The Craftiness That Ended All Craftiness:

At least until we move.

And. I'm claiming that no more crafts until we move means no more crafts that make big messes and take up a lot of time. No major crafts. And I'm not asking Matt for any clarification that could change my perception of this "no crafts" decree.

So, while going through my grandfather's closets with my mom, I saw an opportunity to make a quilt I'd been thinking about for a while: a frayed denim quilt. My grandfather had several shirts that, while they had no use for her, my mother was reluctant to give to charity because she had such memories of them. I told her I would take them and make a quick quilt with them, and also use two pairs of denim jeans that my grandfather had rarely, if ever worn (men born in the 20's rarely wear jeans, to my knowledge).

And this is the result:


I used a lot of leftover denim from all the denim skirts I've been making lately. This quilt was made possible by the skanky lengths of the skirts that women are wearing today.

And the back:


Pretty cool, eh? That orange fabric is from a pair of Lily Pulitzer for Men shorts from the 50's. Both hideous and awesome at the same time.

And now for the dorky part - if you don't care how the quilt was made, skip this paragraph. They're 6" square blocks, no batting, with 1/2" seams. My quilt is 10 blocks x 15 blocks. Then sew a 1/2" seam all around the border (instead of sewing on a traditional binding). Finally, cut the denim overhang in about 1" intervals almost to the seam. Then wash and dry, and when they say that you should take out the lint filter at least 3 times during the first drying, that's true. I had at least 3 full lint filters during the first washing and 2 during the second. The inside of the washer was also a mess - at least 3 full handfuls of denim scraps left on the inside of the washer. But I think the worst is over.

I have some old khakis of Matt's that I think I'm going to use to make a similar quilt for my sister Elizabeth - with beach-glass-y colored fabrics on the reverse side. While it won't fray as dramatically as the denim, I think it will be enough, and since she lives on the beach in Long Island, I think the beach glass colors will be pretty.