2019 Quilting project

[dem in texas]

Here is my family history quilt top. I have it finished and ready to go to the quilt shop to be quilted. I am going to have the border around the blocks machine quilted and I am going to hand quilt around each image. I have made 2 of these tops ready to be quilted, have one more almost ready to sew together.

I scanned in the images and made the blocks in Photoshop. I had 5 sets printed using "my Print Designs". I used premium cotton which ran $17.50 per yard and it took 3 yard yards to print the 63 blocks I had 6 sets printed, 3 for me and three to give to my sisters,

There is a Democratic connection in the quilt. My great-grandfather was a Scottish immigrant who settled in Pike county, Illinois. He was opposed to the Civil War and was as a "copperhead". He served in the Union army and came back to Pike
county after the war. Feelings ran high in Pike county -Republican against Democrats. He was trained as a doctor and finally left Illinois and moved to Travis County, Texas. He was a loyal Democrat and was involved in Texas politics until his death. One of the images in the quilt is of him and his wife before they left Pike county.

[KT2000]

1. Wow! Very nice

[marigold20]

2. Wonderful quilt

The border prints you selected really are perfect for framing the photos.

[CousinIT]

3. What a family treasure this will be! Priceless.

I love the colors too. Very sophisticated and stately. It's beautiful!

[FakeNoose]

4. This is an awesome idea and I love your design

I'm wondering about the inks that are used on your printed squares. Is this ink stable enough to last, or does it fade over time or with repeated washings? Maybe there's a way to preserve the inks. I'm guessing this was done on an inkjet printer. (?)

Also the center-left photo with the couple and the baby - is that your great grandfather?

Sorry to pepper you with these questions, but I'm intrigued with this idea. I think it's a great way to preserve and share family history.

[dem in texas]

7. yes, this is my Great- grand father nd Great -Grand mother.

Yes, this pictures was taken in the 1870's. The baby is my great Aunt Gertrude, who was called Gussie. This was right before they moved to Texas. There is a book about Pike county and the fighting between the Democrats and Republicans. In this book is printed a letter written by my great-Grandfather that states he would never return to Pike county because of all fighting (it got so bad that a young teen boy whose parents were Democrats was killed by a group of Republican men.)

[eleny]

5. I love everything about this quilt

The surrounding fabrics you chose, the neutrals, are such a perfect and sophisticated way to go. And you're going to hand quilt? Oh my goodness, what a talent. Congratulations on this beautiful effort top to bottom!

I've done permanent printing on a home printer and want to learn more about the company you used for your printing. So thanks for sharing that information. Btw, wWas it "My Fabric Designs"?

[dem in texas]

6. Thank you my Friends for your kind comments

Yes, I used the online site, My Fabric Designs. They have a wide variety of fabrics to choose from. I bought the most expensive cotton ($17.50 a yard, 50 inches wide). I figured I was putting so much work into this project, I wanted to use the best materials. My Print Designs is located here in Dallas, although I conducted my business with them from their online site. I did call them several times with questions and they were always helpful. Anyway I am very pleased with their work. Takes 10 to 14 days get your fabric. It has instructions to wash on delicate in non-phosphate soap (woolite) and dry on gentle heat in the dryer before using.

I have printed the fabric sheets on my own ink jet printer before That is more expensive in the long run if you are going to print a lot and fabric is of a cheaper quality. I like the colors better on the ink jet (they are RPG format and commercial printing is CMYK color, a slight difference in tones).

I used Civil War print fabric for the borders bought by Fat Quarters on Etsy and Ebay. Kept the colors to grey, black and tan. Some of photos are modern and are color and I converted them to grey-scale.

I am having the fabric borders machine quilted, I want a vine or flower pattern. I am going to hand quilt around each image, just in a running stitch, this should not take long to do, maybe two weeks in my spare time.

[Collimator]

10. It is a beautiful quilt.

And a priceless heirloom.

Just a little fyi, there is a website called, "Spoonflower" that has thousands upon thousands of artist-designed prints. Their designs come in fabric, wallpaper and wrapping paper.

They are not cheap, but if you have a certain theme in mind, you are bound to find at least one or two fabrics featuring the concept that you are looking for.

If you have a friend who likes aardvarks, and you have despaired of ever being able to make them an aardvark-themed throw pillow, (Haven't we all been kept awake at night harboring such thoughts?), you will find something to suit your fancy at Spoonflower.

[dem in texas]

11. Yes, i have purchased fabric from Spoonflower

Spoonflower was selling fabric on Etsy and I ordered some. I was very disappointed in the quality of the fabric and the workmanship in the printing and it was priced equal to the price of high end quilting fabrics such as Moda. I returned the fabric for a refund.

I found other sites who sell customer designed fabric and picked My Print Designs because they had such a large fabric selection of fine fabrics

I learned my lesson on Spoonflower and bought a set of swatches of the fabrics sold by My print designs. I settled on the premium cotton which is the highest quality quilting fabric.

[Collimator]

12. Sorry to hear about your experience with Spoonflower.

(And, no, I don't work for them.)

I'm a little confused about why someone was selling their products on Etsy. I just go straight to their own website.

I have purchased over a dozen swatches of fabrics for a someday-project that will be about the written word.

I have fabric with Sumarian kuniform, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Chinese script, Arabic script, Greek letters and others. I have ordered different fabric types and can tell the difference from one weave and another, but I haven't had any problem with the actual print quality.

[dem in texas]

13. it was a long time ago

With more competition, Spoonflower may have stepped up their game. I'd never heard of Spoonflower and found them on
Etsy. in fact I knew nothing about printing your own fabric. My experience with Spoonflower is what set me on my journey of fabric printing. I tried the kind you print on your own ink jet, very poor quality. This lead me to search for another source. I found the one here in Dallas. I guess I thought if I did not like the product, I could drive over to their place and throw rock rocks at them Ha!.

[Karadeniz]

8. In case of fire, grab the quilt!!! This is a wonderful idea...thanks for sharing it.

[mgardener]

9. Incredible

What a beautiful quilt!

[MLAA]

14. Just wonderful!

[dem in texas]

15. Finished all three family history quilt-tops

Two are at quilt shop waiting to be quilted. I have the third top ready, just waiting for the batting which I ordered by mail. In the meantime, my sister has had some serious health problems, so I offered to sew her family quilt top. She has the picture blocks cut out and all the fabric strips cut too, shouldn't take long to sew it up.

When we get all the family quilts done, we re going to have a family gathering for all to see and update the kids, grand kids and now the great-grands on our families' histories.

I enjoyed making these tops, knowing we are preserving family history. I have some of my husband's family pics, but not enough to make a quilt. I spoke with his sister and asked if she could roundup enough pictures to make a family history quilt for my old boy's side of the family.

In the meantime, I am working on 2019 project 2, the blue willow plate quilt. This s a simple quilt, won't take long to sew.

Just a note, I am 80 years old, a cancer survivor. have all the aches and pains of old age, vision is not as good as it once was, but every day I open my eyes am happy. Never quilted until I was 74. Also working on a cookbook (my 6th)and going to estate sales and antique malls, maintaining a website and selling merchandise. Whew!....and when I retired I wondered what I would do with my time. Every day is a good day. Don't be afraid of old age, embrace it.

[FeelingBlue]

16. This is really great.

Your work is fantastic and inspiring. I’d love to do this for my 90 year old Dad.

I went on My Fabric Design (MFD), on your recommendation and just started looking around. Very interested in exploring this concept of a photo quilt. May I ask a few questions, please??


1. I’ve never printed on fabric. What were the most helpful things you learned from this printing process?

2. Does the photo get printed only one time on your fabric?

3. Do you have a pixel recommendation for photos??

4. Did you arrange the photos in an order or hodgepodge??


I’m sure I’ll think of more. Well done, Dem in Texas!!!!!!!! Thanks a lot for sharing!!❤️

[dem in texas]

17. Family quilt info

I learned a lot about printing fabric. I had first tried to print at home on a ink jet printer, it works okay, but the quality of the fabric is poor and it can get pricey to buy the sheets that are washable.

It cost me $16.50 a yard for premium cotton at My fabric Designs (MFD) and the price is up to $18.00 a yard. I scanned some family pictures and did a test run which costs me about $22.00 ($16.50. plus sales tax ands shipping), but it helped me see what I would get.

My Print Design has some rules. Max size of file must be less than 150 MB and image pixel per inch can not exceed 150 px per inch. The 150 MB file size and 150 px/in means you cannot get all printed on one yard of fabric. Plus you have to allow for a edge around the fabric. You will get repeat print with partial blocks on the right side and bottom. After printing, I see I could have squeezed in another block in my rows. That said, it was going to take 3 yards. Here is an image showing my blocks as I sent them to MFD.


Each block has a number in the corner. In the third panel is a guide that shows the numbers of the blocks and who is in each photo in the block I am going to hand-sew that guids to back of the quilt once the quilt is finished.

I made a template with a black border and pasted the photos inside the border in each block. The template is 7.55 inches. Some of the color photos from the 40's and 50's had faded and color was terrible, so i decided to keep all the photos in sepia or greyscale. There is one photo of my mother on her 80the birthday with her 6 children. The picture was from 1995 and it had good color, but I converted it to greyscale to keep with my color scheme. I made a file of all the family images that I scanned in. When I started working, I selected the pictures at random, depending the size of image, resized as needed. Some much beloved images are repeated.

I used civil war prints for the borders. The border strips are 7/8 sewn or 1 1/4 cut. I bought the civil war fabric FQ on Etsy and Ebay I sewed them log cabin style. I put three rows of fabric around edge, light grey, tan and dark gray. Hobby Lobby had some nice grey fabric and price was right, used these for borders as the civil war fabrics can get pricey.. I found some wide backing on Ebay, white with tiny black calico. Made offer and bought enough for all 3 quilts at a good price.

put together : rows 7 blocks across/9 blocks down/ 63 blocks in all. If you would like to use my template, I can post it here.

I you google "family quilts" or grave yard quilts, you can see other people have made family quilts. Also on Pinterest.

[FeelingBlue]

18. HUGE THANKS!!!

Wow, Dem in Texas,

THANK YOU very much for your generosity of time and info!!!!! This was great to read and now to absorb. I am very eager to try this once the holidays are over. You are greatly inspiring!!

I don’t know how the template could be shared. But, if it’s possible, I’d love to see it!!

You’re amazing and you’ve made a very special quilt. I’m so happy for you! I can’t wait to try something like this, myself!

Thank you for your help here!!!

With my warmest regards!!☀️