Together through Fishing

Lynn decided to finally go through all of her many t-shirts and sort them into groups for quilts. This quilt is all about fishing and held a lot of special memories from time fishing with her son. Each shirt tells a story about places and times together doing something they both enjoy.

Sorting your t-shirt collection is a starting point on getting organized, particularly if you have a lot. At Just T-Shirt Quilts, we take pleasure in creating your quilt to the style and size that matches your vision. The quantity of shirts impacts that. How many do you have? Start by dividing them in to groups based on your goal. Do you need a quilt to fit a specific size such as a bed or a wall? Are you dividing a stack of shirts between siblings? In this case to avert sibling rivalry they may need to be the same size, same quantity. Lynn did split her shirts between her children so we worked with her goals to that end to come up with something she likes.

Here’s more that can help with getting organized on what to include.

The style of this quilt is Masonry. It’s ideal if you have items that vary drastically in size. The white Allure shirt, for instance, is way bigger than the Flora Bama piece directly below it on the left. Looking over the quilt there are many other examples of large and very small pieces. We can make it work once we know for sure what you want to include. Let us know if you do need for your quilt to be a certain size. That can be influenced by adding or subtracting shirts or fabric to get to something you like.

Do know that with Masonry, as long as I’ve been doing this, the quilts by default do NOT end up being a traditional bed size. This is because of the differences in the sizes of the different pieces being included.

Masonry includes a border going all around the outside edge. Navy is show on the fishing quilt. The back fabric is your choice and also the quilting design and thread. The quilting design is fish! The quilting is functional in that it connects all of the layers. This prevents shifting and stretching over time. The fish also really help to further personalize the quilt.

I had a lady bring in a very large blanket that she had made many years ago. I use “blanket” “to refer to 1 or 2 pieces of fabric, if 2, they’re sewn together around the edges with no quilting. We only make quilts. Her main motivation was to have tears and holes from her dogs repaired. She also wanted to now add on the quilting and the binding. These steps that are integral to our process. The quilting is decorative but also adds stability. The binding adds an accent color of your choice and also finishes the raw edges after quilting. Do know that these adjustments after completion of a blanket are always more expensive than having a “real” quilt made from the outset that includes those.

After identifying the repairs needed the lady pointed out something she noticed and brought it to my attention. Over time, with use, the front had stretched and now was 7″ longer than the back. We all like t-shirts because they do stretch and conform to our shape because. In an already made blanket converting it to a quilt can present a challenge . Layers would need to be separated, stabilization and quilting added plus the repairs. The quote to make all of the changes was more than she wanted to pay. Today’s prices are attractive for blankets, but just know what you’re getting or better yet, what you’re not getting and keep in mind that if you want to convert it later to a “real” quilt, it will likely be a lot more expensive. She decided not to have it fixed. Her husband didn’t want to spend the money. We have received approval to repair and adjust done several of these and can do them. When it comes to quilts, ask questions. Sometimes the difference aren’t clear which can result in a lack of scrutiny when an inexpensive purchase is made.

We first worked on a quilt for Lynn’s brother and niece. We just completed 6 quilts for Lynn and her family and now have another batch of shirts from her. It’s an honor to be trusted with the responsibility of creating something fabulous from your treasured items that I certainly don’t take for granted. Then to be referred to other family members, well, it makes me feel like one of the family. “Family Quilter” title, I’ll take it!