The unveiling of Christmas quilts

Here are some pictures of quilts I've been sitting on because they were Christmas presents for folks and I didn't want to spoil the surprise for them! 

Here is the OSU quilt I made for Derek's parents.  They are both went to OSU.  The inside is a variation of the log cabin pattern and it was a lot easier to make than I originally anticipated.  I love how it turned out!  The border is OSU cowboy team fabric.  We used the square dance quilting design on this quilt and binded it in black. 

This is a quilt I made for Derek's niece, Aven.  I found the fabric that I used in the border and fell in love.  I was lucky and it wasn't too hard to find coordinating fabric that I equally loved.  I chose to have it quilted in a paisley design to match the paisley design inside the little elephants.  I bound it in the same purple color that I used in the quilt and the back is also purple so you can see the beautiful paisley stitching. 

Here is a quilt I did for my nephew John.  He is a freshman in college and loves music.  I didn't work off a pattern, I just kind of sketched out this quilt once I found this fabric with the music notes.  It was harder to find than I thought.  The music note fabric wasn't cotton, it was that baby soft flannel so I used coordinating soft flannel with it.  It will be quilted with music notes of some type.  This one still has to be quilted, but I wrapped the quilt top and let him open it Christmas because I ran out of time to get it quilted before hand.  Can't wait to give him the finished quilt.

I've got a few more I'm working on that I'll post pictures of soon.  Hope everyone has a happy and safe new year!

Puzzles, Mushrooms & Volleyballs

Check out this varigated volleyball design we put on Kristina's volleyball quilt

                      These are two close ups of the volleyball quilt I did for Kristina! 

I had to change the coloring on this picture so you could see the quilting pattern. 
It's various mushrooms for the quilt shown below. 

 This is a close up of the puzzle pieces quilting design that we used on this Camp quilt for Melanie.  A picture of the whole quilt is below.   I really liked this design, because it matched the puzzle piece border we chose! 

If you have shirts that you just can't stand to part with, consider making them into a blanket so you can keep them forever without taking up space in your dresser or your closet. Email me if I can be of any assistance. - joyleighlane@gmail.com

CAMP ASCCA

A friend was a camp counselor at Camp ASCCA for many summers.  She decided instead of taking of space in her closet and drawers, that she wanted a blanket that she can use forever to remember all the fun times as Camp ASCCA.  Camp ASCCA is a nationally recongized leader in thereapeutic recreation for children and adults with physical and mental diabilities.   

If you have shirts from summer camp, or from dance or things you used to do when you were younger, consider about making them into a blaket so you can keep them forever without taking up space in your dresser or your closet.  Email me if I can be of any assistance. - joyleighlane@gmail.com

Baby Love!

I had a little break in the t-shirt quilt making and made some baby blankets for some friends! 

This was my first applique project - I made it for Derek's new baby neice, Miss Eden Saige.  After practicing with a few letters, I got the hang of it.  The back is so soft.  Love the way it turned out!

This isn't the best picture, but you get the idea.  This is a baby blanket for Miss Tyla Brook Hardesty who should be making her way into this world very soon!  Loved the elephants.  I personally love the name personalization on the baby blankets, so of course I did it here too.

I've got several other baby blankets in the works!  Seems like I've got a million friends having babies right now :)   Can't wait to post pictures of the special one I'm currently working on.

- Joy

Do you want a T-Shirt Quilt?

If you do gather your t-shirts and give me a call or shoot me an e-mail (joyleighlane@gmail.com).  I can help you pick out the fabric for the sashing (the strips of fabric that divide the shirts in the quilt) and the border.  If you live out of state,  you have two options:   
   1.  I can tell how much material to purchase.  The yardage of material will depend on how many shirts you want to put in your quilt.**
   2.  You can tell me what colors/design you had in mind, and I can get the fabric for you.
 
**NOTE: All material used must be 100% cotton.  A tiny wee bit of stretch is okay, but anything fluffy, excessively soft or stretchy will not work!! So no stretch soft t-shirt material!  Bottom line if you're buying fabric make sure its 100% cotton. **

  Once I get everything from you, I'll transform your t-shirts and the material into a beautifully pieced quilt top.
After the quilt top is complete, I take it to Crafty Cats Quilt Shop in Graceville, Florida.  The great folks at Crafty Cats will put it on their long arm quilting machine and quilt it up.   There are a variety of designs to choose from.   See the Quilting Design Blog Post for pics of some of the designs available. 

Once it is quilted, I'll pick it up and get it bound for you and returned back to you for you to enjoy.

Depending on the size, prices range from $150 - $250.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at joyleighlane@gmail.com.

Quilting Designs

There are a variety of quilt designs that you can choose from.  Normally I just select one that I think will look best with whatever theme or pattern we're working with on the quilt.  But, I've started taking pictures of the one's I've used to show you so that if you just fall in love with one and want to request a certain design.

This is a called champagne bubble design.  I used this one, in a quilt where I had used polka dot fabric, it turned out really cute.

This is a dragon fly pattern.  I had this done in a variegated thread. **

Here is the football design. 

This was called a square dance design.  I just recently discovered this and I think this is one of my favorite to use on a quilt for a guy!

I'll call the "Classic" quilt design since I dont remember what it's name is.  This one was also done in variegated thread.   When variegated thread is used on a solid back such as this black, the colors really pop.  As you can see from this picture, the colors from the thread aren't very prominant on the fron and don't distract you from all the great colors and shirts, but it makes the back of the quilt look amazing!



  This is just another view of the "classic" design. I have used this on several quilts and it turns out very beautiful.



Lastly, here we have an eagle design.  This too was done in variegated thread and I must say, at first I was a little nervous how it would turn out, but it really does look amazing.  This picture really doesn't do it justice, but hopefully you can see the eagles.  We used this on Susan's law school quilt.  If you remeber, we used a firework fabric for the sashing and then a solid purple for the border. We were going for a law/liberty/justice theme, so we used the Eagle design.  It also turns out that Faulkner's mascot is the eagle, so that was a pretty cool coincidence.

Well, as I branch out and use different quilting designs, I'll make sure to post them here.

- Joy

** variegated thread is thread in which the color changes down the strand.

Fun Easy Dresses!

This weekend, my dear friend Ashley came to visit from Baltimore.  With her she brought this nifty pattern to make this super fun and comfortable dresses!  They are meant to be made out of old t-shirts/tank tops.  But since we didn't have any we went to TJ Max and bought some cheap shirts (Only $4.99)! Added an eslastic band and some fun fabric to the bottom.   Best part.....it only took about 20 minutes to make!



Black shirt, black elastic and skull print for the bottom



Brown shirt, white elastic and cute zig sag fabric in bright blue, lime green and brown.

Jones School of Law

Many of you know, but for those of you that don't know, I'm about to start my third and final year of law school.  I've been so blessed to meet so many wonderful people so far at Jones.  I've been involved with some amazing student organizations, traveled to lots of cool places and made memories that will last a lifetime... oh yeah, and I've collected a shirt from almost ever single event/trip! 

I had two friends graduate this past May from Jones.  One was the SBA President who bought a shirt from any and every organization that sold one and was involved with the Advocacy program at the school  Before he hopped in his car to head back to New Jersey, he dropped off a garbage bag full of all his shirts.  He had 22 shirts in all.  As you can see, I can spilt a square between two shirts to make room for more shirts and without wasting space in the quilt. 



I chose to do the sashing and border in the school colors.  We used a bright royal Faulkner blue for the inside sashing and a white thin inside border, with a navy blue outside border.  The backing was navy blue, and it was quilted in white thread. 



  Another quilt was for one of the amazing girls I had the honor of getting to know in the advocacy program.  She had lots of shirts from all the trips and competitions she had gone on, so her quilt was just as big.  She wanted a patriotic/American/law school themed fabric. 

We looked high and low and she decided she loved the firework fabric for the inside sashing.  We went with a thin black inside border and then an outside Purple border (not sure why it looks blue in the picture, but its defiantly purple!)   If you look in the center, you can see that one square can be made from 4 pocket logos from the front of shirts. 

If you'd like to clear out a drawer or a corner of your closet filled with t-shirts you don't wear, but you just can't stand to part with, send them to me, let me help you preserve your memories. 

War Eagle!

This isn't a T-shirt quilt, but this a quilt I pieced last summer for boyfriend.  He is an Auburn alumni, and a huge football fan!  So I made this quilt for him for his birthday.  WDE! 

I had a lot of fun piecing this quilt top together, even if it does closely resemble my rival alma mater, Florida Gator colors.... :)  

Check out the awesome football quilt design the great folks at Crafy Cat Quilt shop suggested we use!  I loved how it turned out, and so did he!

Sorority Shirts make great t-shirt quilts!



Here are a few quilt tops that I pieced together for friends who were in a sorority during college.   These are both 15 square quilts with sashing.  They are a great size in my opinion. 



Ole Miss Sorority T-Shirt Quilt Top



Upclose look at the Old Miss Sorority T-Shirt Quilt - Inside sashing is black with white pearl/dot design, solid black inside border and white with black polka dot outter border.

Here is a DZ Sorority Quilt top I pieced.  Love the bright colors in this one.  Also tried something new and put pockets in the corners of this this one.

DZ quilt top with front pocket logos in the corners. 

Here is a quilt for a friend who was in a fraternity at UNC.  You can't really see the inside sashing from this photo, but its navy blue with small white polka dots.   The inside thin border is solid white, and then the UNC fabric on the outside.   

 

If you have shirts that you'd like made into a quilt, please contact me.  I'd love to help you preserve your memories, free up closet space and stay warm! 

Roll Tide!

This is the T-shirt quilt I pieced for my roommate.  She graduated from the University of Alabama. 

It was a 15 square quilt, we used the backs of 14 shirts, and the front pockets of four shirts to make the center square.  The sashing is a bubble print, with a thin gray border and an outside border of Alabama print.  

Finding my Niche

My mom saved all my class t-shirts from elementary school... and every other shirt that I had some attachment too, in the hopes of one day making me a t-shirt quilt.   I stumbled across the stash of memorbilia during the last year in college and was excited by the idea of the t-shirt quilt and decided I needed to make it .... right then.  So.... myself, Mom and Dad all combined our skills and this was the result:

I'm not going to lie, making this quilt was a fiasco.  I got too eager, too fast and started cutting shirts without measuring them, and it took a great deal of finagling to make it work.  The quilt is HUGE!  Almost too big to even enjoy (in my opinion), but my roommates disagree, they love it and during the winter, I've come home to find them all curled up in.  It's a great conversation piece and I have a story for each one of these shirts.   Many friends have been over the house, or seen pictures of my t-shirt quilt and wanted one.  Over the past few years I've become more comfortable with T-Shirt quilt making and actually really enjoy making t-shirt quilts.  

If you have shirts that you want made into a t-shirt quilt.  Contact me, I'd love to help you preserve those memories and keep you warm! 

My First Quilt

This is my first quilt, pieced together when I was about 11 or 12.  I pieced this together, it got shoved in a drawer in the sewing room  because I got busy with school, and other extra cirricular activities like dance, Girl Scouts, cheerleading, and youth group.  My mom discovered it, while cleaning out the sewing room one day when I was in high school.  I machine quilted it, and binded it.  It now hangs on my quilt rack in my living room.   

How it all started...

I started sewing when I was about seven years old.  Both my grandmothers sewed.  My mom still sews.  I'll never forget that my Nanny (my Dad's mom) was always working on some sort of quilt.  I remember whenever we would go visit her in Tennessee, we would arrive and she'd be sitting on the end of the couch, working on her latest project waiting for us to get there.  My Granny (Mom's mom) made dresses and all sorts of things.  My mom had patience and showed me how to first sew by hand, and then on the machine.  I was very very independent (she may prefer "stubborn", however I prefer strong willed) so as soon as my Mom showed me how to do something just once, I thought I was ready to do it all on my own.  I insisted on learning things the hard way.  I'm now 27 years old and still love sewing of all sorts.  A special thanks to my Mom, Dad, Granny, Nanny for all the inspiration, creative genes, patience, love and encouragement which has allowed me to be crafty!  Through this blog I hope to share with you my love for quilts, crafts and various sewing projects.