Christmas Neighbor, Teacher, Coworker Gifts

This Christmas has really snuck up on me. I am no where close to getting my sewing projects done (more on that later), and I realized that I needed to get teacher gifts and coworker gifts done super fast. So I took to the internet to see what I could do that was quick with items I already had at home.

 

Then it hit me......... Sugar Scrubs!!!

 

 

As I searched the internet I found that most all of the recipes were basically the same.

 

Basic Sugar Scrub Recipe

3 Cups White Granulated Sugar

1 Cup + 2 TBL Olive Oil

10 Drops Essential Oil

 

4 7oz Containers with lids

Ribbon and Tags

 

*makes approximately 4 jars 

 

Mix ingredients in a glass bowl with a metal spoon. (Essential oils are likely to permeate a wooden spoon, or a plastic bowl.) Fill jars and seal with lids. Decorate with ribbons and tags.

 

I was so excited to have everything in house for this gift idea except the jars. So a super quick trip to a local big box store and I found these 7 oz Mason jars for about $1-$2 each. I used my Young Living Peppermint essential oil and oooohhhhhh it was divine!!!

 

I did add a few extra drops to each jar and mixed it in really well. The ladies at work loved it!!!

For more gift ideas go HERE and HERE.

 

 

Happy Holidays!!!!

CCG

Camo Rag Quilt Take 2

 For this post I am assuming you have seen my post "My Favorite Rag Quilt, Camo Style"
 Other posts that might be helpful to understand my Rag Quilt method can be found HERE and HERE.
Ok now that we are all on the same page, or post, (ha ha) I had left over squares and lots of scrap fabric from my first camo quilt (military memory quilt). I really wanted to make another quilt for my neighbors to have but there were not any more uniforms available to be made into a second quilt. So I decided to adopt the WWII Era philosophy "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." I used every last scrap of fabric available from those uniforms (plus a little happy accident I will share later)!!!

Left Square: pocket panels sew together to make a square. Do you love the vent holes!!??
Middle Square: A pocket opened up to full size.
Right Square: Scrap pieces of fabric sew in strips to make a large enough square.

Left Square: Mini squares cut from pocket linings with mini squares of left over fabric.
Middle Square: Mini squares cut from left over pocket fabric and mini square from previous quilt.
Right Square: Mini squares left over from previous quilt attached and top stitched for strength.

Left Row: All of the scrap pieces I could muster from every last pocket, pocket lining, pocket flaps and left over strips. I even took apart neck bands and sleeve cuffs!  These were all sewn together to form a 10" by 60" strip for the top and the bottom! That's over 10 feet of scrap piecing!!!
 (My WWII ancestors would be sooo proud of me!!)
Right Row: Quilt blocks I was able to piece together or had left over from my first camo quilt.
Notice the darker tan quilt squares? So here is my happy accident....... The same week I was trying to put together the quilt blocks my husband ripped a super nice pair of Docker dress pants!!! (Ok sad for him and me because we needed to buy him a new pair because they were really beyond repair. But woo hoo for me because they were the perfect color and similar weight to the camo!!)

 In this picture you can see how the quilt was laid out and again how much it actually shrinks when you add in all the 1/4" seam allowances.

I finished off the quilt with "Warm and Natural" batting and this plaid polar fleece that I picked up at a big box craft store. I have not made a rag quilt with both Warm and Natural and polar fleece, but it turned out great! It did complicate things a little when I tried to tack the quilt together by "stitching in the ditch" of all the intersections due to the bulk but it turned out nicely.  A good wash and dry and everything was still in place.

I wanted to present the quilt in the "bed roll" fashion like I had with the previous quilt, so I worked my magic and came up with these. The arrow pointed parts on the right were from the sleeve cuffs of the uniform jacket and the longer parts with the hook and loop tape were from the collar and sleeve cuffs. I removed some of the hook and loop tape and sewed the parts together to form the "ties" for the bed roll. 

Fold the quilt into thirds, attach the ties and tah dah! A very versatile quilt that has a lot of love sewn into it and  special meaning to my neighbors! I did want to mention that I did forget about one step that would have really helped after finishing the quilt. If the frayed edges of the quilt do not fray as much as you would like them to, you can take a stiff brush and brush them. This will help break down that fabric and produce that classic "Rag Quilt" look.

This really has been one of the most enjoyable, and most frustrating quilts I have ever made. I can not tell you how many times I had to redo things on the quilt due to dumb "middle of the night and I should have gone to bed a long time ago" mistakes. Miscounting, sewing right sides together instead of wrong sides together, and too many more things to mention. I really enjoyed thinking outside the box to try and make this quilt as big as I could using what little fabric I had left.

My neighbor really love the quilt. She was delighted that part of my husbands dress pants had been added to the quilt. She said, "Now we will always have a part of you guys in this quilt!"

My gratitude is never ending for those men and women who protect and serve our country both at home and abroad!

Have a great week, and if you try your hand at a quilt like this let me know how it turned out!!

CCG



Outdoor Patriotic Banner, More Patriotic Fun!

I have seen so many fun things being made with burlap lately that I wanted to make something fun to hang on my house for all the patriotic holidays. I love the red, white and blue buntings they sell at the stores around 4th of July, but find the price expensive, and the material, well crappy. Plus I am not the most traditional person and love to be a little outside the box.

 Here is what I came up with an Outdoor Patriotic Banner.

 

Items Used:

Burlap

Tape

Spray Adhesive

Cardboard Cut Out Stars

Blue and Red Spray Paint

Blue Ribbon

Upholsterers Needle

Sewing Machine

 

 I started by measuring the area of the outside of my house that I wanted to cover. Next I went to my big box craft store and purchased burlap by the yard, enough for what I needed. I decided on the dimensions and folded over the top 2" and sewed a zig-zag stitch across to make a channel to hold a dowel rod in case I wanted to hang it inside.  I traced 5 cardboard stars from my scrapbooking templates and sprayed them with spray adhesive and placed them along the top of the patriotic banner. Then I tapped off the rest of the burlap and covered it with card board for protection. Grabbed my left over blue spray paint from my last project and sprayed away.

 Here is the finished result for the stars. I love the natural burlap color for the stars, it gives it a rustic, homey look with out much fuss!!!

 Next divide the bottom into stripes. Remember that odd numbers are always visually pleasing.

Because I was going with the rustic, homey look I only taped off and sprayed red stripes and left the rest the natural color. Beware I tried painters tape and duct tape for this and they both had their problems. You have to be quick and use lots of cardboard for protecting the natural colored stripes.

 I wanted a visual break to the top and bottom so I decided to  "sew"the ribbon through the burlap threads. I experimented and found that picking up two threads and skipping five threads had the best visual appeal as well as workability.

 I used a large, straight upholsterers needle to "sew" the ribbon through the burlap.

 Little Crafty Camper Girl got very excited and did much of the ribbon work for me!

Love that girl!!!

And this is the finished product! An Outdoor Patriotic Banner that looks great and is perfect for outdoor or indoor use! So just in case you were wondering how I hung this puppy up on stucco, let me introduce you to my new favorite product..... Scotch brand Removable Mounting Putty! I put it on several places along the top and sides of the banner and it did great for the few days I had it up. It will get more testing next year, but so far I am pleased with the strength, durability and easy, non-damaging removal!!!

 

What are you doing with burlap?

Have a great week!

CCG

Patriotic Clothes Pin Wreath

I have seen some fun clothes pin wreaths being made and thought I would try my hand at one.

Items I used for this project:

Clothes Pins

Red, Cream, and Blue Spray Paint

Metallic Leafing Pen

Ribbon and Burlap Scraps from another project

Scrabble Tiles from another project

Cardboard Ring from a glass container I purchased previously

(Mr. Crafty Camper gets a little grumpy about all the things I save, until I use them for a fun project like this one.)

Hot Glue Gun

 

 

For the most part everything is self explanatory. Spray, draw stars, put on cardboard circle, etc. I used the burlap scraps to intertwine with the red ribbon and to make the bow for the side of the wreath.

 Then I hot glued the bow and the U, S, A, Scrabble tiles to the clothes pins through the burlap scraps.
I tied a knot on the ribbon and ran it under one of the clothes pins on both sides to secure it.

Not bad for under $10 and using a lot of stuff I already had.
Enjoy your week!
CCG

My Favorite Rag Quilt........... Camo Style! (A Retake of My Favorite Denim Quilt)

For years now I have wanted to make My Favorite Denim Quilt out of military uniforms instead of denim jeans. (Like a military memory quilt) I finally got my chance a few weeks ago when my neighbor (who courageously served our country) had a baby and I offered to make a baby quilt for his sweet little guy. (His sweet wife jumped at the chance to get rid of some of the clutter in the garage!)

SPOILER ALERT!!! This is the finished product. I was so pleased with how it turned out, and so were my neighbors!!!

 So after viewing My Favorite Denim Quilt Part 1 and My Favorite Denim Quilt Parts 2 you will kind of get the basic idea of how I make these quilts. This way I can jump straight to the adaptations I made for this particular quilt.

Always check each article of clothing for surprises. This can include but is not limited to insect nests, items in pockets which for this project included, medication and military service patches. Be sure to wash the uniforms well before your start cutting.

 First, get ready to spend a lot of quality time with your seam ripper. Seriously, sit down with your favorite TV episodes and start picking to your hearts content, then get ready to pick out some more!

Remove all hook and loop strips (not from the pockets), tags, pockets, zippers and closures.

A trick I found for the pockets was to leave the hook and loop sections of the pocket attached while I removed the pocket from the pants or jacket. This gave the pocket structure as well as being able to use the fabric under the pocket for the squares.

Don't worry about the stitching holes that are left in the fabric. A good steam or mist of water while ironing the fabric will cause the holes to close quite nicely. (I was super excited about that trick!)

 Next cut out the seams from the areas you do not want (i.e. side seams from the jacket) and iron each piece so that it is as flat as possible. Remember to use the fun seams as part of the quilt. (See the second to last picture for examples.) Experiment with what gives you the most usable fabric. This will also determine how big of squares you will cut. My uniforms were a small/medium so I was able to get a 6X6 square nicely. Now start cutting using a rotary cutting tool, matt and large ruler. Have fun using the character of the material to make unique squares. 

Lay out your squares in a nice large open area and play with how large you would like the quilt. Remember this is the creative stage. Arrange your squares with the pocket and seamed squares as well as rotate the fabric so the print goes in different directions. Take into account that you will loose about 1/2 to 1 full square width with seam allowances. You may go back and add another row or two.

 For this quilt I ended up with an 8X11 rowed quilt of 6" squares. This was about 45 to 50 inches wide and about 1 1/2 to 2 yards long. (Yes this is a big baby quilt but I wanted this little guy to enjoy it for many years) Once the pieced top is finished, turn it over and iron the wrong side to set the seams and make it nice and firm. This will help when you are adding the batting and backing.

 The other adaptations I made on this quilt were the addition of "Warm and Natural" batting and using flannel for the backing as opposed to Polar Fleece. I wanted this quilt to be a little warmer and little more firm than my other quilts so I added the batting between the pieced top and the flannel backing and pinned the entire quilt so there would not be any puckers.

I stitched around the entire quilt edge and then went into the ditch of each intersection of the four squares and did some stay stitching to keep the batting in place.

Clipped, washed, dried and tah dah! A very handsomely cute rag quilt!

 Here you get a close up of the different types of squares I was able to cut and arrange in the quilt. I really had fun designing this quilt and adding the pockets on it. What little boy doesn't love pockets to stash his cars, rocks, and other treasures in?

My sweet Little Crafty Camper Girl who helped my with this quilt said, "Momma, you need to add pockets for baby food and milk for him!" Seriously I could just eat her sometimes, she always says the cutest things!!!

 Here is the finished quilt all rolled up like a bedroll. I used the collar from the uniform jacket to secure it. (That was a happy accident, as Bob Ross says!) All in all I was very pleased with how the quilt turned out. I did learn a few things along the way. Newer military uniforms have lines that run through the fabric called "rip stop lines." These were a blessing and a curse. The blessing came in that when the fabric was turned a certain way it gave a great gauge for clipping the fabric. The curse came in that because it is a "rip stop" the fabric did not fray as well as the denim does.

This quilt was about a 3 solid day project, from preparing the fabric to finished quilt. I hope you enjoyed this retake on My Favorite Denim Quilt. Happy sewing (and seam ripping!).
CCG

Mr. Crafty Camper's First Post, The "Scotty Potty"

So now for his first guest appearance Mr. Crafty Camper will give his tutorial on our favorite latrine accessory. (When you camp as much as we do you like to have a few creature comforts!!) So Mr. Crafty Camper adapted an idea from a friend of ours and made us this little gem!!!


The "Scotty Potty" - in honor of our friend.

First start with a tube framed folding chair like the one above. I found this one at Goodwill for $3. Turn the chair over and remove the screws from the seat. Once the screws are removed the tabs pull out and you can remove the padded seat.





Go to your local hardware store and pick out your favorite toilet seat. For added comfort you could pick the padded version. :) To reduce the number of purchases, cut the existing white tabs from the bottom of the seat. You can see in the picture were I made my cuts. Keep the screws and white plastic tabs for later use. The top of the seat can be tossed (or decorated if you enjoy toilet seat decorations). If you don't want to cut the white plastic tabs, then you will need to find shorter screws to attach the seat to the chair frame. The last thing you want is to be poked in the bottom when you use this contraption.

Take the toilet seat and line it up over the tube frame. Use the metal tabs that the seat came with to secure the new seat. You may need to slightly bend the tabs prior to drilling or screwing to make sure the seat fits level. Decide where you want to attach the seat to the metal clips and then after everything is level, drill the holes in the metal clips only. Line the toilet seat up again and mark the holes from the tabs on the toilet seat so you pre-drill the toilet seat in the correct locations. Drill about 1/4 inch into the toilet seat. Be careful not to drill to far or you will go all the way through the seat.

Use the original screws and the white tabs from the toilet seat and screw them all together. The screw should go through the white plastic tab, then the metal tab, then into the pre-drilled holes in the toilet seat. Make sure they are firm, but do not over screw them or you could break the plastic tabs (spacers).

You are done. Clean up the mess so Mrs. Crafty Camper doesn't get mad at the mess you left for her to clean. Either dispose of the left over parts, or keep them around for some unknown upcoming project.


I hope you enjoyed this funny tutorial from my sweet husband, Mr. Crafty Camper!!! We took this contraption to Girls Camp with us and it was a huge hit!!! The girls thought it was so funny but after they used it they loved it (especially the padded back)!!! I think we are going to have to make another one for camp next year.

Let us know if you make one and send us pics!!!
Also check out the "Bathroom Box" post, it is the perfect companion to the "Scotty Potty"

CCG

Memorial Weekend Craft Projects Part 2

OK now for part two, the Sewing Project!!!
This one I made up on my own with no pattern. It really is super simple and doesn't require a lot of fabric. Scraps are great or if you have some fat quarters hanging around you can use those too!

Here is what you will need:

1 Blue back ground fabric
1 Red back ground fabric
1 White or Off White back ground fabric
Thread
Scissors
Rotary cutter and mat
Batting
Sewing machine

Ready to get cutting!!??!!

You will need to decide on the overall size of your wall hanging. This will depend on how much fabric you have.
Take your blue fabric and cut a square.
Measure your stripes so that (with seam allowances) three stripes will fit the length of the blue square. (or you can cut your stripes and then cut your blue fabric to match up with the three stripes)
Cut your stripes out of the red and white fabric. (you will need 5 total stripes)
Sew the first three stripes together and then sew them to the blue square,
Now sew the remaining two stripes to the bottom.

Make sure that you trim any long pieces and make the top piece as straight as possible.
Measure out a piece of batting and backing fabric.
You may wish to put binding on or use the rollover method from the backing fabric.

Sandwich your top, batting, and backing fabric and secure with pins.
Using coordinating thread and "stitch in the ditch" of the stripes to secure.
You may wish to do some decorative sewing in the blue area by sewing a big star or something creative like that.
Now either bind or rollover the backing fabric and top stitch by hand or by machine.
Waaa Laaa!!! Now you have a fun wall hanging or even a cute place mat!!!

******************************
Also check back next week, I will be featuring my first Guest Crafter!!!!
Mr. Crafty Camper will make his debut post to the blogging world!!!
I'm soooo excited!!!
CCG

Cutified Pillowcase in a Yard!!!

This is one of my favorite projects, and it is soooo easy!!! So here is what you will need:

1 yard of super cute fabric

1 yard of super cute ribbon

I found my fabric at Joann Craft store and had the blanket binding in my stash!!

Get out your rotary cutter, ruler, and your self healing mat and lay your fabric down lengthwise on the mat.

Now measure 2" from the side of the fabric. (The finished selvage edge that the manufacturer puts their color dots and white edge on)

Cut 2" off the side of the entire length of the fabric. (Save that small strip of fabric for a later project or a strip quilt if you have a stash going for that like I do!)

Now from the top raw selvage edge, measure down 8" and cut across the width of your fabric.

So that now you have an 8" by 43" panel of fabric. This is the cuff of your pillowcase, and the remainder of the fabric is the body of the pillowcase.

Take the panel that you just cut and fold it in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, so that the raw selvage edges match at the bottom. Press with a hot iron. Now you have a 4" cuff for your pillow case.

Next, take your ribbon and match up the selvage edges with the 4" cuff. (If you are using grosgrain ribbon just place one edge with the selvage edge of the 4" cuff)

Then make a "sandwich". Place the width of the body panel of the pillowcase on top of the ribbon and 4" cuff.

Then pin the "sandwich" together, placing pins approximately every 4" or closer if the ribbon is slippery.

Now it's time to sew!!!! Using a 1/4" seam allowance sew the cuff, ribbon, and body fabric together. If you have a serger go ahead and serg the raw edge after you have finished sewing across the entire width of the "sandwich".

Next place your fabric, right side up, and open the seam and press with a hot iron. Isn't is looking great!!!

Now comes the easy part. Fold your fabric right sides together and pin along the length and width (or side and bottom) of the fabric. Make sure that the cuff of the fabric matches at the top so you have a nice even circle with the cuff.

Sew along each side using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Again if you have a serger, serg the edges of the fabric. (You can also use a zig-zag stitch in place of the serger or clip the edges with pinking shears) Clip the threads, turn right side out and press your seams.

Taa Daah!!! Isn't it soo cute!!! Super easy, super cute and super fast, what else can you ask for in a tutorial!!!

My Favorite Denim Quilt Tutorial Part 2

So if you have seen part 1 of this tutorial and have all of your squares cut. Congrats! You are now ready to start piecing together your denim quilt! For those of you who have made a denim quilt before you should know that I might make mine a little different than you have seen previously. That is why I titled this tutorial "My Favorite Denim Quilt." Because this is my favorite (and I might say the fastest) way to make a denim quilt. I DO NOT use batting and I DON'T use the "Sandwich Method." This being said let's dig in to how I DO IT!!!!

First you will need to select your backing fabric. I usually use a nice Polar Fleece, but I have used flannel too. (Flannel is great for baby blankets but you might want to consider using the "Warm and Natural" batting. It will make the seams more comfy for baby). Polar Fleece usual comes 60" wide so I use that width and then I usually use 2 - 3 yards for the length, depending on how tall the person is I am making the quilt for. For this tutorial I am using 2 yards.
Pre-wash and dry your fabric. Then find a big open space to lay the fabric on the floor so you can start arranging your denim squares.

Start by arranging one row horizontally and one row vertically. Then you can multiply the number of squares in each row to calculate how many squares you will need for your quilt. You may find that you don't have enough denim squares, if this is the case, count how many more squares you will need plus add enough squares for one more row. (You may find that after you get them all sewn together you can fit another row on. It is always good to be prepared). If you have enough squares great! Let's move on to the next step. If not, neatly pack everything up and start finding more jeans to cut. It really is better to have everything you need before you start.

You might notice when you are placing your squares that your denim squares will overlap the backing fabric. That's OK! Once you get your squares sewn together the seam allowance will reduce the overall length of the row.

Now comes the fun part!!! Arranging the squares. Your collection of jeans might yield a few different shades of denim. Have fun placing light and dark squares throughout the quilt, or place all the lights on one part and all the darks on the other part. This is where YOU get to be creative!!!!

I always like to throw a little whimsy into my quilts by adding a pocket square or two or three! (My girlfriend likes to hide the remote from her husband in the pocket squares of the quilt I made for her!)

Now it's time to sew!!!!

NOTE: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!

In order to maintain the overall design that you have worked so hard on you must pick up, stack, and sew the squares in the same order every time. Otherwise your quilt will not look the same after it has been sewn!!!!!

This is what I recommend.

Decide on a top and bottom of your quilt.

Pick up your first square of your first row and place it on top of the square to the right of it.

Then pick up those two squares and place them on top of the square to the right of them.

Repeat these steps until all of the squares in your first row are complete.

If you can't leave your project out, repeat the same steps for all of the rows making sure to mark each row with a corresponding number from top to bottom to maintain the design of the quilt.

Now take your first row to your sewing machine and let's start sewing!

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT IN HOME ECONOMICS CLASS!!!

You are going to place your squares WRONG SIDES TOGETHER!!!! I know this goes against everything you have been taught, and I can't tell you how many times I have gotten 4 squares in before I realized that I was sewing right sides together and had to pick it all out!!! (@#&**$#)

The easiest way to sew your row together is to sew it "Quilters Style."

Take your first two squares and line them up wrong sides together and sew it all the way down the length of the square. Just before you get to the end of the square, take your next two squares and place them wrong sides together and butt them up next to your first set of squares and continue sewing. Repeat this step until you have finished all of the squares for your FIRST ROW.

I usually use a 1/4 inch seam allowance because it is easy to line the fabric up with the side edge of my presser foot, but you can make your seams as big as you would like. (Just remember the bigger the seam the less length your row will have and the more dryer lint you will have to pick out (more on that later)).

Take your completed row and clip the thread in between each set of squares. Make sure that you put them back in their original order. I usually start at the bottom of the row, clip the thread and place the two square set on the table and then repeat that step so that I have a nice pile of squares that starts with my first squares again.

Now repeat the same "Quilters Sewing Method" with the two square sets and the four square sets until the entire row is attached together.

Take your first row back to your quilt project. Now you can see how much length was taken up in the seam allowance.

Continue sewing all of the rows in the same "Quilters style" until you have all of your rows finished.

Now it's time to start assembling the finished rows together.

I call this the "two by two" method. Take your first two finished rows and place them WRONG SIDES TOGETHER. Making sure to match the seams together for each square. You can pin it if you like. I usually just grab the next seams that need to match and make sure that they all match up all the way down the row as I am sewing. You may have to stretch the fabric a little to get them all to line up but that is OK.

Now take rows three and four and repeat the same step as you did with the first two rows.

Then take rows five and six ....... do you see the "two by two" pattern. This method makes it very easy to assemble the rows with out having to deal with all of the weight of the quilt as you are sewing until the very end.

Now continuing the "two by two" method take your completed row 1&2 and your completed row 3&4 and sew them together following the same steps.

Repeat the same steps for your completed row 5&6 and row 7&8 so that you quilt now looks like the picture above. A quilt divided in half. (You may have an uneven number of rows, if so just tack it on to the end of your last "two by two" set.)

Now take the two halves and repeat the same sewing procedure of lining up the seams of the square so they all match, stretching as needed. This is the most difficult part, the quilt is heavy so make sure you have a lot of table room to the left of your sewing machine for support.

Can you believe it you are almost done!!!!

Lay your completed quilt top on top of the backing fabric. As you can see there is a lot of length and width lost in the seam allowance. For this quilt I went back and added another horizontal row. (Aren't you glad you cut those extra squares!)

Now you can trim the excess fabric and sparingly pin the two pieces together. (It doesn't need to be ultra pinned, just enough to keep them together without it moving around.) Then sew the two pieces together (WRONG SIDES TOGETHER) using the same seam allowance that you used for your rows.

If you are making a large quilt you will want to do a little "Stay Stitching" in a few of the seams of the quilt so that the quilt will lay nicely and stay together while washing. I usually count in two or three squares from the top and the side, or the bottom and the side, and sew a little back and forth stitch right next to the seam in all four corners. (This stitching won't be noticed after you have clipped and washed the quilt because the fray of the fabric will cover it.)

Now comes the tedious part, the clipping!!!

I have made countless denim quilts. This part is my least favorite! But after I found these wonderful Heritage Cutlery Rag Quilt Shears (VP7)I couldn't believe the difference in the performance and the pain of my hands. These shears are a little pricey but if you plan to make a few of these quilts it might be worth the investment. These shears cut through the denim like butter!!!

This is when I usually sit down during a CSI, Castle, or The Mentalist episode and clip to my hearts content. You will need to stop periodically to rest your hand, (grab a snack) or watch a particularly exciting part of the show. I choose one direction (horizontal or vertical) and clip all of those rows and then flip the quilt and clip the next direction of rows. (Sometimes I lay the quilt on the back of my couch so I don't have to move so much bulk of the quilt as I clip, just make sure you have comfy shoes if you choose to use this method.)

Make sure that your cuts don't cut through your seam!!!

Now it's time to wash your quilt!!!!

If you have a front load washer it might take two times through the wash to get the fray of the quilt just right. Without the agitator it just takes a little longer. (For wear and tear on your laundry machines you might consider taking it to a laundry mat.)

When you have the look you want, place the quilt in the dryer and dry that puppy. You may find that it is not quite dry after your first cycle. I usually just hang it out on the line to finish drying.

ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL!!!!! AND IT'S SOOOO COMFY TOO!!!!

Everyone I have given a denim quilt to has loved it!!!!

NOW A NOTE OF IMPORTANCE!!!!!!!!

Do you remember earlier in this post I mentioned cleaning the lint trap? Well you will have to clean out your lint trap at least two or three times during the drying cycle.

THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL!!!!!

This quilt produces so much lint is could be a fire hazard. So please clean it out as much as possible!!!

Your washer may need a little clean out as well.

After the quilt has finished drying and you have emptied your lint trap, take a flashlight and look in the space where your lint trap goes. If there is any remaining lint grab a Swiffer Duster or one of those fuzzy synthetic dusters and try to get as much of the lint out as you can.

The quilt may continue to put out a good amount of lint for the first two to three washes but should diminish after those washes.

So that's it! This is how I make "My Favorite Denim Quilt."

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions leave me a comment or send me an email. And if you make a quilt send me a pic, I would love to see what you created!!!

CCG

*****Crafty Camper Girl Update #1
 If your frayed edges do not fray as well as you would like them to, use a stiff brush and brush them to break down the fabric. This will really give you that "Rag Quilt" look with out having to keep washing and drying it over and over again :0)

*****Craft Camper Girl Update #2
I have another version of this quilt using military uniforms instead of jeans. Check it out HERE and HERE. And yes I broke my rule of not using batting, I am ok with it, and have forgiven myself, ;)