Wofford T-shirt Quilt

   
     One of the biggest joys is always being asked by others to make something.  Over the last 2 years I have made several t-shirt quilts and memory quilts.  Time though is the only thing that stops me from making as many as others would like.  But I was in one of those accept another project moods last month and I took on another shirt quilt!!

     After a really busy month I have picked this project up and laid it down several times.  But I finally finished it today!!!   T-shirt quilts take a lot of time and patience to get right.  There are no 2 the same.  There is a lot of measuring and planning that goes into each one.  I truly have to be in the right mood to work on one.  I guess this goes for any quilt and me.  I do my best work when i have an idea and motivation for the project. 

     After much cutting and planning this became a scrappy T-shirt Quilt. I decided to use 2 different fabrics in the quilt to first finish the blocks into rows. I wanted the fabric to complement the colors in the quilt.  Be able to be something that would be in style for generations.  I decided on this damask fabric I had.  I used the black and purple in the rows.  Then I added 2 1/2 inches of gray between each row and to put a first border on the quilt. 

     After sashing them out I decided that the quilt was just not big enough.  I added 4 inches of black as the second sashing.  This made it perfect.

     For the backing I sewed 2 pieces of the cordinating fabric together.  One black and 1 gray. 

     I free motion quilted it together.   I started by meandering and adding hearts, but after about 30 minutes in I remembered how hard FMQ was on the machine and my threads kept popping.  The only thing I can ever figure out with this is that the knit fusible backing does not run the thread or needle right and encourages breakage and dulls the needle quickly.   So I changed my needle and went back to just meandering.  With only a few more thread popps we finished. 

     For the binding I used the Purple.  Again I like chunky binding and just this little amount of suttle purple made the colors in the blocks pop.  The purpose of the complementary colors in the fabric  is not for them to stand out, but to allow the blocks to stand out. I feel these three fabrics did just that! 

     This is a birthday quilt present for  a well deserving young lady.  Not to mention her mom was sooooo proud that she was last years Homecoming Queen.  I was actually excited after starting this quilt.  My father in law went to Wofford many years ago and loved his school.  I knew he would also love this quilt!  The little things I can find in common about the person I am making for and I gives me more enthusiasm and creativity in making the quilt!!