Too Cool T-Shirt Quilts

Janet Szabo (0:14)

Welcome to The Straight Stitch, where you can listen while you sew. This is episode 141, and my name is Janet Szabo. I'll be your guide as we explore all things sewing.

It's October. I have no idea where September went, but I think I'll be able to do some sewing this month, and that makes me very happy, because September, even being National Sewing Month, was completely without sewing in my own personal life, and I find that a little embarrassing. I have had a few other things going on. That is my only excuse. I will have my first sewing school classes this weekend, and people are starting to sign up, so I'm really excited about that. I am working very hard to try and find a date for a serger retreat in 2027

The problem is that my daughter is getting married at the end of August, and even though it's very exciting for all of us, it does put a wrench in things. I'm trying not to schedule a serger retreat during the high season here in Montana, which would be June to September because things are just hideously expensive then. But I also want to be cognizant of the weather, and the weather is usually pretty nice into October.

It's not quite as nice in the spring, unfortunately, but we'll see. If you have any preferences, let me know.

And if you want to be kept in the loop about possible dates and announcements, go to either the podcast website at www.thestraightstitchpodcast.com, or the sewing school website at www.sewsomethingstudio.com, and sign up for one of the newsletters. I will probably be putting similar content in both newsletters, just so people know what's going on. And those will start going out this week. Everything takes longer than I think it's going to take in my head. My sewing projects are like that too. They always take longer than I think they will in my head.

I actually am trying to get back into sewing. I want to work on my lew raincoat. That's a seamwork pattern that I started last spring because I could really use a raincoat. But the first project I have on my cutting table is the On Repeat woven t-shirt from Pattern Emporium. They just released this a couple of weeks ago. I was gone over the weekend. I went to Ritzville, Washington to help at the Mennonite Country Auction, which is something that I do every year. But before I left, I started tracing out the On Repeat pattern, and I traced the front, and I knew that I would have to lengthen it. There is a tall option in the pattern, but I still had to lengthen it an inch to make it hit on my body where I like my woven t-shirts to hit. And I had to move the bust start down about an inch and a half, which is pretty typical. I find that a lot of patterns have the bust starts way too high, because some people haven't experienced the effects of gravity yet. So I did that before I left, and then yesterday after I returned home, I traced out the back and the sleeve, and I also lengthened the back to match the front. I pulled a piece of black linen out of my stash. It was a remnant that I picked up at Pacific Fabrics a few months ago, and it's just enough to make the top. So I think that's going to be my first project, because that should be fairly straightforward. I am curious to see how that pattern fits. I made six or eight scout tees over the summer, because that pattern I love, it fits me really well. And I reach for those shirts all the time. I am at the point where I go back and forth with myself about whether or not I need to buy patterns, because I have so many patterns, and I know how to mix and match elements of patterns, and I know how to adjust patterns, so I almost don't need to buy any more patterns. But I rationalize this by telling myself that I am a teacher, and students are going to be asking me about different pattern companies, and it behooves me to be familiar with at least one or two patterns from each pattern company.

This is the first time I've made up a pattern emporium pattern, and I'm curious to see how it fits.

So that is what is on the cutting table at the moment. I am teaching a Serger Mastery class tomorrow in Missoula, and I have to get the salsa made, so I can put my canning stuff away. But while the salsa is processing, I should be able to do some sewing. So I am hoping to knock that top out this week, and get back into the routine of sewing every day. I want to get into introducing today's podcast guest. Andrea Funk is the owner of Two Cool T-Shirt Quilts. She has been making T-Shirt Quilts professionally since 1992