Quilters are often asked to make t'shirt quilts for family and friends. The t'shirts they work with reflect the interests and involvement of the person concerned, usually a teenager or young adult. We had an exchange student from the USA in 2007 who said that it was the tradition of quilters in her small town to make a quilt for every high school graduate going off to college. That is a huge commitment and perhaps I got the message wrong - perhaps it was a church guild who made them for members of their congregation going off to college. I do know that our host student indicated that she deliberately bought shirts at various events for them to be cut up to go into a quilt. Personally I found this a bit of an extravagance (but then I am a tight wad) and also meant that the t'shirt was a bit manufactured somehow.
I have made quilts from t shirts for my 2 youngest children Boyo and Kombi Boy. I got in early with them and swiped t'shirts as they grew out of them and were passing them on. I wasn't so tshirt aware when the two older ones were going off to university so missed out on a number of shirts from Fangirl and Massage Man. They do have some special t shirts still but they are still wearing them and won't hand them over to go into their quilts so until they are surrendered, they won't get a t'shirt quilt. I realised I don't have photos of their quilts... not sure how they slipped through the net. I do however have my own t'shirt quilt. Yes, I made one for me and it too reflects my interests and involvements over the years.
I attended Curves for several of years and earned quite a few t shirts as I made it to 500 workouts and beyond. I was also involved with ABA for a number of years and have a few shirts from that.
My AFS commitments saw me accumulate a number of t'shirts too, several from other countries - gifts from exchanged students. I have a few other shirts on the quilt from our trip overseas in 2006 and from my involvement in Guides where I was a member of the parent committee for several years. The sashing, cornerstones and binding were hand dyes I had made in a workshop.
The back of the quilt was made from a cloth sign from NMAA - Nursing Mother's Association of Australia. I was a counsellor with this Association (which changed its name to ABA - Australian Breastfeeding Association) for almost 20 years and a member for 26. The cloth was originally creamy white but had become somewhat discoloured so I dyed it before using it in the quilt.
This year ABA/NMAA celebrates its 50th anniversary. I am no longer a member or counsellor but am a supported and advocate for the Association. It gave me so much support over my years as a breastfeeding mum and I learned so much in my training to be a counselor and in my years that I served the association and the community in that role. I am off to an afternoon tea to celebrate the Golden birthday next month.Linking up with Quitin Jenny for Throwback Thursday
