Well I am officially done with all the silly tshirt quilts for a while. I wanted to do something different but what. I was looking at my mini storm at sea and thought i should do another miniature. So tonight I started that pattern where a snail trail block is mixed with pieced cat silouette, dont remember the name of the pattern. I am making the blocks 3 inches. 

Yup, I am crazy.

Using freezer paper is exactly how I was taught to paper piece by Judy Mathieson.   You get the precision sewing but none of that nonsense about tearing see-through paper off.

Did you finish the T-shirt quilt for Bruce S. yet?  Just wondering.  

I need to start on a T-shirt quilt for my sister.  But just need motivation todo it.....

yes, his was one of the 7 I've done in the last 3 months.   Funny story about that.  I sent him the picture when I mailed it, he then called me and asked how hard it would be to take the shirts out with his name because he was thinking about donating it for a fund raiser.  I told him it was already mailed and not only that it would be pretty difficult (understatement).  He said never mind then, sorry for not thinking of it sooner.  Then when he sent me the check, he included a note saying he was glad I had put the shirts with his name in after all because he really loved the quilt and it gave him an excuse to keep it.

aren't they cute? Each square in the little 4 patch center is 3/8".  I am using freezer paper and the seams are about 3/16th or an EXTREEMLY scan 1/4 or a generous 1/8th. I put a couple of layers of the tiger tape on a small ruler to make my own "add a 1/8th".  

Could, "the sooner I get started, the sooner I'll be DONE", be motivation enough?  

I recently redid this quilt - my very 1st quilt made in 2000.  I had always been unhappy with the puffy batting and waving edges.   You can kind of see how bad it was from this picture even though I intentionally cropped out the edges to try and hide how bad they were.

About 5 or 6 yeas ago I had tried to improve the borders by making them smaller but still wasn't happy.  So several months ago I took the quilting out but put it away.  I found it in my UFO drawer & so decided to tackle this.  Boy, my piecing skills have really improved.  I took  off the borders, then decided I need to redo the sashing too.  I couldn't do anything about the chopped off points so I left the blocks alone.  I put in new sashing, reusing the corner stones, and added a nice flange from the same red as the house - weird that I still had some of that.  I'm much happier with it now, hanging nice and FLAT on the way into my sewing room.

Isn't it amazing how your skills have improved in twenty years? 

Wish I still had my very first crib quilt I ever made (in 1993) but I donated it during a "Quilts for Kosovo" drive a long time ago. It is long gone and far, far away. It wasn't badly made but it was done in pastel fabrics and as those of you who know me well, pastel is not my thing.

When's her birthday?

When's her retirement party?

When's her anniversary of surviving something?

When's her youngest kid moving out?

Think of something she's going to be celebrating someday fairly soon .....