Shirt String Quilt

Inspired by the Jelly Roll race, I ripped collars and yokes  into 2" strips from my shirt stash.
(If you click on the You Tube video link above/left, you can see the
Missouri Star Quilt company Jelly Roll race tutorial). 

 

 

As it turned out, I didn't rip 2" exactly on every piece.  I probably got closer to 1 3/4".  Oops.....but no big deal.  I think it made the quilt more interesting not having exact widths on every strip. 

 

 

 

I really had no plans for this.  I didn't know what it would look like and I didn't care.  I sewed for 2 days and hoped for the best.  :)  I felt a lot of emotion pressing on me, so I sewed until I got it all out of my system.  2 whole days.  Whew!
Feeling much better now.

 

 

As it turned out, I think this is one of my favorite quilts.  I encourage you to engage in mindless quilting with no plans for the outcome.  Shirts give you permission to ruin, make mistakes, re-rip again and again....... I would never feel comfortable "ruining" very expensive fabric I purchased at the quilt store.  I know with a shirt, they are a dime a dozen at the thrift store; easily replaced.

 

 

The only thing I would do differently with this number of skinny strings is not sew the ends on the diagonal.  It looks beautiful, but it takes longer, with a lot more work. (I'm making another now, sewing straight seams end to end.  A LOT faster).

 

 

I also had a hard time squaring it up.  I thought about putting boarders on it, but it was so crooked, I decided to let it go.  I figured I could clean up the edges after quilting.  I sewed 2 1/2" strips on both ends to give me extra length to work with as I squared it. 

 

 

It straightened up just fine after quilting and cleaned up nicely. 
An old college friend, Sarah, quilted it for me and did a beautiful job. 
It is now in the binding stage.  Finished quilt pictures to come soon. 
Stay tuned.  Follow my blog so you can see it. :)   

What do you work on when you're mind is full?

 

 

Let’s escape outside,” Isabelle suggested. “Do you have any other talents?”
“I bake and garden.”
“Do you sew, too?”
Amber nodded. “I sew whenever anger incites me to mutilation.”
Isabelle laughed. “One cannot hang for attacking a piece of cloth.”

~Patricia Grasso~

To Love A Princess

 

Sharing with:

Twigg Studios ~ Sunday Show Off Party

Free Motion by the River

 

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Pooh thinks all the quilts are his. 

I haven't had the heart to tell him yet, but I'm giving this new one away.

  Go back to sleep Pooh.  Cheer up buddy.