Memorial Quilt out of Men's Shirts

Just a quick show and tell. 

 

Wish I had taken better photos of this, but I was in a hurry to give it to the family who lost their young husband and father.  :(  I have had his shirts for awhile now, but Allyson's wedding got in the way of finishing this up.

 

 

If you have suffered a recent loss and you would like to make a quilt from their clothing,

USE THIS PATTERN! 

It's easy.  It's pretty.  It's fast. 

 

(It wasn't long enough for me, as the recipient was a college basketball player and I wanted him to be able to snuggle his dad or warm up when needed. I lengthened it with strip pieced blocks. I had plenty of left over fabric from the 7 shirts).

 

Head over to Life is a Stitch and get the "7 shirts 7 steps 1 thrifty quilt" directions

 

Did I mention the pattern is free?  Go thank The Thrifty Quilter at Life is a Stitch for being so generous and give her cheerful accolades.

 

All you need are 7 shirts. 

 

If you don't quilt, don't be intimidated.  It's an easy 9 Patch and Snowball block arrangement. 

 

If you're new to quilting, This is a Snowball and a 9 Patch together.

 I ended up tying it, because I couldn't afford to have it quilted.  I also think tied quilts snuggle better sometimes.  I hand stitched some embroidery thread around the snowball for stability but it also looked pretty to have the the added color and handwork.

 

 

I saved all the buttons and shirt tags.  I also saved my "snowball triangles" and used them in the border with tiny windmill blocks. 

 

 

Be blessed and Be a Blessing. 

Sharing with:

 

No Minimalist Here ~ Open House Party

A Stitch in Time at Such a Sew and Sew

Can I get a Whoop Whoop over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday over at Echinops and Aster

Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts

 

 

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Psalm 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Pooh growls, "Do you mind?  I'm trying to sleep."

Wedding Quilt Fabric Scraps

Here is the Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt I hand pieced for my daughter and son-in-law.

Took me 2 years, lots of Tiger Balm and Advil.  

I saved all my scraps to make smaller hexi's or use on cards.  I never throw pretty scraps away,  no matter how small.  If it's too small to sew, I can at least glue it to paper. 

One of my goals for the wedding, besides being cheap, was to have every single thing hosed down with Pepto-Bismal sentiment.  I thought it would be sweet to use up her wedding quilt scraps on stationery needs. 

It turned out pretty and cost me nothing but my time.  I had plenty of white card stock, glue sticks, my sewing machine and thread.  

Meegan Weaver was the wedding photographer, out of Wichita Falls, TX.  She will travel.   (She took the second photo in this post). 

BOOK HER!!  SHE IS WONDERFUL!! 

 

Cowgirl Up at The Farmhous Porch

Just Something I Whipped Up

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Be Blessed and Be a Blessing

Hebrews 13:4 ~ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Pooh pouted, "Excuse me, but I told you I wanted to read

Harry Potter.  Crookshanks inspires me".

The Year of Family Weddings

My sweet mother-in-law had 4 granddaughters and 7 grandsons. 

This year, 3 of the girls were married.   1 became engaged. 

(Actually all 3 were married within 6 weeks of each other, but the last reception wasn’t until last weekend.  I’ll let you figure that one out). 



My daughter and her husband, Allyson and William.  I love the way he looks at her. 

I’ve been a little busy.

 

• And stressed (but happy stress)
• And  joyful.
• And exhausted (but happy exhaustion). 
• And proud.
• And so in love with all the wonderful young men who are in our family now!!!
• And relieved… now that the last wedding reception is over. 

I don’t want this to become a wedding blog, but I thought I would share wedding photos and

hard learned wedding lessons.

 

Lesson 1:  Keep your expectations of people resonable.  I hate to say "low" but you almost have to do this.  Most people will not offer help.  Traditionally bridesmaids do a lot of the work.  Don't assume they "know" this, and don't be angry if they can't.  Groomsmen will probably not offer help at all (or show up on time).  Try not to be angry or disappointed.  

People have lives and are very busy in general.  Most people have no idea the time and work a DIY wedding takes, so it doesn't occur to them to offer assistance.  Make sure you aren't over committed with 101 Pinterest projects.  Let it go.  All it does is create disappointment and frustration with people you expected to "be there" for you.  

Yes, our lives revolve around the wedding for a year, 24/7....but theirs does not.  If you ask for help and the person says no, graciously accept their answer and don't hold a grudge.  (You love these people, right??)  Treat the people who DO help very well and be grateful.  Are your expectations too high? Are you being a martyr?  Be honest with yourself with what you can commit....if you are in a situation where you will have little help, then maybe you need to rethink some things. 

 

I’ll start with some family snap shots of the

“Post Rehearsal; Can’t Set Up and Decorate Until After 9:00 PM When the First Group Finishes Their Hoedown”

The bride and her friend Brianne.  They have been friends since the age of 3 and were at college together.  Allyson has a lap top with her, finishing the music late at night. 

 

This is Maid of Honor Josie, Bridesmaid Netta and Bride Brother Jonah.  We're unpacking all the dishes and washing them before setting the tables.  Oy vey!  We had enough settings for about 125. 

 



Father of the Bride and grandma finishing up the wedding programs.  We had way too many last minute projects.  It was a joy and a blessing to share this time & work with family.  





The wedding favors were homemade Plant City, FL Strawberry Jam.  They needed the final touch of vintage lace.  My mom, my great aunt, the grooms mother and a friend got busy and had them complete in no time.  The people in the back ground work at Lone Oak Ranch Retreat Center, Gainesville TX where the wedding was held.  They stayed up late with us, God love 'em.



This is "Super Bridesmaid" painting the "Run Through" for the get away at the end.  I told her to wing it.  She "wings" beautifully.  Everyone needs a Brianne in their life.  She came through for us every time we asked something of her. 



My sweet, sneaky son sneaking candy from the candy bar.  My cousin set it all up. 

Thank you Tracy. 

 

Almost done.  Full of vintage candies. 

 

Be blessed and be a Blessing. 

Galatians 6:2 "Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ".

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 Poo says, "Im so glad the wedding is over.  Now Mom can sew what she wants to sew again, which means I get more blankets to rub my furr all over."

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Knock, knock..."Housekeeping"

Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

The Weather:::
81 degrees here in Tampa, FL.  FINALLY a cool front comes today.  We'll cool off into the 60's tonight.  Probably rain this afternoon, which makes for perfect nap and Kindle time.

Right now I am:
I am sitting in the living room, seeing my 17 year old son work on his Anatomy and Physiology, looking around at what I need to clean up before our teen Bible study tonight.

Thinking:
Why did my husband buy so much toilet paper yesterday at Sam's, and where am I going to put it?  Hmmmm....

On my reading pile:::
Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory books.  I've been going through this Plantagenent and Tudor thing lately. 

On my tv:::
I'm sure I'll watch the debate tomorrow night.  Other than that, not a whole lot of TV watching going on right now, however, there is a lot of radio listening happening.

On the menu for this week:::
Lots of fish and vegatables.  I'm sure some chicken soup. 

On my to do list:::
Decluttering
Pricing for BIG garage sale
Go through BIG boy's closet and remove all little boy things.  :( 
Dust.

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
A lime green and white baby quilt.  The top is finished and basted.  I will hand quilt it now.

Homemaking Tips:::
When I'm standing around the kitchen waiting for water to boil or something to simmer, I will wipe down a refridgerator shelf or drawer.  Doing one at a time, just a few minutes a week, always keeps my fridge clean.  Multi tasking at it's best.

 

Looking around the house:::
I see a mess, but not too big.  We have company tonight.  Need to get busy.  The cat is on the sofa and the dog is at my feet.  They follow me every where. 

From the camera:::
My best friends grandson, taking a nap on his mama's pregnant belly. 

 

 

On my prayer list:::
My nephew Andy.  My nation.  My son's plans and future. 

Bible verse, Devotional:::
Ecclesiastes 11:4 ~ He who observes the wind and waits for all conditions to be favorable will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.