My Monster T-Shirt Quilt

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… is FINALLY done! Countless hours, countless seam rips, startovers, facepalms… but it’s done, and it’s a beauty. (Really, don’t ask me how long it took – I first mentioned the t-shirt quilt way, way back.) Can’t say I’d ever do a king-sized quilt again, but I’ve been known as a repeat offender of crazy crafting projects.

The quilt entertains and keeps us warm, the perfect summer-weight cover. It makes me smile remembering some high school and college memories. I love it.




The quilt is hand-tied and hand-embroidered with binding finished by hand. I could have sent it to a full-arm quilter, but I had come so far on my own investing time and intended careful planning. Too much emotional attachment, I guess. Besides, I like crooked lines. Adds charm.



Don’t forget to sign your quilts, right?! This was done with a silver paint marker. The two little dots were completely accidental from shaking the pen. Lucky placement.

Sixty-one t-shirts make up the front, and each square has its own story.

I love the backside of the quilt – sort of makes it reversible, right? And, the colors for the wonky squares are significant. Each represents a school I attended.

So there you have it. The quilt took time, but it was worth the effort. It’s definitely not the prettiest quilt, or the most artistic…It holds memories and it’s remarkable to me. I dare you to pull out those unfinished projects you’ve stashed away. (I have many. Ha!) Or start those projects that you’ve always wanted to do. Everyone has some… do it. Do something remarkable!

Summer Blur :: Almost Wordless Wednesday

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Who knew that it’s been over a month since the last post? No one but my family and a few close friends read this blog anyway… so, it’s okay, right? No, no. I know friends out there are reading. I’m sorry I’ve been away. I always seem to let too much time pass between posts in the summer months. With the kids and husband home, every day is an adventure – except when outside feels like a sauna and we hunker down in our basement and play video games and ping pong. (Not very into the pool scene. I don’t buy pool passes. No chance to break even.)

Forgive me for the lack of posting? Facebook and Twitter have been easier to update on the road and on the fly.

Since I last posted…

For neighbor kids and friends, we hosted a week long art camp in our garage.

Made some great projects during art camp.

Ssampled Brazilian Brigadeiro – chocolate truffle with sea salt and lime zest

Made cake again to make sure the recipe wasn’t faulty.. happy to report that it was not.

Managed to sew some burp cloths for expecting mom friends

Found this little guy on a garden walk which inspired me to get back into my own garden.

Made some Model Magic baked goods with the kids on a “too-hot” day

Checked out the Lego Kids Club

Celebrated 4th of July with family :: cakepops by my cousin

Tasted roasted purple cauliflower at a friend’s home

Worked on a Subway Art sign for a friend

Survived my first t-ball season

Visited an awesome bed and breakfast

Got to hang out a little at the beach, too

… and turned 39.

Craft Book Review: With Fabric & Thread by Joanna Figueroa

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You know the feeling when you’re waiting for a package in the mail, or waiting for Christmas Day? That was me a few weeks ago. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. published With Fabric & Thread by Joanna Figueroa this Spring – and I was thrilled to receive a review copy.  I’ve read this book twice since receiving it. How would I describe the book? Hmm… fabulous for every level whether you quilt or sew.

If the “by-project” pictorial table of contents isn’t enough eye candy for you, just thumb through the book and you’ll find plenty of reasons why you should pick it up. Ms. Figueroa opens with personal stories of discovery. I was so touched by her introduction; she reaches out to all of us. Her delivery is so personal that she made me feel like I was sitting across from her, having a cup of coffee with an old friend. More than that, her story resonated with parts of my own journey of reinvention and I have a feeling that other readers feel the same.

Figueroa includes two chapters on basics: quiltmaking and sewing. And for a beginner like me, it’s nice to learn about the differences – and not in a snooty way either.  The chapters are nicely thought out. Besides the projects, my favorite section is her chapter on color. I love that she says, “…throw out everything you have ever learned about the color wheel.” It’s not about completely reinventing the wheel, but rather, not to let yourself be bound by rules or theories. Time to break out your fabric stash and rearrange or just come up with new color combinations!

About the projects, there are twenty-two (patterns included in the back of the book) to tantalize you. She breaks it up in three parts, sewing, dual projects (both sewn or quilted), and quilting projects. In a way, they are broken into a basic difficulty level, but it may have been helpful to have some sort of written or drawn difficulty level associated with the projects. Like any project, read through the instructions all the way… Figueroa’s instructions are complete with illustrations.

Can’t wait to start on these projects! With Fabric & Thread is sure to inspire you, too!

Joanna Figueroa is a fabric designer, pattern designer, active quilt instructor and owner of Fig Tree & Co. Her beautiful blog, Fresh Figs, offers more quilty and fabric fun.

Teacher Appreciation Gift Idea: Daily Dose of Kindness and Free Printable Template

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Thoughtful teacher gift idea

Don’t know about you, but once Spring Break ends, school days go by like an out-of-control snowball on a sledding hill. And the parties, picnics and project lists grow and grow. So I like gift ideas that are pretty easy to put together, both in time and materials.

A few weeks ago we celebrated National Teachers Appreciation Week, and I had a nice time putting this together for my daughter’s homeroom teacher: a giant “pill box” with letters of appreciation from her students. It’s thoughtful and heartfelt; an option to candy, flowers or a gift card – which we all know we all do.

Along with the letters, I put together a “word cloud” using wordle.net, printed it out and framed it. All the students listed two or three words that they felt described their teacher.

Materials needed for a giant letter-pill box:

  • (5) plastic containers (2-3 cup capacity)
  • Stencils or vinyl stickers for the days of the week. I was able to print out letters and use my Xyron Creatopia machine to make stickers.
  • Scotch tape or clear packing tape

Giant "pill box" for teacher letters

Adhere days of the week stickers on teacher gift

teacher gift in progress - tape boxes together

Teacher gift in progress - days of the week stickers

Teacher gift: place letters in the boxes

Here’s a Cute template for student letters that I made using Microsoft Publisher. Totally optional, but it’s something easy to print out and have all the students do. They can draw a picture and write their letter… so cute. (If you click on the picture below, you will also be redirected to the printable document.)

Teacher letter template - drawing and writing space

Hope this inspires you to shower your favorite teachers with a dose of kindness!