! I love quilt weather! 

Well, I made this. Yes, I did add another side with orange/yellow blocks. I am deciding I might need to make some full size quilts -- too many huge quilts. IDK if people in the city have huge beds?

I finished the quilt - I decided to keep the back after all. I just put a hot pink binding on it. Yes ... I match, today. The back will be plenty strong enough. All I was worried about was snags - and I put lots of heavy criss crossing quilting into the piece to prevent that.

Ive been going crazy for strip quilts - I have so much fabric here at the house. This process is a great way to use up smaller pieces and HIDE some uglies. When I first started quilting I was buying new fabrics - Im trying to get all of those used up also. I have let my collecting fabric totally take over my little house. Im feeling like its too much and I want some of my space back. Ive been feeling a little down - I am going through some stuff and the end of the summer is a sad few weeks for me. Of course, the Drag Queen Quilter has real (REAL) long man nails. I have no idea why I love long fingernails. I just do. I used to chew and eat the sides of my fingers till they would bleed and be infected. Its was gross. So, now that I quilt and have to look at my hands all the time I like to have them (sorta) nice looking. I also let them get gross and unpainted - but keep them pretty long. I signed up for classes today - I think this is the last year of working o...

Ive been working on new things.. new patterns, new free motion quilting patterns -- its hard work to try new thuings. Its moving pretty slow. I miss my dog. George and I are doing pretty good even with everything going on.

Well, I got some more work done - and had a bat in the house! I decided to use two browns around the edge - one of them looks dark red but - its brown. I think I like it. I really like the way the seams look. I know for sure about that part. I dont know if my piecing has ever been this good before. Im not the best cutter so that is great growth for me, too. Part of the entire learning process for me is seeing that I can create what I think are very cool art quilts that are also functional pieces --- but that creative part forces me to do things with quilting that other quilters would never really do -- like raw edge applique with a straight stitch with no fusing. When I sit down and try to do basic quilting things like line up seams and cut accurate pieces - I cant do that well at all. Im surprised at what my quilts look like when I try to do that type of accurate cutting and piecing. I like the results but, there is no doubt they are basic historic ish looki...

I made this strip quilt using the process that people are using to make the strip quilts in the jelly roll race. Except - I cut my own pieces from my stash and added solids and prints! I cut 4 inch wide strips and then slashed them into whatever length-- and then, did the end to end, to end - to end ... I LOVE the results. I have another in the works and more planned. One of the best things about this style of quilt is that I have been able to hide lots of patterns that i dont like as well that have been taking up space on my shelves! This quilt is made from recycled fabrics - with some additions from "scrap bags" that a local fabric shop sells.. I see some Amy Butler in there -- so this quilt is more 100% salvage than recycled.

Here are some pics of 100% polyester quilts Ive made... All of those quilts are 100% polyester from the 70's - I bought out a grandmothers stash last summer at a yard sale. The fabrics have great color fast-ness and are easy to quilt with. Please dont be afraid to quilt with any fabrics you have around your house or have access to.

My old blanket was falling apart. It was so thin that it was tearing down by the feet. I interfaced it with a fusible interfacing and that made it strong again. I cut out the torn part and put some crazy "flip and sew" squares in the part where I cut out the weak part of the blanket. I also did lots of free motion quilting on the finished quilt to add more strength. I think it came out nice.

Ive been working on a new quilt. It is another Raw Edge applique quilt. This time I mixed dots and stripes and some bright color. I think I posted a pic of the start of the quilt the other day - but, there is another pic of how I started. I was having a hard time deciding what to do with the rest of the quilt. I decided to put blue and brown dot/stripe in the unfinished part. I had messed up the timing of the Smarter C1100 pro by using a zig zag stitch on a straight stitch foot and it was away getting fixed for a day so, for a day I appliqued using my straight stitch machine, it works out fine. The pic below is the set up I have for free motion quilting. I like to use a corner and have lots of support on the side of the machine. I do not like to use pins or safty pins to baste the quilt. I dont really like to baste. I dont do it. Sometimes I have some small tucks - and I deal with that. The above pic is what the finished quilt top looks like close up. I...

Do you guys ever use two threads in one needle? Ive been wanting to try out some of the thicker threads available for free motion quilting and haven't got around to buying any. Today I had the idea to try putting two threads through the needle to get some extra thickness and its working out great! Ive added two of the same color (orange) and it looked great. Here is how that came out. It was easy to load the thread and I had no problem with shredding using a 100 needle. Each of the threads were 40 wt. I also liked the greater impact the double threads made. I also used two threads but different tones. One thread was deep forest green and the other thread was a chartreuse. I love the way the two threads mix. It almost looks like a variegated thread - the lighter and darker threads are bolder together than they would be on their own. Here is what they look like on a bigger surface. I had bought two spools of thicker thread to try this method. But, I need...

Recycled fabrics, raw edge applique.

Im putting together some things for a show, new stuff. This is going to be something. All raw edge applique, with a zig zag, on a foundation. I was locked out of my house for a few hours today - it was very nice out. Sunny and warm.. crazy weather for this time of year in Maine. My dogs were thrilled we got locked out! I did not mind.. it was nice out!

I love sewing with my recycled fabrics! Where can cheap old fabric be found? How do I make sure I dont bring home bed bugs? I find fabrics on the street (in bins and bags), at resale shops, friends drop off clothes, people catch up with me on facebook to give me scraps....  used fabric is everywhere! There are free clothes on craigslist sometimes, too. Most resale shops that are not for profit will have days where a certain color is 1/2 price. I shop on those days or, for those colors. I buy prints, solids, and stripes and patterns. I buy brights and whites and everything else. I havent had good luck finding recycled fabric quilters online that seem legit. Maybe, I just dont like that say words like "scrappy" and "wonky". I dont like "whimsy", either. Dont get me started with "upcycle." That quilt is made from a red sheet and a while sheet. There is an old blanket in the middle and a sheet on the back. Guess what else? Used ...

here is a little tutorial on raw edge applique. the drag queen quilter at work. i love applique - raw edge applique - that is. i have made projects using a zig zag stitch and straight stitch and blanket stitches. ive done small one one piece appliques with a satin straight stitch (also called a button stitch) ill make more videos with more information - but, any how here is a pic of the finished product. i free motion quilted the blocks. again 100% recycled fabrics - these ones were ALL pulled from my scrap bag.

im working on new projects using raw edge applique - for entire quilts. this is a red and white quilt made from only raw edge applique.

i love warm scarves! i wear them whenever i can get away with it - they are warm! im pretty sweaty so i cant wear them all the time. dont be afraid to cut up a tee shirt and make an applique scarf!