t-shirt quilt :: alabama chanin-ish

About a year ago

I discovered the works of

Natalie Chanin...

a hand-sewing artist.

At the time I was on the

hunt for the perfect

summertime quilt...

so her sampler quilt

made of t-shirts

spoke to me.

Immediately

that spark took shape.

I raided my stash of

t-shirts...

those that were out-bound...

and went to

work.

With an old record album

as my stencil

I cut and

 assembled the blocks

in a scattered

pattern

that I found pleasing.

Now I was following

my own pattern...

I cut the backing squares

from a flat t-shirt sheet...

for some reason my family

only uses the fitted sheet.

My "batting" was made from

black sweatshirts...

I had to purchase a few from

goodwill to

make it work.

Three piles lay at my feet...

top...batting...backing.

I layered and began

sewing individual

sections together...

Last year...

almost to the day.

Made sure the seams were

clean cut

because like Alabama

I too like my seams

(even machine stitched ones...

preferably machine stitched ones)

to show.

Hand-sew the edges together

with a blanket stitch.

And this is where

I stalled.

Back to now...

I have been thinking about

summer weight quilts again...

something my house needs...

apparently.

I started dreaming of another

design...

I have named it and everything...

The Sunshine Quilt.

This is where I start annoying

myself...

I remembered the t-shirt quilt and

declared I couldn't start

a new project until I finished

the old.

Don't you hate when you do stuff

like that to yourself?

Hand-stitching and me just don't go together

well...I find it

annoying and will find

ways to machine stitch instead.

I was expecting perfect little stitches

like my sister Tina

whose quilting looks

like a machine did it.

Then I did a miraculous thing...

I gave myself permission to

be less than perfect.

In fact I said it out loud...

perfect don't live here!

Ahhh...

it was at this point I got to work

at an amazingly

imperfect pace.

Sprawled on the floor

and making it happen...

even with a little joy!

The childish stitching

actually enhanced

the look of this design...

and no one can tell me otherwise!

The last few stitches found me here...

at the square with a

big ol' smiley face.

So Happy.

Here it is...

my version of the

t-shirt quilt.

In colors that blend with

my world.

I can vouch for its

comfy factor...

as I covered myself in

the satisfaction of finishing

something I started...

a year ago.

Funny...

during this process I recalled

reading how Alabama

interviews for

her fellow artists...

I saw myself telling her

how the process of hand-sewing

can be made pleasant

once you allow yourself

to be yourself...

imperfect!

Hey...

I got the job...

in my mind, anyway.

Off to start that

Sunshine Quilt...

expect to see it in about a year!