Covered Porches and Wooden Screen Doors

I spent the Summer on several projects-- not necessarily quilting. My kids have this knack of bring stuff home they don't want, but aren't ready to part with.... I'm not complaining... simply stating a fact... and they get it honestly...they're just like me.

Eric basically hasn't lived at home for about 5 years. Our home as just kind of been a pit-stop. I started cleaning out a set of drawers and a closet along with a couple of boxes of things that I decided he truly didn't want. I started seeing a pattern of old tee shirts in every spot. There were tees dating back to 2003. It was a pretty safe bet that he had no intention of ever wearing them again,but I just couldn't see myself throwing them out.

I gathered them together. Wash them. Dried them. Pressed them. And started cutting them up.

I was going to make a Tee-Shirt quilt for Eric. That way, he'd have the shirts forever. Then I started researching all the tips I could find on making the quilt. I read about several 'horror' stories and thought I may be in over my head. I folded everything neatly and laid them on my sewing counter in my sewing room.

A while back I told Eric my plan-- He thought it was a great idea. When I saw him over Labor Day, he even brought a box of tees to me and said - " These are really sacred -- I want them in the quilt. But be careful with them and if you don't use them -- I want them back..."

Great - I'm going to cut these babies up and be the story of scarring the kid's childhood memories.... I emailed a friend. They said, Use light fusible interfacing-- that's the trick. My Mom even said -- 'You can do it.'

So I tackled my first tee-shirt quilt:

Chelsey told me she had always thought they were ugly, but the black sashing strips set it off.

And while it may not be the most beautiful quilt in the world--- it IS full of memories... that High School Job,

a Varsity Wrestling Team, The College Fraternity, the first 5K run, a Rock Concert.....Close to ten years worth of memories for Eric...

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Covered Porches and Wooden Screen Doors