T-Shirt Quilt

First off I want to breathe a giant sigh of relief.  IT'S DONE!!!!

Okay, here's the story.

When Neil and I were dating he told me he had been saving a bunch of t-shirts from his teenage years and current years that he one day wanted a t-shirt quilt made out of them.

Fast forward to our newly wed stage.  We had a big box of random boy t-shirts that began being joined by girl t-shirts.  

Fast forward 5 1/2 years into our marriage.  We had been lugging this box of t-shirts around with us for a long long time!  I finally decided it was time to either make a t-shirt quilt or it would never get done.  

I scowered the internet for ideas.  Hmmmm.... I didn't really find many great ideas.  So I came up with a plan all on my own.  I decided that each shirt would have a denim border with another border around it of the same t-shirt material.  Then the 'blocks' would be randomly pieced together with the empty space between being filled with scraps of the leftover shirt material.  Thus creating a hodge podge look - which, really that's what this quilt is, a hodge podge. 

I went through spurts where I would feverishly work on it and make great progress then not touch it for several months at a time.  

I did not keep track of my hours for this project (which in reality is probably a good thing!).  I did spend hours and hours and hours making this t-shirt quilt.  I learned SO much while doing this.  And I really enjoyed the challenge of putting it all together.  

Voila!

 This quilt of course has very little meaning to anyone but to Neil and I.  But these are all clothes we've worn and lived in.  I've thought a lot about this as I've been staring at it for a year and a half.  There are so many stories and memories in this quilt.  It's purpose will be to keep us cozy while we sit on the couch and watch movies.  That's it's only purpose.  But I love the stories that it tells, even if only to us.  I should say every piece here was worn either by Neil or me. 

 Neil's high school choir shirt right next to my high school choir shirt.  Can I get an Awwwwww!

 This blue button up shirt is the shirt Neil was wearing the first time we went dancing together.  The jeans belt band came from jeans Neil wore to work in the garage while we were dating.  Hello memory lane!

Neil and I both were in countless musicals and plays in our high school years.  And sadly there is only a small sampling of shirts representing that here. 

 The Old Navy one is a shirt that takes Neil back to his Big Honker.  The days he'd spend working on his old truck. 

Each one has at least one story.  I could tell you about each one, but I won't.  I am very happy with this hodge podge quilt.  Although there are a couple things I wish I could change but I'll leave that out of it.  Love it :)

And am enormously relieved that it is finally done!