Eating My Hat, One Bite at a Time

   Scoffing at T-shirt quilts is how I roll. They seem so humdrum. Why use T-shirts when there are so many other wonderful fabrics? For that matter, why collect T-shirts when there are other much more wonderful things to hoard? For the memories? Really? This collection of T-shirts from 1995 to 2015 does hold some memories for the mom who commissioned it and her son who is the intended recipient, in honor of his 30th birthday.
   This isn't an especially creative quilt. Sports-mom picked the fabrics. She and the quilt shop owner planned the layout.  I tweaked it a little bit, changing the sashing color from maroon to the chosen lime, and the inner border from lime to celery. There I go, pushing neutrals again.

   To commemorate running marathons.  I suppose as a statement to self torture and testimony to endurance a T-shirt does the job. I didn't think there were many hills in Lewiston, ID or Spokane,WA  but the T-shirts tell a different story. I really love the wheelchair images.

   As a travelogue. Well, it is an alternative to watching a slide show.

   Because T-shirts are so comfy and available. My sister was asked to make a memorial T-shirt quilt with a package of white T-shirts. WTF. Well, it was what the dude wore. And who doesn't like to see a guy in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt?
  Let's face it, you can only wear so many T-shirts, and you can only wear them for so long before they wear out. Or in this case, you outgrow them. The early T-shirts were small, and now the quiltee is a grown man.  And Sports-mom can only store a son's stuff for so long. She said this freed up a drawer.
   One interesting color theory I learned from Pam Rocco in QNM was about how certain border and binding colors pull our eyes out to the edge of the quilt, and others draw our eyes to the center of the blocks. It is not about the print size or wildness of the fabric, it is about the colors. I auditioned dark green, blues, pink, greys, black and white print, and they all wanted to lead my eyes astray. When I tried a medium orange from Riley Blake, it was that moment when flowers open and angels sing.

I added a teensy bit of celery to make a quick, flanged binding. The quilting thread is lime Glide.

So, that is how you eat a hat, just like an elephant, one bite at a time. Sports-mom loves the quilt.

An Unlikely Muse

The original muses were 9 Greek goddesses to whom poets and artists prayed for creative inspiration. To be a modern muse, one doesn't need to be a beautiful deity, but must inspire uninhibited, original creative work. My inspiration comes from joking around, silly stories, crazy prompts, oxymorons, other people's weird ideas, the worse the better.

I'll take an idea, pull fabrics to express the feeling, audition neutrals to create dimension. Then I'll look for patterns. The internet is a wonderful cornucopia of free patterns, I also have a few quilt books for ideas. And then there is my fabric collection, my stash of possibilities.

This project started as a question in my etsy shop last summer. Could I make a Christmas Tree skirt with photos? Not my idea of the best tree skirt, but, yes, I can do that. I didn't hear back from the client for several months. Then, in September I received an email with 7 stunning professional photos of a beautiful, Land's End type family. She wanted a style of classic modern country Christmas. No Santas, angels ok. My muse had arrived.

I found a pattern on a blog I like called Quilt Inspiration. They offer 30 different quilted tree skirt patterns. I found one with 7 stars on point, perfect for my 7 photos. It was designed by Margrit Hall for RJR Fabrics. Slightly larger than the traditional 48 inch tree skirt, this one comes out at 54 inches across.

In early October I attended a Kaffe Fassett lecture on color  inspiration. With his ideas fresh in my mind, I chose one of his prints with red and orange flowers, and small turquoise and forest green jelly beans. The orange gives the quilt some nice zest. The rest of the fabric is Moda.

I didn't bother with fastening ties for the skirt opening. I doubt the skirt will fall away from the tree.

Tree skirts make elegant table toppers. Therefore, you can never have too many tree skirts.

The client was happy. Here's her review on my shop: Absolutely gorgeous! I ordered this tree skirt for my parents as a Christmas gift with family photos as a memento for Christmas over many years to come. It is truly beautiful and Jane combined her skill and eye for patterns into a great piece of art that I am so excited to give to my parents. They are going to love it.