The T-shirt “quilt” is done.  It is actually a duvet cover.  This picture shows it empty.  It can work that way.  Or, a comforter could be placed inside.

I am going to count the number of shirts before the hand-off tomorrow.  My guess?  47.  [Try – 70!!!]  It was challenging not just because of the number of shirts, but because their sizes ranged from toddler to teen.  Assembling fifteen or sixteen years of shirts is also, of course, what made it charming.

My advice to Tshirt quilt makers boils down to a few pointers:
1)  Interface right up to the edge of your rectangles (using a presser cloth) (I used fusible midweight);
2) Make sure you know which T-shirts have priority;
3) Make sure customer knows some stains that laundered out will be visible again with heat from iron;
4) For a large, multi-shirt quilt, work in four quadrants;
5) Rather than quilt a queen-sized blanket, consider making a duvet cover;
6) Consider adding some top stitching here and there as you go to further stabilize the patchwork;
7) Get rid of voluminous scraps when delivering quilt (unless you plan to use them for something immediately).

I really am so happy to be working with woven cotton again.  As a treat to myself upon duvet-cover-completion, I made a great pair of cotton pants (pictures tomorrow).  They were a pleasure to make because the material was good quality, ironed well, and didn’t stretch under the needle.  Plus, start to finish, the project took an hour and a half!

Now I am covering one of our raggy chairs with patchwork slipcovers.  Again, working with woven cottons feels so pleasurable after man-handling all that knit!!  My goal with the slipcovers is to let the process be easy (lesson learned in Jude Hill’s boro class).  Anything I create will be a vast improvement on the faded Waverly vines that I have been judging as a mess for many years now.

With both boys gone, the house assumes a different rhythm.  We are eating more lightly, more leftovers, and cleaning up!