Quilt Reconstruction

A friend from church messaged me earlier in December and asked if I might be up for possibly fixing her long-loved quilt that her grandmother made her. I’m friends with the grandmother, and we talk shop about quilts all the time.
She sent me a picture of the original top before the quilt was finished. It was made of bright 2″ squares and was scrappy in design. Cute as could be.

Then she sent me pictures of the back and the damage that had come from pretty constant use. Once I had my hands on it, I noticed that many of the squares in the front were also shredding. In fact, the quilt itself had almost been loved to death – the ultimate compliment for any quilter.

The first step was to disassemble the quilt. This was actually easier than anticipated because it was a tied quilt. I actually brought a seam ripper with me to my grandmother’s and got to work while she and I were chatting after Christmas. I separated the front from the back and batting and removed any squares beyond repair.

When I returned home, I used squares already cut from my own scrap stash that would blend in easily color-wise. Then I added a layer of white fabric underneath the top. This gave the thin top layer something to “hold on” to and to take the stress of the thread off of that thinner fabric. I found out from a previous reconstruction that it can also help revive some of those faded colors. It did result in a heavier quilt, though, especially since I’d changed it from the original polyester batting to cotton.

From there, I had to pick a different backing as the store didn’t sell that same pattern anymore. I found one pattern that was closer in color, but it was thinner, and I didn’t want to be right back where we were again so soon. So in the end, I chose a brighter green pattern that was a bit thicker and would last longer.

The quilting on this one needed to be closer, especially on the squares that still had some damage. I went with a stipple pattern because it would help when some squares needed extra quilting, and it would even out any misalignment from the top being pulled into shape and the old fabric stretching more. Pretty much every square has at least two lines of quilting running through it.

In the end, I’m pretty proud of it, but I’ll admit I held my breath a bit when I put it in my washer and dryer. But it turned out fine, and I am confident that it will stand up to many more uses to come.

Flower Fairy Quilt

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the late Victorian style fairy illustrations, especially those of Cicely Mary Barker. They were enchanting in their simplicity and dreamy color pallets. This would explain why I couldn’t help myself when I came across a fabric panel featuring three pink flower fairies. I normally don’t use fabric panels in my works, but this was so pretty that I couldn’t resist. I bought this fabric months ago and am only now getting around to using it. I also found some purple fabric that also featured a smaller flower fairy design, but they were more of a nighttime look.

Originally, I was going to incorporate the purple fabric as a border around the pink panel, but I decided that it just wasn’t complimentary to either fabric. They were both so pretty that they needed their own space. After some quick measuring, I realized I had enough to make the purple fabric the backing to the pink panel.

For the pink panel, I added some greens to accentuate the leaves and then one last pink border to tie it all together. I wasn’t expecting the corners to be as awesome and picture frame looking as they were, but I’m delighted and might use that design again in other quilts.

Hello, I’m still alive – promise!

I realize it’s been since the end of July since I’ve posted. Of course, that post was about getting ready for pre-planning, so I’m sure you’ve probably picked up on the fact that school started back. So yes, I’m back in my classroom. That being said, I made about 16 quilts over the summer and up to now. Some of them were t-shirt quilts, and others were more creative projects. I’m still working on others, but I cannot post about them just yet. Not until they’ve been gifted. Sometimes, honestly, that’s the hardest part of finishing them – the wait. So stay tuned for later on this month when I can show you all the one I’m particularly proud of.

I’m also wanting to gear up for a couple of shows in the fall, possibly a new one in December.

Until then, I’m bushed!

Dog Scarf Quilt

This commission was unique in that it was a memory quilt for a sweet little dog, Munson, who had passed away. His owner was so sweet, and she loved him very dearly as was evidenced by her getting choked up just talking about him. Apparently he had a scarf for every occasion: Thanksgiving, Halloween, 4th of July, Christmas, and many other colors and patterns in between.

After taking a look at them, I realized there were so many variations of fabric and size that my options were limited. The best option to include them all was a crazy-quilt style design. I sorted the scarfs by occasion and/or color and went from there. The owner did give me one t-shirt that she wore, so I made it the centerpiece and worked around from there.

I like that she chose a light blue backing. It reminded me of the sky, and I thought it fitting. This was also one of the first times I’ve added a label onto the quilt. Hopefully I can remember to do it more often.

So here it is – the dog scarf memory quilt. I just love it, and it was wonderful to work with something new.

Happy customers!

One thing about making t-shirt quilts and memory quilts is that I don’t often get the see the reaction of the actual recipient. I get to see how much the person who commissioned it likes it, but the actual recipient is rare.

So when a customer shares a picture with me of their quilt being loved by the recipient, I cherish it. I’ve gone through and collected some of my favorite pictures from over the years of people loving on their quilts that I made. It’s a good smile for a Friday.

Tyler — Most recent graduation quilt gifted!

T-shirt quilt 1 — The original memory quilt! First one ever made – for my grandmother.

33688177_1716682991751551_1877200570083704832_n — I think he likes it!

32710763_1706808236072360_2262404856738217984_n — She loved hers so much she brought it to school. My heart!

25348268_1561077040645481_6289983730825439194_n — Pre-school director gets a neat one.

21462804_1476135305806322_8678307598303717600_n — It’s not a quilt, but my dog is definitely a happy recipient.

19399131_1401757319910788_7221197160371787865_n — My buddy loves his Star Wars quilt.

15977621_1237244413028747_6174561837179432854_n — Loved this silhouette quilt almost as much as the new mom.

15781480_1229221060497749_7628115571232233057_n — My husband with this surprise king-size mariner’s compass quilt.

A memory quilt made from dress shirts and t-shirts. This is the mother holding it after it was gifted to her as a surprise.

A graduate holding her t-shirt quilt. I think she liked it.

11043014_10206222346383073_6757689917035449332_n — Baby quilt made from panels for my niece.

52461558_10102690979437903_2338337288666218496_n — Little buddy cuddling with daddy’s Darth Vader quilt.

New adventures

I love the craft fairs and being a vendor at them. They’re fun, and I get to meet lots of different people. But one issue I run in to is that I don’t sell many smaller items. Much of my inventory is higher priced, so I’m learning what shows work for me.

Lots of folks will come by and oohhh and aaaahhh, but if they aren’t bothering to look at price tags, they didn’t come prepared to shop. And if you’re selling larger priced items, you need to find shows where people are prepared to shop. Shows that are focused on something else and have thrown vendors in as an aside don’t often do well for larger-priced items.

So I’ve found that Spring shows haven’t done well for me in the past. Let’s face it – quilts don’t sell well in warm weather. I’d sworn I wasn’t going to do anymore Spring shows, but two came up that I just couldn’t resist giving a try.

One is the Riley Day event, April 27th, hosted by the fine people over at the Amanda Riley Foundation. All proceeds from that show go to support families as they deal with childhood cancer, and the more I learn about the Riley family the more I want to support them. So I figure it’s a win no matter what, and the fact that it would reach my niche client group is a major bonus.

The other event is my biggest event yet – the Vintage Market Days of Greater Atlanta, May 31-June 2. Vintage Market Days specializes in antiques, recycled and up-cycled art and decor, and they have shows all over the USA. My daughter and I went on a reconnaissance visit to the Christmas one, and I thought I might do alright at it. My daughter gave her 8 year’s wisdom and agreed that it was worth a shot. Again, the people attending looked like they might be in my niche client group – folks who liked sentimental items, especially re-purposed ones. So I don’t know how my ready-made items will do, but I’m thinking my t-shirt quilt commissions will fair well.

Since the big event is also inside, I’m trying something new with my booth layout, and I’ll use the Riley Day event to test it out. So here’s hoping the new layout pays off.

So if you’re in the area, come on by and say hi!

Amanda Riley Foundation

Vintage Market Days

New Shop!

Etsy isn’t working out for me. Since they changed their search formula, my shop has been dead in the water. And this past weekend they had a glitch that charged sellers some crazy, unexpected fees. Some folks, like me, were hit with only a “small” charge like $78. Others were hit with three, four, five, or even SIX DIGIT charges! And though Etsy is claiming it was a “small number of sellers”, the forums I was in paint a different picture.

See here for more news on the Etsy glitch.

Aside from that, it seems I’m paying them fees to promote my listings each month with little to no return. Even trying the newer SEO searches hasn’t really netted any results.

So…

I made a shop page on here to see if that made a difference.

So please, feel free to poke around my new shop page and see what all is going on!

Quest Quilts Shop

Craft Fair Season Fall ’18 – done!

Alrighty, so I’m all finished with my craft fairs as of last weekend. I decided that no one was going to buy quilts during the spring, so I shifted all my focus to fall shows, undertaking four shows in six weeks. This wouldn’t sound like much to someone who does shows all the time, but as a teacher with two small kids – it’s a lot. My kids were begging me not to go by the 3rd show.

I’ve placed any quilts that haven’t sold up on my Etsy store, so feel free to take a look.

Quest Quilts Etsy Shop

Here’s what I learned as a seller of quilts at shows.

You can tell within the first two hours what kind of a day you’re going to have. Plenty of people will stop and “oooh” and “ahhh”, but if they aren’t actually looking at the price tags then don’t get your hopes up.
Gender-neutral or “boy” quilts sell faster. Not sure why. Maybe because many quilts look decidedly “girly”?
When you sell one quilt the entire show, it’ll be both good and bad. You’ll think, “Yay, I made my booth fee back and then some!” You’ll also realize, “Well, after my booth fee I basically made $40. I sat there for 8+ hours for $40?”
Commissions are a delayed gratification for doing these shows. So while you may not sell the ready-made stuff, the commissions later on do add up and make it worthwhile.
People love to share stories of how their family members were also quilters. They’ll tell you all about them while standing in the middle of your booth, blocking other people from seeing in.
Be sweet to your booth neighbor, especially if you’re in your booth alone. You may need that person to stand between booths so you can run to the bathroom.
Outside craft fairs are havoc for crafts that involve fabric. I was downwind from a BBQ vendor one show. My quilts smelled like BBQ afterwards. This could be cool for a bit, but in the end it involved me tumbling them in the dryer with dryer sheets in an attempt to get rid of the smell. I’ve heard of other vendors experiencing the same thing with kettle corn booths nearby as well.
There was also the issue of smokers at outdoor shows. I had folks smoke near my stuff, and one cigarette came within an inch of my personal t-shirt quilt that I use at shows. I panicked. I also had one show begin a fire pit a few feet from my booth, and I finally agreed to move my booth mid-show to another spot. It still didn’t work, and I had to, once again, air out and tumble my product in an attempt to get the smell out.
Some people can be quite passive aggressive about prices, and it isn’t cute.
It’s a special feeling when you meet someone who has the same sense of humor and/or interest as you. I loved talking about Dr. Who and Star Wars with folks.
People seem more inclined to come in and shop around if you’re reading a magazine or book. Maybe there’s less pressure? They don’t feel like they’re being scrutinized?
There is such a feeling of accomplishment when someone says your quilt is “perfect” for someone they know as they buy it. Gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.

There was also the issue of my role as vendor vs artist, but that’s for another post. Stay tuned.

Woodland Creatures Baby Quilt

This quilt was for a friend as a surprise at her baby shower. I knew we wanted to tie in to her overall theme of woodland creatures, and I did several searches for different images. In the end, I went with the images on her actual shower invitation. (She loves sloths, so we snuck in one of those as well!)

I traced the images onto basic copy paper and then retraced them backwards onto fusible interfacing.

From there, the layering process began. I had to trace each layer backwards onto the fusible interfacing as well and then iron them on top of one another. I’ll admit there were several times here where I thought of different ways to simplify, but in the end it just wouldn’t do. The fox was simplified accidentally, but that was about it.

From there, I ironed them into place and used a large mushroom top to hide their bottoms behind because the original images were cropped as well. It look some rearranging before I finally hit this layout.

Going back and adding in the white “light spots” on the eyes was one of the best moves I did. Before that, they looked cute but kind of flat. They had a deadpan look that kept them lifeless. The sloth, especially, looked somewhat stoned.

And one again, I added a close-set zigzag stitch to finish off the applique elements.

The reason everything was right at the bottom was because we intended for people to be able to sign the quilt with well-wishes for the new family.

What a fun baby quilt this was to make!

Here’s a video of the sweet soon-to-be parents receiving their surprise!

So. Many. Projects.

Hey everyone, I’ve been busy on my other pages, but this one has been still for a bit because I haven’t finished any projects. That doesn’t mean I’m not working on them because…boy oh boy…I am swamped!

I was able to finish my t-shirt quilt commission and baby Flash quilt commission right when school started. Now, I’m on to another undisclosed project, a bookshelf quilt for a church retreat, a Star Wars quilt (or two) for the upcoming craft fairs, finishing my comic book quilt and second guitar quilt. I also have a partially begun other undisclosed project as well as a promised project that hasn’t even been started. Oh, and there’s another t-shirt quilt waiting to be started, but the timeline is very generous, so it’ll be a while before I start it.

Whew! Stay tuned folks.

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