Butler T-Shirt Quilt - Work in Progress

Hello there!  I hope you had a fantastic weekend.  We're having very cold weather here in Indiana, so we've been trying to stay in as much as possible...and the kids are definitely feeling the cabin fever!  We actually pulled out an old ab roller for the 4-year old to use to get out her energy.  It's pretty funny to see her pushing it around the house, running behind it.  But, hey!  Whatever works!

With all the inside work going on, I've found some consistent time in my sewing room, which is good, because I think I have approximately 214 projects I want to make.  That might be a bit of an exaggeration...but only a bit. ;)

My biggest project going on right now is this commissioned T-shirt quilt.  It has a sweet, sweet story behind it.  Husband and wife attended college together (maybe met there, but I don't remember).  She sent me their college shirts, including their fraternity and sorority shirts, to put together into one beautiful piece that will be a surprise for him on Valentine's Day!  I told you it was sweet.

As usual, I started this one off by measuring each individual design, giving a 1/2 inch on each side for buffer, and the width of the shirt.  Then I play around on graph paper (with a pencil and a GOOD eraser), until I find a consistent height and width that will be appealing and will equal the size quilt my customer would like.  This part can take a while to do...sometimes over a couple days, but I really do love this part of it.  The math is so satisfying.

After I took this picture, I wrote in the unfinished dimension of each piece on my graphed design.  That way I have a very easy to see guide, and then I check off each piece as I cut it.  I'm not sure if it's overkill or not, but it certainly helps keep me organized.

Next up, I carefully cut one row at a time, attach the sashing to each of those blocks, and complete that row, before I start cutting the next row.  This keeps me from mixing the shirts up if something calls me away or a child decides to run through the room.

Here are all of the completed rows.

They are currently on my ironing board with the long sashing strip on each row, waiting for me to press them open.

I'll put a sashing border around it, then a 6" border on the outside. These are the 2 fabrics my customer liked for the border, and she told me to choose.  I haven't yet.  What do you think?

I like the gray stripes, because it matches the gray sashing.  However, that navy and white is gorgeous AND is in Butler colors.  Oh, decisions, decisions.

Well, hopefully, I'll have it done for the Friday finishes.

I hope you have a great day and stay warm!

~Summer



I'm linking up today with Monday Making and Em's Scrapbag!