Rag time

My "little" brother is about to graduate college and this is what I had to give him.  It's all his t-shirts from his "early years."  He couldn't believe it and loves it.

This is the way I recommend to do rag quilts.  All you need is the top (10 or more inches square) and the back (fleece; eliminates the need for any batting), sew it together with the seam on the right side (NOT wrong side) with a seam allowance of 0.5 inches, sew 0.5 inches (or more if you want) around the border to hold it all in, and snip the seams to make them fluffy (careful not to snip the sewn line).  No kidding, that's it.  You pop it in the washer to get everything curled around the edges and throw it on the bed.  Crazy, huh?  So's little bro so it all works perfectly!  :)

Aspen is lovely this time of year

My afternoon extra daughter has been busy when we aren't doing homework.  The first picture is her own creation: a sock dog.  She has since made another so this one could have a friend.  The second picture is our Christmas present to her: her own quilt, done rag quilt style.  Highly recommend this technique for the speed of completion but do not recommend doing the squares this small, unless you just really want to.  She was worth it and it turned out so lovely.  However, I don't think I'll be doing squares that small again; just the snipping of the seams gave my fingers nerve damage and they still tingle a little from time to time.  She was worth it all, though!  She's a sweetheart!