January 30, 2011

A Sunburn in January

Yes, you read that right.  I have an actual sunburn.  We went to Daytona yesterday for the Rolex 24 race and it was a beautiful, beautiful day.  We had pit credentials and spent most of our time inside the infield and pit area.  My husband and I love racing.  Mostly, Indy Car, World Rally, Formula 1 and Grand Am.  So it was pretty exciting to see our favorite drivers up close and personal.  Here is one of my personal favorites just driving around in a golf cart, Dario Franchitti. 

He even pulled over and signed autographs.  Classy.


His boss was out as well.  Chip Gnassi, owner of the Target and Telmex teams.
We were then able to watch the player introductions and see the newly paved track at Daytona.  This is the start/finish line and it's VERY steep.
Everyone was having a great day and a stranger decided to get in on the fun of our picture.  I have NO idea who this guy was but we were all laughing.
And another favorite, Scott Pruett, being introduced.

I'm always amazed that these drivers can sign autographs, talk to people, and be gracious to anyone and everyone who speaks to them ONE HOUR BEFORE THEY GET IN A CAR.  In a sport, where they put their lives in danger, they really know how to treat their fans. 

I'll post pictures later today on the t-shirt quilt.  I'm sewing the sashing, so I'll be showing you that.

(All photos taken by Dan Van Slyke, Jr.)

January 23, 2011

Sewing Room Organization

Ok, most of it is done.  Here are the shelves.  I've got a few more buckets to fill but I think it turned out ok and, it gets everything up off the floor.  Thank goodness!




















I was even able to move some of my dolls over from our master bedroom.  Aren't they beautiful?  My mom made all of them!  Thanks Mom!

January 22, 2011

T-Shirt Quilt

Ok, where did I leave off?  I think in my last post for this quilt I had ironed the fusible to the backs of the fronts of the shirts.

Next, with my 16-1/2 inch ruler (remember I had measured the designs to find the largest size), I center it on the design and using wash away marker, I draw around the ruler.

This gives me a guide for cutting.  I'm sure there are other ways but this works for me.  Cut on the drawn lines.  The shirts will look like this:













At this point, I lay them out in the order I'm going to sew them.  This was easy because the client had laid them out before he sent them to me and took a picture of the order he wanted.  Here is another angle.
 

I'm now ready to sew the sashing.  For that I'm using the Moda Jelly Roll in Bella Solid in basic red.  Because they're already precut in 2-1/2 inch strips, it saves me time and it's the perfect red for an Atlanta Falcons quilt.  I will have pictures of that tomorrow.

On a totally different subject, I'm in the process of rearranging my sewing room.  DVS and I bought 2 shelving units and all new clear tubs.  It's quite the mess right now, but I had to take "before" pictures.






























 
I'll have more later.  Have a Happy Saturday!

January 14, 2011

Are You a Morning Person Or An Evening Person?

I always envy those quilt bloggers that have the energy to work all day and then sew at night.  I have no idea how they do it.  By the time I get home, I'm pooped.  I have enough energy to get dinner made, dishes done and maybe check some emails.  I figured out a long time ago that I'm definitely a morning person.  I'm usually up by 6:00 a.m. and out the door for work at 7:10 a.m.  The problem with this is that if I have a project I need to get done, i.e. the t-shirt quilt, I'm stuck with Saturday and Sunday.  That makes it very tough to get a lot of projects done.  I do walk every day, which helps tremendously with my energy level in the afernoon, but evenings are another story.  What about you?  Morning or Night?  Just curious. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

January 9, 2011

Back to Work

Sewing that is. . .  Started working on the t-shirt quilt again.  I'm going to show you some of the process I go through to make one of these quilts.  This certainly isn't meant to be a tutorial, but to give you an idea of my process.

I start by cutting the shirts in half (front from back).  Next, measure the design.  For these shirts, the largest design fits my 16 1/2 inch ruler.  I will make all shirts this measurement.


After the measuring, I iron Fusi-Knit onto the back of front of the t-shirts, clear as mud?  This stabilizes the shirts for cutting and sewing without making them stiff.


The shirt will look like this after fusing.


Ok, this is as far as I've gotten.  I will be cutting the squares later today and I'll take pics.  

Have a great Sunday everyone!


January 4, 2011

Well. . .

Well, the Jaguars were elimiated from the playoffs but I'm very happy for my friend who works for the Atlanta Falcons.  They won their division on Sunday and will be continuing on.  Yay B.J.!!