T-Shirt Quilt | Putting the Snuggie to Shame

It happened a couple of months ago.  After another ever too frequent “clothes avalanche” it was time - the time had come to clean out my stack of t-shirts.  Now most of these shirts had accumulated over the years.  College events, special trips and other significant memories were tied to each.  The thought of pitching or making rags of dandy shirts such as “Vote Lawson” or “Top Ten Reasons to be a Girl on Neil Avenue” was too terrifying.  So I got the scissors and began chopping.

This, too, was a difficult task.  I had been thinking about a t-shirt quilt for a while, but doubted I would ever find the time.  Now, with my precious memory making tees cut into squares and never to be worn again, I knew it would be the biggest disservice ever to leave them in a bag collecting dust.

Flash forward to January 2011.  The cut up shirts were still sitting in the bag, not tended to over Christmas break as planned.  Suddenly, a gift!  An email from my mom saying she wanted to pay me a visit!  Perfecto!  Not only do I love when my mom comes to Columbus, this time I had the perfect little project for us to work on!  T-SHIRT TIMEEEEE!

I let Mom in on my plan and she agreed to help.  She’s great at sewing, like many things, so I knew she and I could make this t-shirt quilt a reality!  As planned, Mom arrived last Saturday with her iron, ironing board (two things I don’t own – but also learned Mom didn’t own until she was married! Like mother like daughter.), drill (for another project) and her over-night bag.

Mom is awesome!  She whipped that machine
right back into shape after I experienced
turmoil a few weeks ago!

Why am I so smiley?  I have conquered the dreaded bobbin.  And I can do it again!

Before starting my quilt, I decided to practice.  I made this little bag, which is great for keeping computer cords and phone chargers tucked away while traveling!

Even though I had already cut my squares, they weren’t cut the same size.  That was step one, sort of.  Using an old calendar we cut the square to (mostly) the same size and got them laid out the way I wanted them to be stitched together.  That was enough for the evening, so we went to Red Lobster!

Shirts, pre-proper cutting.  AKA - Quilt phase 1.

Day 2 – Mom wakes up earlier than me, of course, and begins the work of stitching.  I wake from my slumber with excitement to get started.  Long story short, sewing takes a long time, but we got all of the patches stitched.  Now we needed more supplies so it was off to JoAnn’s for everything else. 

Strips of shirts done.  At this point, I was really starting to get excited about the progress!

The top part is finished!  Just a few more steps!

JoAnn’s has lots of treasures, and everything we needed.  I opted to get cotton stuffing over synthetic and fondly remembered my visits to the cotton fields of Virginia with Caryn and Joshy.  Maybe some of that cotton made it to JoAnn’s in Columbus!  I also selected a red and pink plaid for the backing.

Walking in high cotton in VA in 2009.

Cotton from Virginia?  IDK. Hope so!

More stitching ensued and before 6 p.m. we were finished!  As mom put it, “Well, it (the quilt) wouldn’t beat the old ladies at the fair, but it’s pretty good!”  I couldn’t agree more – and after last year’s canning entry shame, I won’t be testing my skills against the fine ladies of the Brown County Fair anytime soon, haha.  She also reminded me, “You know, people work on these things for months, right?” Oh yes, Mom, I know, but we’re not those other people!

This is posed, but definitely how I felt!

 Thank you, Mom, for all of your help on the quilt.  I couldn’t and wouldn’t have done it without you!  You are the best and I love you.  And prepare for our next project – the ribbon quilt!  

Mom takes a photo with her
phone to show friends!

Here are some tips, if you're planning to make a t-shirt quilt of your own:

1 – Don’t be afraid to cut up your favorite tees to be included.  This way, you’ll have them forever!

2 – Make sure you take care when cutting, or you’ll have a situation like this: I had a shirt that said “If you don’t…” but the I was cut off, so it now reads, “f you don’t” – ha!

3 – Get real cotton stuffing instead of synthetic.  Doesn’t it just sound better?

4 – Get a partner for the project!  My mom not only provided great guidance and support, she also helped me keep my temper and frustration in check!

So here’s to all of the CFAES banquets, Late Night at the Zoo events, Beast Fests, OSU glory days, road trips and more – cheers!

Must keep this safe.  The key to bobbin success.

Scraps = more space in closet.

A Souper Day (plus scones)

Even though my kitchen is only the size of a large closet, it definitely packs a punch and allows me to cook lots of yummy foods and try new recipes all the time!  And despite the fact that I have no dishwasher, I like to cook at least one or two “from scratch” recipes per week.

Recently, I was really craving a taste that I experienced during my time in Charleston, South Carolina last June. I was traveling by myself at the time so I opted to stay in and enjoy dinner in the Charleston Marriott’s restaurant.   Weary from traveling that day (from our posh villa at Hilton Head Island to the Charleston Tea Plantation, to Firefly Distillery and then to Boone Hall Plantation), I opted for Curried Carrot Soup and a flatbread. 

Maybe it was my fatigue or hunger, but it was one of the most amazing and satisfactory meals I can remember.  Ever since then, I have been looking for a similar carrot curry coconut soup recipe that I could make at home.

I found one recently and prepared it a few days ago.  It was good, but of course it was not the same.  One thing that could have caused the OK, but not great effect, was that as usual, I forgot to read the whole recipe.  By the way, sometimes I forgot to read other things, too, haha.  Instead of using canned coconut milk, I used organic coconut milk from a box.  Healthier, but not as tasty.  Overall, the soup was OK, but I will probably not make it again.

My Warther French Chef's Knife, Choppie, is always a goodie.

The soup had to simmer with its multiple ingredients for a long time.  And the spoon turned yellow.

The finished soup.  Pureed and topped with coconut (non-toasted and quickly sinking).

I also made some delicious scones from one of Marilou Suszko’s recipes that I tested for her last year.  I love the cheese (cream cheese and feta) and saltiness of these little dandies.  Additionally, the green onions bring a lot of color and just make them very pretty to serve and enjoy.

Extra bright scone dough - I need to change my flash settings, but you get the picture, #harharhar. 

The scones fresh from the oven!  What beautes!

Through it all, I am thoroughly enjoying  creating foods of all kinds with my Warther knives.  Though I only have three so far, I am sure I will get another to add to my collection this year.  These Ohio made beauties feature power, stability, comfort and efficiency. 

Now I’m going back to my little kitchen.  A full sink (or zink as they say in New Orleans) of dishes, plus some overflow on the counter await. 

Just a BOWL full of Sugar helps the medicine go down.

Taking naps and sleeping when I want are two of my favorite things. I would say, they’re goodies for sure. But, one thing that’s a million times better is watching my most beloved Ohio State Buckeyes play. And a couple of nights ago when OSU was in the Sugar Bowl, I definitely did not partake in naps or sleeping. So I would have written about this yesterday, but since I only got four hours of sleep the night of the game, I definitely hit the hay very shortly after getting home from work.

What a game! It was full of excitement, drama and much more. Not only did we win the game, the curse of losing to SEC games (from 1978 until a couple of days ago) was a great relief. I am so thankful that we have a talented team and coaching staff. The only bad part was that my favorite player, Chimdi Chekwa, was seriously injured. Chimdi, Chimdi Chekwa WE LOVE YOU! (to the tune of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang --- which was the original reason I started to love Chimdi).

Chimdi, Chimdi Chekwa we love you!
Photo: Fred Squillante, Columbus Dispatch

I have to admit (as anyone who has talked to me recently knows), I was very, very sad to not attend the game in New Orleans. I am thankful, though, to have great friends to enjoy the game with in Buckeye Nation Headquarters – Columbus, Ohio.

So I guess college football is pretty much over, which is a real bummer. The time has come to take a break from Coach Tressel, Herbie and Brent, Brutus, TBDBITL and all the rest of the characters. If you're like me, though, college football is probably on your mind most of the year.

Aside from our guys playing very well, here is a list of 10 of my favorite footie ball memories from this year.

In no particular order:

1 – Going to several games with baby bro.

2 – Walking all the way from my apartment in Grandview to the Shoe (it’s pretty far)

3 – WNCI songs (Lane Ave, Brutus Buckeye and all the rest)

4 – Booze-oculars (Rose)

5 – Searching for amazing parking spots.

6 – Learning how the scalpers work – don’t trust them people!

7 – Bdubs, the Thirsty and more pregaming

8 – When we beat M*ch*g*n. Again.

9 – Wearing my #5 jersey every Saturday (pretty much)

10 – Delicious stadium dogs.

GO BUCKS!

Sew what, who cares? (in the voice of Joy Behar)

I am so excited to finally start my much talked about blog. The title of this first entry has many meanings. First, who cares about my blog? Second, this blog will document tonight's sewing mishaps. And third, who doesn't love the SNL version of Joy?

I'm into a lot of things and have lots of weird and funny stuff that takes place! As of now, I don't think my blog will really have a theme, other than stuff that I find to be interesting, funny, cool or whatever else. I hope you'll enjoy it.

So (sew), for my first entry, I had lots of thoughts. These included things like, "My Car is Not a Mom Car," "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" and "Lucky Horseshoes," to name a few. By the way, I hope to get back to these later. But tonight's sewing adventures proved to be quite the ordeal, so I feel it's deserving of my first blog post.

I now love etsy. com. The cutest things are on there and as a result, I got inspired to create some things. Last Christmas I was given a sewing machine and thought today would be the perfect time to get it out (for the second time only) and make some treasures.

My kitchen window, until this evening, boasted a piece of fabric clipped to a tension rod as a curtain. I took it down, cut it in half, sewed it a little and voila! Magnificent!

A visit to my shelf of scraps yielded the perfect sized piece of fabric for my next project -- a slipper bag! After sitting on my floor for a while plotting the project in my head (I dislike patterns, too confusing), I was ready to go. All was well until the dreaded, evil bobbin decided to pull a prank. I screwed around with it for a while but ultimately gave up for the evening. I will try again soon. Oh well, so what, who cares.

Now I am going to go plan my outfit for tomorrow. It's the Sugar Bowl and a special outfit will be needed for this occasion. Maybe my OSU jersey under a blazer? haha.