"Make what you want to make, and make it the way you want to make it." Gwen Marston

Sunday, September 21, 2014

FNSI and more

I am not the most imaginative person in blogland.  So when someone else does something I like, I don’t hesitate to borrow their ideas.  I saw the Shirt challenge on Tracee’s blog, and wanted to join, because I just happened to have a bag of shirts begging to become a quilt.

Then I saw the Charmed Star  QAL on Terry’s blog.  I really wanted to sew along, but I don’t have any appropriate fabric, and I absolutely can’t buy any more right now. 

But then I was perusing Sheila’s blog, and she was combining the two projects, and I totally fell in love with her first block. 

So with Sheila’s permission, I’m copying her idea.  Do you have any idea how long it takes to dismantle 6 shirts?

I spent an entire afternoon/evening taking them apart, and ironing the pieces flat.  I spent another entire afternoon/evening cutting the 5” squares. 

That’s a five inch stack.  I didn’t count all of them, but the first shirt yielded 44 squares, and I’m sure the others were all similar.  Four shirts were long sleeved, and two were short sleeved.  I kept the pockets, and I’m trying to think of a way to incorporate them.  They may appear on the back.

I also harvested all the buttons.  That was a little time consuming, too.

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So, not much sewing this week, but I was productive.  Some of those smaller shirt scraps may turn up as mug rugs, but I’m running out of time so not sure about that yet.

I did make a small bag and a few other scrappy mug rugs earlier in the week.

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The bag is small, with diagonal pockets inside, and will be perfect for carrying my small cross stitch projects.  I received one of these bags for Christmas one year, and my yoyo making supplies are stored in it. 

Thank you all for your emails and comments about DH.  He continues to be just fine, and we’ve rescheduled our vacation for next week.  We’ve gone walking a few times this week, and we took a daytrip to the northern part of the Chesapeake Bay on Wednesday. 

We discovered a boat ramp at Elk Neck State Park that we plan to visit next summer.  We’ve been to visit Turkey Point Lighthouse in the park in the past, but were unaware that there was a boat ramp.

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 Next stop was Chesapeake City, which is located at the midpoint of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  As we were driving over the bridge to enter the town, there was a huge container ship just below us.  By the time we got parked and ran down to the water, it was nearly gone.

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We stopped in a few of the shops and then paid a visit to the C&D Canal Museum.  The canal operates fully at sea level, so there is no need for locks.  Approximately 40% of the container ships at the Port of Baltimore, have traversed the Canal.  Pleasure boats are allowed, and we’d like to kayak here some day, too!

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Our travels also took us through picturesque Chestertown and Rock Hall, MD.  We enjoyed sandwiches for dinner while sitting on the beach at Rock Hall, overlooking the Bay.

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If you look really hard in the picture below, you can see the Bay Bridge in the distance.

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And here are some pictures on the Chester River as the sun prepares to set.

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that was our practice day, and now we’re ready for vacation.  Bring it on!!
~~ Sunny~~

21 comments:

  1. Love your stack of squares.......!!
    Can't wait to see some blocks.

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  2. How awesome to combine your two projects ... I can't wait to see that come together.

    What a lot of blocks! I didn't realize that you could get so many squares from shirts. Makes me wish I would have saved all of DH's shirts from when he worked. Time for a trip to the thrift shop?

    So glad that your trip wasn't delayed too long. Enjoy ... and safe travels!

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  3. Your stack of shirt squares looks great to me! I can't wait to see your first blocks! :0)

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  4. I noticed those posts about using shirts too, and they look great. Wow, you have really jumped in. Have fun after doing all the hard part.
    Love seeing pics of your travels.

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  5. Check out Bonnie Hunters video for the next time you dismantle shirts.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS-09AYE0fM

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  6. the quilt idea is so clever Sunny - i had to resist joining the Charming Stars SAL - you may not have sewn much, but you know how important proper preparation is... glad to hear mrQD is going well x

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  7. Wow lots of cutting there Sunny. Have fun putting the Charm Squares together with your shirt squares..
    Enjoyed the your lovely photos..

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  8. Love what you are doing with the shirts! One of the nicest things about Blogland is how ideas are shared!!!

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  9. Oh Peggy, how busy you are! Love the idea of the shirts and the combination now of blocks. Glad to see the map of NS, so that is where it is! Happy Sewing further on :-)

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  10. I did like Sheila's idea also but too late for me as I had already started both projects!!! haha.... and also I found the taking apart of shirts very time consuming....
    Hugz

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  11. i will enjoy watching your progress with the shirt challenge Sunny and your pics are lovely and i am so glad you and hubby are still going on your holiday.xx

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  12. Your quilt will be amazing when it is finished. Chesapeake Bay looks amazing I and enjoy your holiday.

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  13. Well now I want some shirts, lol! I think it's a great idea to combine the two, I love the way it looks. Love your new little bag, and the mug rugs. Glad dh is doing so well - and that you got in some good practice for your vacation, lol!!! Great pics!

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  14. Yes it does take some time taking those shirts apart. But it is almost 'free' fabric, or it seems like it to me because I can get a shirt at our local secondhand shop for a quarter. That is a lovely little bag! Thank you for the travel photos. I always enjoy those!

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  15. love the shirts and what you plan to do with them. will look forward to seeing them progress into a quilt. glad that DH seems to be doing better too. enjoy that vacation!

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  16. I might so this same thing, Sunny! Kevin just gave me a pile of his shirts and I want to make the girls a quilt with them. Thanks SO MUCH for sharing this idea!!!!

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  17. Progress is good. Those shirts will make a nice quilt.

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  18. It's quite surprising as to how long it takes to dismantle those shirts...It looks like your well on your way with that challenge...I'm really looking forward to see what everyone comes up with. Wow...you also have some gorgeous photos there, it looks like such a lovely place.

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  19. Well, you certainly have been a busy girl. What a job taking those shirts apart. Can't wait to see your blocks.
    So glad your husband is out of the hospital and doing well. You have some beautiful places to walk.

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  20. Oh Wow! That's amazing! Love that stack of squares - the blocks are going to be beautiful! I'm so happy to hear you will be going soon and DH is doing so well. Thanks for the map - I've been meaning to look it up and see where it is at.

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  21. Wait! I forgot to say that is such a cute bag. I'm going to make me one too. (yeah, cuz I can copy too! lol)

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