A post from Kelli–
When I was thinking about what to write about this week, I was at a loss. My house is a dive. I’ve been working overnights so my sleeping schedule is really off–or non-existant. I haven’t really had much time to sew. And then I figured it out–The reason my house is a dive!
As many of you know, I really enjoy making Bonnie Hunter quilts. One of her favorite books of mine is Scraps and Shirttails II (You can buy it with this link– http://quiltville.com/shop.html#!/Scraps-&-Shirttails-II-List-$24-95-CLEARANCE-$19-99/p/50087833/category=13038050). I have loved it since it came out. I quickly made Smith Mountain Morning and Fair and Square, but have loved many of the quilts in the book for some time. When her newest book came out, Addicted to Scraps, I started making Moth in the Window and have loved making it from shirts. I just like that quilts made from shirts feel so soft and cozy.
So since most of the quilts in the Scraps and Shirttails books are made with shirts, I figured I better get my butt in gear and get the shirts that I continue to stockpile cut up and in order to do that, I need to store them right? After working a difficult 12 hour shift on Monday, I headed up to Walmart and got these beauties–
I ended up getting 5 ones for strips–1 1/2, 2, 2 1/5, 3 and scraps and crumbs and then bought 6 big ones for backs and larger pieces that I’ll split out by color–red and pink, orange and yellow, neutral, green, blue, and purple, blacks, and browns. I might put browns in with greens. There aren’t too many, but it’s nice to know that I have options and that if I need more, I should be able to grab them after work. I also got a few project boxes that I’ll use once I start cutting strips so that I can plan a bit for each quilt and put the specific color and strip size in the box for each quilt.
I’ve been working on unseaming the shirts for a few days and was almost done–until I was in Decorah yesterday and discovered a bag sale at one of the used stores and found a couple good colored ones at the other used store.
Needless to say, this pile is about to get a lot bigger! And I still have some upstairs yet too! I’ve been working more overnights and so I’ve been taking the book with so that I can see what colors I will need to cut what sizes with. I think it’ll be a longer process, but cozy quilts will be so worth it!
Have a Merry Christmas!
I’m with you about the cuddly softness of shirts. I gave my Moth In The Window quilt to a grandson four years ago and I still think about that quilt……
I like the look of some quilts made from shirts. I’ve looked at a couple of thrift stores around town, but they are too expensive to cut up. I need to start looking in surrounding towns and hopefully find more reasonable prices. Thanks for sharing.
Merry Christmas Kelli! -Jean
I always wonder if I could tear a shirt apart to use in my quilts. I own so much great fabric that I feel guilty if I don’t use it. I love your organizational skills, wow! Merry Christmas, hope you get some much needed sleep.
You’re sure a busy girl, but the quilts will be beautiful!! Merry Christmas Kelli!
LOVE Bonnie’s books!! I’ve only made ONE of her quilts, so far. Have fun processing your shirts. Here’s hoping your week gets better!!
For Cindy – In our area used men’s shirts can also usually be found inexpensively at church sales that happen in the spring and fall. The sales are advertised in the calendar section of the local newspaper.