Here's what I sewed in June 2017

I stopped teaching May 31st so I was full on sewing just about everyday in June.  I hope to continue through July and August as well.  Here's what I made in June:

Winnie the Pooh rag quilt

Les Monsieur Rag Quilt and Pocket Pillow

Vintage Hankie Rag Quilt

Zebra Pocket Pillow

Dreaming Tree in Spring Pocket Pillow

Hello Bear Pocket Pillow

Fawn and Deer Quilt

Black and White Baby Rag Quilt

Wee Wander Summer Night Lights Pocket Pillow

Vintage Style Hanky Rag Quilt

Black and White Cats Pocket Pillow

Twin size Vintage Style Hanky Quilt and Pillow

Vintage Style Hanky Quilt

Camo Pocket Pillow

Bug Skirt and Vest

Animal Print Rag Quilted Throw

Star Wars Pocket Pillow

U of Oregon 12 T-shirt Quilt

Hankerchief Rag Quilts

I made my first Hanky Rag Quilt in 2011 and since then I have made a whole lot more.  Here are some of the quilts and pillows I have been honored to make using beloved hankies from my customers:

The Good News and the Bad News of Hanky Quilts

I have some good news and some bad news.

 The good news is that I get to use vintage hankies in some of my hanky rag quilts.  The bad news is using vintage hankies in some of my hanky quilts.  I experienced the bad news first hand this weekend when finishing a lovely lavender vintage hanky quilt.

I always check the hankies for weak areas or holes and I don't use those since I know they won't stand up to the washings but in this quilt I thought I had chosen the right hankies.  It wasn't until I took it from the dryer that I saw the tears.

I wasn't sure what to do.  Could I simply hand sew the tears with thread?  No, that would have made it look bad and and it still would be weak all around the mend.

I thought maybe I could remove the whole square but once you wash the quilt it is VERY hard to take a square out and then put it back in.  It looks terrible.   The nice way the fluff looks after being washed and dried will be affected if you take a square out and try to put it back in.  I may have tried it if the square was on the edge but this square was surrounded by other hankies so that wasn't an option.

The only thing left to do was to remove the hanky and put a new one in it's place.  Luckily this hanky had a lace edge so removing it wasn't that hard.  I had to remove all the stitches in the X first and then cut the lace.  I was lucky that I had a few extra hankies to choose from for the replacement.  The one I chose was much larger than the square so I had cut it and make a new size.

I never cut hankies!  I always leave them the original size. When snipping the seams on vintage hanky quilts, I try to cut as minimally as possible, if at all, into the hanky.  This was hard for me to cut up a beautiful hanky but that's what I did.  I cut two of the sides of the hanky then sewed a very small hem edge.  Then I hand sewed the hanky in place with a blind stitch.  The end result turned out well enough for me to be happy.

Here is the hanky quilt after I fixed the torn square.  Can you tell which square I fixed?

Update 2/2/19
I made another hanky quilt recently and while I fixed all the small holes before quilting, I found several more after washing and drying...Again! I was heartbroken!!! That is a hazard when making these delicate creations.  This time my only recourse was to take the whole square out and replace it with a brand new hanky square.  I had to recut the new seams but I am happy to report, you could barely tell which square I fixed.