Shirting wheels quilt

Im working on a 6 year old UFO.

Every so often I pull it out and do a block. When I pulled it out a few days ago, I thought "let's just get this one done".

 I only had 5 blocks to go. Not much right?

 Well...it took me 2 HOURS to make one block! Granted, there was a bit of unsewing to account for. These seem straight forward but there needs to be the right amount of contrast in just the right place AND there are two different triangles.
This is not a quilt that can be worked on with a glass of wine handy!

So last night I finished up the last block...like at 10pm.

 Today I'm stitching the blocks into a top. After that it goes into the "to be quilted pile"...yeah, yeah...I know that pile is toppling over.

I'm going to be getting to quilting a top tomorrow so...

Bring on the wine (for my sore shoulder and back).

Pink Double 9-patch quilt is finished

It's done!! And I love it❤

I finished this pink and blue Double 9-patch shirtings quilt today. 

 I used an older, stained dress shirt for the binding. Since we we're under "stay home" orders, I dug through my stash to find binding. This shirt just made it! I used the little "Polo" insignia so no fabric would go to waste and am glad I did. I love that it shows a shirt was used.

 I've been collecting shirts for years. A local resale marks them down after a month of them not selling. Many times it's because it has stains, tears or other problems...perfect for quilting.
And of course, Al contributed a bunch to my pile. When he buys them new, I make sure they are all cotton so that I can upcycle them later.

Binding the pink quilt

The binding is cut and I'm sewing it onto the quilt. I ended up using the back and 2 front pieces of a striped dress shirt (xxl). 

The binding strips were bias cut ...I love bias stripes. This won't be the last time I use a shirt for binding. I just never thought about it before. But now with all that's going on, I'm trying to use what I have and not go shopping.

The weather today was super hot and muggy. Al and I worked in the yard for a bit this morning but by 11am I was dripping with sweat so I started sewing...no air conditioning yet but the house stays pretty cool. 

Let's hope I can get this binding sewn down by the weekend. I'd sure like to have a finish!

Quilting, reading, relaxing....

Still quilting the quilt....

The weather has been SO wet lately...perfect quilting weather but it's also arthritis weather...so I quilt a bit then read a bit. And every so often I just get lost in memories. This quilt is full of them. Little pieces of Al's shirt, Lisa's dress, 80's and 90's fabrics that I never got around to using...or used and these are the leftovers.

Then there's pieces that Lisa bought me as a birthday present. Those were feedsacks. Some were REALLY tiny (but so CUTE) that I was only able to squeeze out one or two 1-1/2" squares. 

So it's coming along but very slowly.

Like now...my back hurts so I'm going to take a coffee/book break.

The quilting will definitely be done today....I'm sooo close.

Baby's I-Spy quilt blocks

My back has been giving me problems lately...hard to sit. So I haven't done much quilting.
Today though, the weather was a bit cooler and less humid and I started to feel a little better. I stitched up a few blocks that I had cut out for Charlie's I-Spy quilt. Im using all shirtings to surround the little object squares. These are 6" blocks, 2" centers. I'll be making at least 2 more rows. Then either a border or more blocks. Maybe I'll leave that decision to Jenn.