Return to Routine
Our family celebrates the holidays in about the most laid-back, stress-free way possible, but still I am always glad to get back to ordinary life.
All the posts I have read recently have been bubbling around in my mind and today they led me to the first project of the year.
Take Joanna’s string quilt blocks (inspired by Maryline’s string quilt ), and Kerry’s recent thoughts on doing a daily stint of tasks towards a goal — mix it up with Lucie’s Use Up Your Scraps Month and my leftovers from a Disappearing Nine Patch quilt I did two years ago, and here’s what you get:
String blocks, mostly men’s shirt fabric.
I love men’s wear patterns and re-using old shirts, but without reading Joanna’s and Maryline’s instructions, I would never have thought to stitch them on a foundation fabric to help keep them aligned. It works wonders! There is such satisfaction in emptying bobbins too, as I stitch the strips to muslin scraps from a local guild’s white elephant sale.
I haven’t decided yet if I will cut these rectangles in half into squares, or maybe the long way, into longer, thinner rectangles. Once I start, I just want to work through all the possibilities!
Well, aren’t you something! That’s a lot of progress so soon in the new year. I like the idea of recycling men’s shirts but the only example I had seen was in my quilt guild and I didn’t think the outcome was very interesting. This string approach is much more so! I like the way you have the stripes running lengthwise and then widthwise, too–more photos as you progress, please!
Okay, I will try to do so. One of my “stints” for this year is to try to read, comment, and post on a more regular basis. I could get more done, but I just can’t make myself stint on sleep! 🙂
No stinting on sleep–that’s Rule One for me!
Love men’s shirt fabrics. Oh boy, do you have some fun ahead of you. The possible arrangements of string blocks are endless – rows, radiating out from a center. triangles, etc. Just be sure to snap pics of each possible arrangement. Otherwise you’ll never remember them. Ask me how I know.
Another good hint. And I have even seen a pattern for making them into stars! I will just have to go out and get more shirts and make more.
Yes – the new year is definitely a time for bubbling around with new ideas! I love the way you’re using men’s shirts – very ingenious. Looking forward to seeing more of this project.
Thank you, it is lots of fun, and it is definitely filling my head with more ideas.
What a great start!!!! Look forward to seeing what direction these take!! LUV men’s shirtings!!!!
They are so beautiful and have such great texture too. Makes me wonder why I put up with polyester blouses! 🙂