THE Memory T-Shirt Quilt...

Several months in the making, this is NOT the standard Memory T-Shirt quilt for MANY reasons - one being it is NOT for the standard recipient, since the intended just happens to be my DGD, Jade ;-)

Jade's Memory T-Shirt quilt

Quilt label complete w/personal kitty sigs

'Miss Betty' & I have made several Memory T-shirt quilts in the past, AND they have ALL been very special but, understandably, this one would hold a very special place in this Grammy's heart.  (Many of you may not know I'm even a 'Grammy', since I am VERY protective of my family, and especially my one and Only DGD, Jade!)  Now that she's fully grown and college-bound, guess I can loosen those Grammy reins a tad...but NOT too much!!

It started out with T-shirts submitted in secret by the intended recipient's Mom.  And because the intended is not only a cat-lover and avid book reader BUT a lefty, fabrics were chosen carefully from the TAG Collection at ConnectingThreads.com, including this 'Left-Handed' Dot fabric.  (The intended requested a black & white theme be incorporated...WE happily complied, since it's one of our favs, too!)

Left Handed Dot fabric

Along w/texting fabrics and two of our favorites - the Abcedery and Famous Last Words fabrics, shown here in one of the pillowcases, created solely from Memory T-shirt quilt 'leftovers'.

Reversible pillowcase created w/leftovers

I use Jenny of Missouri Star Quilt Company's method for creating pillowcases...Fast!

A few notable facts regarding this unforgettable Monster quilt:

• All T-shirts were cut/stabilized in one (1) day
• The ENTIRE Memory T-Shirt Quilt was sewn together in one (1) day through tears of sadness and JOY - although it took (1) one week to lay out in various design layouts prior to the oldest daughter and her fiance showing up and contributing layout design ideas...which were worked into the final Memory T-Shirt Quilt  (Thanks Jessie & Greg!)
• Took two (2) FULL hours to load this Memory T-Shirt quilt onto the quilting frame, due to the directional design of the front of the quilt AND the backing, plus the sheer size!
• Quilted in one (1) Day - and it's King Size, quilted w/walking cat digital quilting design
• Bound/laundered/labeled in one (1) day

YES, I was definitely under deadlines w/time constraints thus, LOTS of motivation to finish...and Finish we did w/one (1) day to spare...Whew!

Additional Memory T-Shirt photos:

Vintage corduroy Peace Sign fabrics from the 70s - from this Grammy's stash!

Tie-dyed T-shirts w/signatures of friends/family from the intended's childhood

Memory T-Shirt Quilt coming off the frame

And now - it's residing on the bed in the college dorm room of the intended.  We hope it keeps her ALL safe & warm as she embarks on the next journey of her life...

For now - even though I should be binding the HUGE pile of quilted quilts I have ready to be bound, this Grammy is getting back to sewing a personal postage stamp picnic quilt out of 1930s reproduction fabrics w/a few patriotics thrown in for good measure, while watching the August 21, 2017 Solar eclipse happenings going on at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale, IL:

1930s Reproduction Postage Stamp fabrics for personal picnic quilt

Later,
~Deb