the quilt...

Several months ago my mom mentioned some very special t-shirts. You see, my dad was a Harley lover. My brother Chris traveled quite a bit...some for fun and some with the air force. Just about everywhere he would go, he would buy a Harley shirt and send it back to Texas. These shirts became Bobby's favorite shirts and he wore them regularly. Two years after his passing (which will be 3 years this coming April) my mom mentioned that she still had them. That's when the wheels started turning. I had seen a beautiful quilt my friend Janice (that lives two houses down from me) had made for her grandson out of special t-shirts. It seemed impossible considering I didn't even know how to sew or work a sewing machine or do anything that a t-shirt quilt required. Lucky for me, I have a great friend in Janice and she introduced me to another lady who lives on our road named Imogene. They taught me how to sew, how to cut everything out, and place everything perfectly. They helped me A LOT! Imogene owns the "Quilt Barn" and she has professional sewing machines and quilting equipment, along with templates, rotary cutters for fabric, etc... My mom had also bought me a sewing machine for Christmas the previous year so they helped me learn how to use it. A few weeks later we had completed the quilt I had envisioned the entire time....a t-shirt quilt made of all those awesome Harley shirts. I must admit when we made that first cut I felt my heart sink a bit to see his beloved t-shirts cut into pieces. I kept telling myself they would be much more honored this way...rather than folded up in a closet. The finished product was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I could NOT wait to give it to Chris for Christmas. When he got the large box he was confused because he had told me he wanted something that was pretty small. He was pretty curious as to what it was. I told him if he didn't either cry or jump for joy I was going to take it back...I was kidding of course!

here is Chris opening his gift...

here is the finished product...not a great pic, but the only one I have as of right now

Chris was pretty much speechless. I definitely took that as a compliment and was so glad that I could give him something that meant a lot to him. I'm also so thankful for the guidance I was given by Janice and Imogene...hopefully in the future I can create many more sewing projects thanks to them!