OH HAPPY DAY!!!!

After some long hours of cutting strips on Saturday, some serious sewing on Sunday and Monday and one very very good family, I was able to finish all the blocks!  I added to my design wall ( meaning the flannel and batting I have duct taped and staple gunned to the wall) and I was able to fit ALL the blocks in one spot!  I still have to sew all the rows together but I was just over the moon thrilled that I was able to pick up and vacuum up all of the bits and pieces of red that had taken over three of the rooms downstairs.  I will need to make some minor adjustments to the blocks and then tackle the task of joining the blocks and rows.  

When I am finished this will be headed off to see Luke Haynes.  This quilt is a collaboration that I had asked Luke about last December.  It took me some time to wrap my head around where to start since I had never taken on a project anything like this one.  Luke has been very patient and encouraging along the way.

The suggestion to make this from upcycled clothing was all Luke.  Truth be told that is one of the reasons it took so long for me to start.  The task of finding red clothing that is not knit is very daunting.  Quilting with anything but cotton was completely foreign.  In August I took the plunge of finding some garments I thought I could work with and not cry.  When I had built up some courage I branched out even more!  There are no knits in this quilt but there is just about everything else.  The textures are gorgeous.  The slight differences make a visual difference that is quite stunning.  Katy says it is intense!  I have to agree.

If you want to make a quilt from upcycled garments I can recommend Luke's tutorial on We All Sew called  Deconstruct a Shirt with Luke Haynes.  I did not use a rotary cutter but ripped the garments    ( very very messy) but the great tutorial is a great jumping off point if you don't know where or how to start.