Dave's T-shirt Quilt

    I was able to get this quilt finally finished!  This is my son's t-shirt quilt, full of memories, laughs and warmth! 

     This is the fourth t-shirt project I have done.   The first was for my daughter, and it used shirts cut in all different sizes.  I had machine pieced the shirts, but ended up tying the quilt.  My Bernina could not easily handle the bulk to quilt.

        My second project was for my sister.  By then I had purchased an acrylic 12 1/2 inch square ruler, which made the cutting of the prepared t-shirts much easier. I tied hers, as well. 

     I was asked to make a memorial banner from t-shirts for a dear friend.  By then, I had invested in a Tiara II, and used that to FMQ stipple the pieces, which worked well. 

        For this latest quilt, I had learned from my earlier efforts.  I washed and dried all of the shirts, some of which showed lots of wear!  I cut off the arms, collars and backs, and kept only the pieces that had the desired images.    I then ironed on the lightweight fusible interfacing and then used the ruler to cut the square.  There was some waste, but not enough to be concerned about.   

I can' t recall the exact name of the interfacing, but here is a close up!  

        Some of the shirts from his childhood were smaller than 12 1/2 inches square and I had ironed on the interfacing and cut them some time ago.   I decided to just make them the right size, and I found fabrics to make borders, and then cut the squares.  

A  souvenir of a fun Pirate's  weekend with his Aunt Juli! 

Adding a strip of black Kona to make the square.

This brings back memories.  I have stepped on many a Lego in my bare feet when the kids were young!  

                        I found some old fabric in my stash which went well with Lego man!  

     The original plan had been 30 squares.   I had more shirts than I could use, and so exchanged pictures with my son to make sure that the shirts that made it into the quilt were ones he wanted! We ended up using 36 shirts, making a quilt that is 6 feet square!   For purposes of those photos, I had just set out the options, without regard to light or dark backgrounds.

 I used my walking foot to sew the squares together.  The interfacing is a bit slippery, and the walking foot gave the steadiness that was needed to  keep the seams from pulling. 

    

 I had our Scotland trip on my mind when I purchased the flannel backing.  I pieced two strips together carefully. 

Even on my much roomier Tiara II table, this was a bulky quilt, but the large stippling went well.  I used white Aurifil in the bobbin, and a bright variegated Aurifil on the top.   I watched episodes of "Call the Midwife" while I was quilting - so many babies!!!

      A word to the wise  - don't try to stitch too close to the pins!  I sewed this pin very firmly into place, requiring a little bit of surgery! 

This shows the final layout alternating darks and lights. 

This was a big quilt for my trusty quilt holder.  On the way to the deck, we flushed two adult eagles from our trees.  What a sight that was!  

I am pleased that it is not obvious where the back was attached!  

          There is still time to comment on last week's Eye Candy blog, and be eligible for a giveaway for a copy of the latest Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Magazine. 

         I am planning to enter Modern Mini Quilt Challenge, and will be working on my entry this week. 

  

          Here is a peek at the scraps I will be working with!  Stay tuned!  

          To all the mothers, grandmothers, god mothers and all those who mother others - Happy Mother's Day!    Thanks for visiting my blog!  

Take care,

Gretchen