Shirts

 2023 is not going to be my best blogging year, I've been very lax. Maybe I can do better in the later stages of the year. I'm always disappointed when I let the blog lapse, because often it's the only record I have of how I spent my days. I must try harder.

I've been making a glorious mess in the sewing room and environs, leaping from new project to new project. I've ditched the batiks, and now I'm working on sewing down the stash of shirts. 

 It's a very scattergun approach, but ideas keep occuring to me as I sew, and I need to make a sample before I forget, so I get sidetracked. I guess I should feel guilty, but I'm having a wonderful time, so I'm not going to rein it back. I'll end up overcome with sensibility soon enough, it's time to play right now.

It all starts with other people blogging about quilts that I'm instantly drawn to. It was just such a quilt on Lovin' Life At The End Of The Dirt Road that sent me down this rabbit hole. That plaid quilt....

I began cutting from the 4 tubs of shirts that I have stashed away, and I kept cutting, and cutting....and cutting. I couldn't stop. Those big triangles are cut from an 8.5"strip, so that used up a shirt front lickety split. After I cut more than twice what I needed I came to my senses and concentrated on the smaller triangles. They are cut from 3.5"strips, and I went a bit overboard on them too.

The solution was to have a Plan B of course. 

These go together surprising well, considering how varied the shirts are, from soft flannelly cotton to crisp poplin to homespun check.

I'm going to sash them with one of the bigger shirts, just haven't decided which one yet.

Having made an excruciating mess of the shirts I decided they needed to be reduced to one tub. So I began cutting for at least three other projects (Plans C, D, and E).

The big rectangles will become a bricks quilt. The squares will be cut in half for triangles, or will become nine-patches. The little rectangles will become this quilt, that I can blame Becky at Quilted Twins for. Mine will be made from 2"x 3.5"rectangles though; her smaller size would be sheer hard work with these shirts.

After having rejected the shirts with stripes again and again, I decided to do something about them.

This fussy cutting is turning out to be loads of fun, and I can't guarantee I won't buy another couple of shirts to help me complete a whole quilt. Four of the striped shirts are cut up, but the scraps!! My gosh the scraps from them, all promising more possibilities.

I've chucked a lot of shirts too thin to use, and I've sorted what's left into more sensible categories, and I'm still cutting and cutting. It's nice to have my enthusiasm back, even if it means 5 new projects.