T-Shirt Quilt Pt 1 + Ribbon Storage

Another super quick post today!
My head isn't the only thing that has suffered from my clumsiness this week, 'la vie' is also being neglected after my little collision with the door frame yesterday. I have several projects I'm in the middle of finishing at the moment, but after 1:30 pm yesterday I became useless and the rest of the week is just crazy busy insane. I'm hoping to finish them this weekend. 

Pinning sides

So, until then, I'll show you one that I've been working on and was supposed to be finished and posted today. I don't know if you're like me, but if you are then you have TONS of old t-shirts from various events, stages of life, etc. I don't actually like to *wear* t-shirts, but I can't get rid of them because I'm so stinking sentimental. In particular, I have zillions from the 8 years I spent on staff at a church. They are great remembrances of awesome adventures, but I'm just never going to wear them. So, when I was preaching my farewell message (September 2010), I mentioned that I was working on a quilt as a way of keeping them without wearing them. Ladies and gentlemen, that was over one year ago... and I still haven't finished it. I noticed the MASSIVE laundry bag at my parent's house this weekend stuffed with the beginnings of it and decided to take it home to finish it. All I had left to do was sew everything together and I got it in my head that it would be quick. hah. It's not. But it's totally worth it!
Here are the steps...
(1) Gather your shirts. I probably used 15-20 shirts, but it made a MASSIVE quilt. It's ok if you don't have as many. You can either use front AND back of them or just the logos.

Combining rows

(2) Cut it up. Your quilt will be much easier if all the pieces are the same size. I didn't do that. Dumb. If you're an expert quilter, do whatever you want! I am not. This is probably the only quilt I'll make in my life. I suggest 1 square foot for piece sizes.
(3) Lay it out. Lay the project out, but remember to do it with the 'right' side facing the ground/table and the 'wrong side' facing up. If you lay it face up, the rows will reverse when you connect and sew them.
(4) Pin it. Start going across, pin the sides of the pieces together and stitch until you have a row.
(5) Combine it. Sew all of your rows together.
(6) Add a back. This is the part I haven't done yet. Remember to put the pretty/right sides together and pin along the edge. Stitch it up but leave room at the final corner. Then you're going to flip it right side out and blind stitch the corner by hand. 
Done! I realize that these aren't very in depth instructions, but this is the reader's digest version for now. I'll try to make it more detailed when the project is finished. Until then, if anything is unclear, just post below and I'll be happy to answer it. You can also use the FACEBOOK page.
When I was at my parent's this weekend, not only did I pick up the laundry bag of my half finished quilt, but I also was given tons of material by my mom. She's cleaning out a lot of her crafting areas (you would not believe the resources she has!) and had some excess. I got some really great material and I can't wait to show you what I'm doing with it. While I was raiding her closet, though, I noticed that she was using a pant hanger to organize her ribbon. I thought it was pretty smart (though I was slightly annoyed because it was MY pant hanger... ;)) and wanted to share it with you. My ribbon is a terrifying knot stored in a bin. Not so great. But hers looks awesome! There are 4 rows for holding pants and the bars just swing out and then lock back in. She simply slipped the ribbon rolls through the bars. I love it. So did John. He would LOVE for my craft areas to be more organized. Some day. I have plans for that, too.
That's all I have time for today, I'm rushing out the door for an appointment. Hopefully this inspires you to clean out your t-shirt drawers. I know that John's mom has been working on one for him and for his sister for a few years made from their old sports shirts. It will be super cute! All the best and as always, thanks for reading. Pin It