October is early if you need your quilt for a May graduation!
“I just want to make sure it’s finished in time,” Mom said. “No rush, but if it’s early, I may just give it as a Christmas present.” Well the end of the story is that that’s what happened. It was ready in time for Christmas.
Orders are prioritized on a first come basis, and starting this one in October allowed plenty of time to finish it. Around the holidays is always busy for us. There usually isn’t a firm cut off, but there does comes a point when, based on other orders in the queue, we may have to suggest “how about Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day”? Early is good. This was our first graduation order for 2026.
The style is Masonry with some special touches. The pink squares in the corners are called “cornerstones”. This was a way to strategically include more shirts that had wolf paws in the quilt. There were several in different shades of pink and it was important that they all matched. Done!
There is a lot of repetition with the school name. Don’t worry if that’s the case with your shirts. We’ll balance for color to keep it interesting. Another special touch is the embroidery at the bottom. Mom wanted it a certain height. Done! From the shirts it looks like Annabelle’s sport is softball. We do have softball quilting designs but what was wanted was something not sports specific so this design of squares that alternate, won out. The design is up to you.
This personal touch went on the back. The back fabric is minky in navy blue. Let us know what you’re thinking. We’ll work closely with you so that you have the best gift for your special person with the options that you choose.
Reach out in plenty of time. We have the talent to make sure it’s ready when you need it without compromising care or attention to detail. It’s your t-shirt quilt and needs to turn out exactly as your expect.
Gifting the graduation quilt early extends the celebration. Now Mom perhaps has plenty of time to come up with a May graduation gift!
There are so many happy expectations that revolve around ringing in the new year: fun, parties, fireworks, and making resolutions of what you’ll change in the year coming up.
If you have recently suffered the loss of someone special, instead of looking forward to it, you may regret the holiday. The last thing you will be thinking about is celebrating. It will be hard because that special person who was always there for you to share the celebration with is gone leaving a big gap. That is the case with Luke, on the cover, who lost his father to cancer.
The quilt he’s wrapped up in was one of 3 made for the family in his memory. One went also to Luke’s sister and one to his father’s school. He had been a long time teacher and a quilt was hung inside of the school to remember him by. Being a school teacher he had collected many shirts over the years that went into the quilts. The shirts tell a story about that special person. We can see he was a Republican and liked Ronald Reagan. He was also a coach and followed the Pittsburgh Penguins. His school team was the Bears. This was Christmas Day and the first Christmas without him. The quilt is a way that Luke could embrace his father through the t-shirts he wore when alive.
If there has been the loss of a loved one, a personal quilt containing their clothes and items they’ve worn can evoke sadness and grief. It’s ok to wait and gift the quilt some time after the big holiday has passed.
Some thoughts from Melanie Luxenberg on loss. The holidays aren’t happy for everyone and that’s ok.
1) Take care of yourself. Take some time to decompress and practice self-care whatever form it may come in. For some of us self-care can be as small as taking micro-breaks from a task we are doing, getting take out instead of cooking, getting our nails done, having a bubble bath- you get the idea. It can be doing an activity you enjoy. Really, it is about carving out time for yourself, so that you take care of yourself, especially your mind.
2) Forget about making New Year’s Resolutions. This can just create added stress and expectations that you don’t need in your life. Or, if you are determined to make a change, aim for something small and achievable, so you don’t have to deal with the feeling that you’ve let yourself down, and so that you do get to experience feeling proud of yourself for making that change.
3) Make plans that you will actually enjoy and will be comfortable with and more importantly with people you are comfortable with!
4) Don’t overextend yourself. If you are going to a party, or an event and are asked to do something or bring something, keep it simple and don’t offer to do more than you are asked to. It’s okay to bring something store bought to a potluck or a party. When you are around people who know the real you, they are not judging!
5) If you feel like doing nothing, do nothing. Just go with the flow, whatever it is. Don’t fight it. If you don’t want to socialize, it’s not a crime to stay home. There are many of us who are content with takeout/snacks and Netflix and there is nothing wrong with that.
My favorite is #5. Do nothing. Cry, feel sad. Go with the flow. Nothing magical will appear to erase the grief. Nothing will seem “normal” in the absence of that person.
The grief diminishes with time, but never completely goes away. Special occasions are the hardest.
If you’re grieving, I am so sorry and feel your pain. I understand what Luke is going experiencing. I lost my daughter 1.5 years ago.
We were at the Piedmont Park Arts Festival today. The weather was beautiful. It was just great to meet new people. That’s the part I really enjoy the most. I appreciated everyone who stopped by. I heard a lot of stories about quilts in the family often made by grandparents. Some shared how the old quilts were different than those today because they were “heavy”.
I’ve opened up some of these old quilts from doing repairs and the insides can be interesting. The middle layer is not purchased batting like we use today. The middle was made of layers of whatever they had to use to stuff the quilt with: a flannel blanket,for instance or clothes. Recently, one had a large layer of gauze–not your typical quilt fabric–sewn to another layer of cotton fabric. The middle layers added weight and made for a really thick and heavy quilt back then. It’s always an eye opener to see what’s on the insides of these quilts. People used what they had on hand to add warmth and provide for their families.
Two people commented that quilting is a “dying art”. In some ways this seems true. Since I started quilting in 2011, 3 local quilt shops have closed and 3 big fabric retailers have shut down and now Joanns. This has forced many to purchase fabric online. It’s also helped others to rediscover their remaining local quilt shops for their fabric needs. The hobby side of quilting is huge as many continue to embrace it as a creative outlet.
I talked to some family members that had lost loved ones and were looking to create something memorable from the clothes and fabrics that remain. Condolences to anyone who has had a loss. It is so extremely difficult. I’ve just been able to open up about losing my own daughter last year. Grief never dies. It’s forever a part of you. Creating something beautiful from a loved ones clothes is a wonderful way to remember them and not just give away or donate clothes that have a lot of meaning. A quilt made from the clothing is often what’s left to hug and hold when that special loved one is no longer around.
A recent customer said it had been 4 years since she lost her son due to suicide. Children just are not supposed to go first. She has gotten to the point where she is now ready to repurpose the clothes. We’re working on a special Christmas gift for her husband in memory of their son.
I spoke with a young man who shared that his family is very close to their grandmother. She has a lot of t-shirts and he and family are looking to create something memorable to gift to her while she’s still alive. It was a great opportunity to talk about possibilities. He had some specific ideas and I look forward to helping to bring those to fruition.
After doing this 14 years, I’m always surprised to hear people say “Great idea” I’d never heard of this”. That was 2 people at the show and it opened the door to having conversations about their interest, what they might like, and my experience.
Several were interested in Christmas gifts and I had one inquiry about graduation 2026. There’s plenty of time for graduation 2026, but for this year, now is a good time to start on Christmas gifts. Don’t wait too late if you would like a custom quilt for Christmas. It does take time. Another question was how long does it take? It takes 2 – 3 months. We have had some that take 6 months. This is to make a “real” quilt that as another lady said can be passed down as an heirloom. That’s what you can expect from us.
I had 3 sample quilts up and it’s nice to hear the comments on those, such as “beautiful work” and “that’s a labor of love, and “that must take a lot of time”. Yes and yes. Real quilts, with no shortcuts.
Slow fashion all the way.
This handsome guy liked the quilt jacket I had hanging and wanted to try it on for size. He’s tall and I thought it might be too short, but he was ok with that as cropped jackets are “in”. He liked it enough to ask for a price and is considering if he wants to give it a new home. The interesting story behind the jacket is that I brought 2 unfinished quilt tops at a garage sale some years ago. One is at the show as a table topper. The other one we made into this jacket complete with pockets and binding. He likes it.
Another young man inquired about having a similar much longer quilt coat made. He said he’s a drag queen and could use it for his show!
I get so engrossed in this work that I love so much, my days begin and end at my shop with me living and breathing making beautiful quilts. It was refreshing today to connect with others in person. Being focused I realize I tend to get into introverted zones when working. Thanks to everyone that came by to talk and share. I feel like a new, more outgoing person !
Sunday, August 17, is the last day of the show from 11 – 5. Come on out if you can. I truly enjoyed today, connecting and getting to know people in the community; and, if I didn’t have the pleasure yet, would like to meet you as well.
Here are some pictures from the show. The bottom includes my husband, Ralf. He’s my rock, and I couldn’t do this without him. For this show he changed his travel plans as he’s a control freak and wants to do everything. So I let him! He get’s paid in food. I’ll treat him to somewhere nice for dinner on Sunday night.
This Tsunami is not the weather event with large waves that can be harmful. The harm can be caused when opponents come up against another potential danger, a volleyball Tsunami.
Tsunami is the name adopted for an Atlanta area volleyball organization for girls. They provide opportunities to play and learn through camps and clinics. They offer coaching opportunities for adults who are interested in making a contribution to the club. Tsunami is the second oldest volleyball club in the Atlanta area and continues to grow and improve with each new season. There is more about the organization here.
This quilt was one of two created for a long-time volleyball champion and coach of the organization. She had saved all of her coaching and team shirts over the years, and didn’t want to donate or part with them as they had so much meaning for her. She reached out for us to make a t-shirt quilt from her collection. So, together we went through all of the decisions needed to craft a special keepsake.
There are many decisions the first being how do you want your quilt to look. She selected Masonry style where the shirts are all cut into squares or rectangles and then arranged into a computer design for the customer to approve. The design becomes our pattern for creation and includes fabric colors. She selected white and blue. Once the design is approved then we start cutting and making the quilt. The result is shown below.
Another important decision is the quilting. Quilting makes it a quilt! She selected a volleyball design and silver thread. The volleyballs pop on the royal blue fabric. The quilting is important as quilting is functional in that there are 3-4 layers to the quilt and it the quilting holds all of the layers together. Quilting is decorative in that it adds an artistic swash of personalization. The quilting design can be whatever you like. Our customer chose to go with volleyballs that you can see all over the quilt.
If you have been holding on to your t-shirts, we’re happy to help create something beautiful for you, too. Our quilts all include a design created to your specification and your choice of fabrics, thread and quilting design. I’ll be your personal concierge and will walk you through everything and be in touch until the quilt is completed to your satisfaction. It’s your quilt and should turn out exactly as you expect.
For the 4th of July we all decided to wear red, white, and blue. Hope you had a nice holiday. I enjoyed having a few days off. Though it was odd at first to have nothing to do but sleep, relax, go to the pool and repeat. The top pic is a quilt in the making. We added patriotic borders to this One Nation Under God America panel. To continue the theme, we’ll probably quilt it with white stars.
The quilt being put to good use !This pic says a lot about the relationship between Grandma and Grandson. A personalized sentiment was included on the back of the quilt with this picture of the two.
He lives in New York and we were tasked with creating a unique gift for her teenage Grandson. Grandma was traveling to New York for his birthday and wanted to have the quilt to present to him in person.
He was involved to approve the layout and colors, and also picked out the quilting design he liked. “Prissy” was approved to include, the stuffed animal shown bottom center. The final quilt was a surprise. The best reward is the picture with him snuggled up under it with his dog close by.
We appreciate the feedback and the picture from our customer.
“Just wanted you to know that the quilt has been delivered and is obviously a success. So far it has not made it out of the living room and Luke and Buddy (the grand dog) are snuggled in for a Sunday afternoon. They love it.”
Think of how you want your special quilt to look. We can work from pictures or sketches. Our customer saw a picture in our Portfolio that she liked and that served as inspiration to complete her project. The style is “Artsy”. We also prepared 4 photos of special people to remember from his growing up years that were included in the corners. We’re honored as it’s the second project we’ve had the pleasure of completing for this family.
Sailboats! This beauty came to us for repair. It’s been very “well loved” and in her family for a long time. Her great grandmother was over 100 years old and refused to take her quilts to be quilted by anyone who used a machine! So it was quilted all by hand. Most of the repairs will be completed by hand. See more of our repair work here.
If you have an old quilt that needs repair, give us a call 678-324-8084. It’s a good idea to try and bring it in when you notice any holes or tears. Holes don’t repair themselves. Wouldn’t that be nice. Self-sealing quilts ! Fabrics used in quilts can vary from very good and still in very good condition to cheap with holes and showing more signs of wear. With time worn areas tend to get larger. We have had some quilts where just one fabric was the culprit and consistently had holes or tore across the entire quilt, when everything else was fine.
We’ll look at the back, too. Sometimes the back needs attention, but sometimes not. We’ll come up with an estimate based on what we think needs to be done and present for your approval. Once we receive your ok, we get started.
Repairs are hourly. You can set a time or dollar budget that we can use as a guideline. A time budget could be, for instance, do whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes or don’t go over 20 hours. A dollar budget would be, let me know if it’s going to be more than $800.
Hand repairs are usually not cheap, but if it’s a special quilt, it can be very well worth it to restore it so that it can hopefully last another hundred years!
Here’s one example of what we’re doing on the sailboat quilt. The sailboat on the left was pretty holey and you can see where the middle layer, the batting, was poking through. There were also holes in the surrounding red fabric. We thought it more efficient to recreate the entire block, or sailboat square, rather than to fix the individual holes.
We recreated the sailboat on the left and replaced it with fabrics the customer approved of on the right. Now we’ll hand sew it, replacing the “well loved” boat to restore areas like this on the quilt it to useable condition. It looks like it’s been on a trip or two!
Let us know if you have questions. Pictures can often give us a good idea of what needs to be done.
Where are the t-shirts? There aren’t any, at least that are recognizable! These were made from different colorful print clothing items. The shapes were cut to get to the desired quilt size and arranged in a layout pleasing to our customer. The back is a soft black minky. It comes in many different colors and feels so nice against your skin. The outer black border on the front is cotton where you can clearly see the quilting in heart shapes in a silver thread. Quilting makes it a quilt ! The very outer thin edge is the binding — another color choice when we’re making a quilt for you. Here it is black cotton. Aesthetically, the binding frames the outer edge. Practically, it hides the raw edges after the quilting resulting in a nice, neat finished edge.
Consider something like this if you don’t necessarily need the entire clothing item any more, maybe considering discarding or donating, but would like a reminder and memento of that special person that wore them.
The quilt becomes a huggable surrogate to hold and cuddle up with just as if that person were right there with you.
Hearts can be happy when they remind us of loved ones. Hearts can be sad when they remind us of a special someone who is no longer with us. This quilt was the vision of a widow in memory of her husband, a pilot, who died in a plane crash. It’s all made from the clothes he wore.
In the corners we quilted penguins. They met at the zoo and liked the fact that penguins mate for life and had planned to live together forever. The penguins, the hearts, his clothes in the form of a quilt, become a surrogate to have and to hug as if he was still here. Grieving represents love. Love never dies.
