Uncle Jeff-Jeff and Memory Quilts

I actually started using recycled fabrics a few years ago when I made a series of memory quilts for some friends of mine.

Our dear friend, partner, brother, and son, Jeffrey Tarkington passed away 6 years ago this past Valentines' day.  

To commemorate his short, but very bright life, and hopefully bring a bit of comfort to his loved ones, I embarked on a series of memory quilts using Jeff's clothing.  In order to stretch the usable fabric, as well as add a bit of contrast, I added some commercial fabric to all of the quilts.  To prepare the cotton shirting fabric, I used the same method described in the previous post.

Here's the first one, which I made for Jeff's sister and her hubby.  I chose a log cabin design, and put a bright orange in the center 'hearth' position.  

It's said that at the very moment that Jeff passed over, the fire going in the room where he was gave a mighty huff of brightness.   There was no question in my mind what pattern to use for this quilt!

Here you can see all of Jeff's bright plaid shirts and even some camo pants!

Front of Theresa's quilt.

Back of Theresa's quilt.

Detail of Theresa's quilt- hearth section of block.

Detail of Theresa's quilt- hearth section of another block.

Label on Theresa's quilt.

The second quilt was for Jeff's sweet 'Daddy.'  Here you can see Mr. Tarkington with his quilt.  I used a similar design here.  Instead of the the fire in the 'hearth' section of the block, I used a starry type fabric, as Mr. Tarkington was a firm believer in the Lord and that he'd see Jeff in heaven.

Mr. Owen Tarkington with his quilt.

Front of Mr. Tarkington's quilt.

Back of Mr. Tarkington's quilt.

Detail of Mr. Tarkington's quilt.

Block of Mr. Tarkington's quilt.

Label on Mr. Tarkington's quilt.

The following quilt was made for Jeff's partner Todd.  This one uses Jeff's favorite Tshirts.  Todd has told me many, many times how much he loves this quilt.  He just told me the other day that there was one Tshirt of Jeff's that he couldn't part with at the time, and now he really wishes it was in the quilt!
(If you'd like to make a T-shirt quilt, the fabric preparation is bit different.  I'll be writing more about that in the near future.)  P.S., T-shirt make some of the comfiest quilts ever!

Todd's quilt made with Tshirts.

 Well it wasn't too long after Jeff passed that his Daddy went to be with the Lord (and Jeff. )  So I made some quilts from his shirts too.  This one was for his daughter Theresa:

Theresa's quilt from her dad's shirts.

Detail of Theresa's quilt.

Detail of Theresa's quilt- this little raccoon image was saved from a baseball hat if I'm not mistaken :)

And this one was for Mr. Tarkington's sweetheart, Ms. Georgia.  I challenged myself not to add any extra fabric in this one.

Ms. Georgia's quilt.

Detail of Ms. Georgia's quilt.

Closeup on Ms. Georgia's quilt.

Label on Ms. Georgia's quilt.

So you can probably guess by now how much I love this family.  If you want to know why, I'll just leave you with the following story about Jeff, the main character in this post:

One of the sweetest memories I have:

Went to Nashville in '04 with the kids to visit Uncle Todd Todd and Uncle Jeff Jeff. We went to a shopping center, and the Uncles wanted to take the kiddies to an arcade.

Uncle Jeff, who loved a good 'claw' machine was trying to win Liam the stuffed dinosaur that Liam (3 yrs old) had been hankering for. 

Try as he might, the claw machine just wasn't cooperating, and about $25 later(!), Uncle Jeff Jeff was out of dollar bills.

Jeff was NOT leaving without getting that dinosaur for Liam. He hunted down the manager and actually talked him into opening up that machine to get that dinosaur for Liam!

I don't think anyone has ever done anything so damn sweet for of my kids. I'll never forget that day as long as I live  :)

Upcyling Fabric for your projects

Some of you know that besides my passion for designing fabrics, I love to upcycle fabrics as well!

You can often find me haunting the local (and not so local!) Goodwill and Community Thrift shops for goodies.

My very fave are wildly colored mens striped shirts!  I just love em!  Fortunately, Florida seems to have a lot of loud shirt wearing guys :)  Thank you, gentlemen!

Want to see how I get 'em ready for sewing projects?  Have a lookie-loo here at this lil something I put together for y'all:

More often than not, the shirts are 100% cotton.  But if they have a bit of poly (say, up to 25%)  I don't let it bother me.  Of course the bigger the size the better- more fabric for the same price.  When I find a XXL shirt in a great color, you will see me doing a happy dance in the aisle.  Can't help it.  The kids do pretend not to know me, that's all...

Are women's shirts fair game, you ask? Why yes they are!  There are some fab ladies shirts out there.  Just be prepared to get out your seam ripper- most women's shirts have darts in the front and the back to make them more fitted.  And most of the time, those darts are just 'sewn in.'  Meaning that once you unpick them, you'll have an expanse of fabric to use.  But sometimes, especially on cheaper brands, those darts have been 'cut' in.  And when you unpick them, you'll end up with a bunch of small (less desirable) sections of fabric to work with.  Just beware.

So you've gathered up a stash for yourself?  Now what?  Use them in all kinds of projects!!   I love to challenge myself to make projects using 100% recycled fabric.  I also like to combine upcycled fabric with new commercial fabrics.  

Some of my favorite projects were put together in Kaffe Fassett color workshops:

Big Bang quilt (pattern by Kaffe Fasset and Liza Lucy)

Kaffe Fasset during critique of quilts in Big Bang workshop

Floral Snowball quilt made in Kaffe Fassett workshop

Detail of Floral Snowball quilt made in Kaffe Fassett workshop.  Many recycled fabric is this quilt- note the striped shirt cornerstones.

Kaffe Fassett during critique of quilts in Gridlock (pattern by Kaffe Fasset)  workshop

Rosita quilt (pattern by Liza Lucy) made in Liza/ Kaffe workshop

Upcycled fabrics are also great in smaller projects:

Asian Fan purses (La Todera pattern) incorporating upcycled stripies.

Slipper Orchid (La Todera pattern) incorporating upcycled stripies.

Camelia Gigantus Brooch (La Todera pattern) made with a ladies striped shirt.

Have you used upcycled fabric in your projects?  Would love to see them!

Fabric Heart Tassels - Free Tutorial!

 Fabric Heart Tassels Tutorial

Just in time for Valentines day, a 'lil tutorial for a fabric (of course) heart project!  Fabric Heart Tassels

You can use these tassels to hang from your purse, a keychain, a long necklace, 

your favorite antique piece of furniture,

- you name it!

Happy Valentines Day and Happy Sewing! Mwah!  Mwah!   -Julie

Let's get started!!

Wear your heart on your... anywhere you please!

Fabric Heart Tassels

Clip your tassel to your purse, computer bag, keychain, necklace, camera strap, -you name it!

Finished size: 8" long

 ............ Materials ............

• (1) Fat quarter quilting cotton

       Shown here:  Large heart- Photochrome Petals #Y1098-47 by La Todera for Clothworks

• Polyester sewing thread in shades matching fabric
• Polyester stuffing
• (1) Skein DMC Embroidery floss and embroidery needle with large eye
• (1) Metal keyring or lanyard ring
• Clear template plastic
• Disappearing fabric marker
• Fabric Heart Tassel Templates:  Download here

............ Preparation ............

Trace templates onto clear plastic.  Use template A to cut one circle from fabric.  Use template B to cut two circles from fabric.

              ............ Construction ............

1.  Press all circles in half, right sides together. 

2.  Unfold and trace crease with a disappearing marker and clear ruler. 

3.  Fold circles right sides together, matching marked lines.  Pin.  Machine sew with a small stitch directly on top of drawn line, backstitching at beginning and end of line. 

4.  Flip one side right side out over the other half as shown. 

5.  You’ll end up with a double layered cone, with right sides of fabric visible on outside and interior of cone.

6. Thread hand sewing needle with 24” of matching polyester (strong) thread.  Knot ends together.  Fold both raw edges down 1/4.”  Backstitch and stitch completely around border of cone using a 1/4” stitch (no smaller,) 1/8” from folded edge.  Leave thread on needle. 

7.  Turn cone right side out.  Stuff firmly with polyfil.

Tip:  Using small bits of stuffing will prevent lumps. 

8.  Draw up thread to close opening of cone.  Backstitch, and knot.  Leave thread on needle. 

9.  Insert needle through top of stuffed cone, exiting through seam about halfway down cone.

Wrap thread around top of cone and insert needle about halfway down cone and exiting where you began in previous step.  Pull tight to create lobes of heart.  Insert needle and wrap twice more to accent the indent.  Backstitch, knot, and trim threads. 

10.  Cut (3) full strands of embroidery floss 24” long.  Thread embroidery needle with all 3 strands of floss.  Insert needle into top of heart, under the sewing thread that divides the lobes, and back out of the top of the heart.  Remove needle and even up floss. 

11.  Divide floss into (3) sections of 2 strands each.  Braid tightly from base of heart to ends of strands.  

Tip:  Secure heart to a pillow (or your pants leg!) with a pin.  This will make braiding much easier! 

12.  Tie overhand knot to secure ends of floss.

13. Arrange hearts  as shown.  Insert all ends of braided floss through lanyard or key ring. 

14.  Tie an overhand knot.  Secure knot with a drop of Fray Check.  Trim ends of braids as shown and fluff ends.  

Done! 

Happy 2013!!

So just to start the year out right, let's talk about color!  

Here is what Pantone is saying are the hot colors for 2013.  What do you think?

Myself, I was immediately drawn to Monaco Blue, Dusk Blue, Grayed Jade, and African Violet.

It occurred to me that those are the colors out of this chart that I'd wear!  Then I got to wondering- how many of my quilt fabrics to I buy on impulse because they are colors I go with my coloring??  I just had to check, and yep, there are a lot of 'summer' colors in the heap! Hmmm...

I know that when I'm designing a quilt for someone, my instinct is to choose fabrics that that person would look good wrapped up in.  NOT what might look good in their living room.

(Of course when designing fabrics, I keep everyone in mind and go for lots of options- it's more about contrast and blending and stretching boundaries...)

What do you think?  How do you choose your quilt fabrics?  What's your favorite color from the list?

Snow Baby Village Fun

Happy Holidays to all!

Every year we put up a Snow Baby village in our house.  It started when the kids were in preschool and kindergarten.  

I always loved Snow Babies, but the antique ones were just too expensive (and breakable) to invest in for the kiddies.  So I found some bisque ones that I started painting!  Every year I paint a few more.  I write the kids' names on the bottom, so someday when they have their own homes, they can have their own set.  

At this point they each have 50+ Snow Babies, plus a lighted Christmas tree and a light up cabin.

So at the beginning of every December, we crank up the holiday tunes, make hot cocoa (no matter how hot it happens to be here in Florida!) and the kids set up the village in our kitchen bay window.

I always love to see how they arrange the babies and what kind of stories they make up about the little groupings!  Here are a few shots:

The snowman makin' gang.

Yanking a buddy up onto the snowy porch.

 Placing the star on the tree top.

The little bisque houses came with a raccoon sitting near the chimney. I decided to paint the critters to look like each kid's cat.  Here is Rexie, Liam's cat.

And Shu-shu, Olivia's cat.

Even though the kids are preteen and teen now, I catch them showing their friends the Snow Baby village and pointing our their respective kitties :)  Love that!

ps, In case you are wondering, those are the same Snow Babies used on the cover of the Cream Puff Christmas Trees Pattern!