T-Shirt Quilt

I have a lot of t-shirts.  I have collected them over the years through high school, college, and grad school...  I still wear some of my t-shirts, even if they are old (one even has a hole in the back...), but there is a large number of t-shirts hanging out in a plastic bag in my closet - well, until recently.  I just couldn't throw away these shirts due to sentimental reasons, despite their bad fit, holes, and age.  So I had the idea of turning them into a blanket!  I know this is not an original idea, but it came to me none the less.  So I googled "T-shirt Blanket" and "T-shirt Quilt," and I found this blog.  Of all the websites on making a t-shirt quilt, I followed this one the most.  

~ I was talking to Marla on the phone right after my recent sewing machine purchase, and I was telling her all about it and my plan to make a blanket.  Her response?  She started laughing at me and told me I was like an old lady...  then proceeded to assure me that "that was a cool thing."  haha  Thanks, Marla!  ;) ~

I did make my blanket slightly differently than the lady who wrote the blog.  For starters, I wanted the shirt logos to be as centered as possible, so instead of making a bunch of (non-centered) big squares, I came up with 4 different sizes.  18x12, 12x12, 6x12, and 6x6.  (I added 1/2 inch to each of these numbers to account for the 1/4 inch seam allowance that I used.)  I had some white fabric that I had purchased to practice with on my machine, and I had enough left over that I measured out the 4 types of squares to make templates.  Since it was white fabric, I was able to see the logo underneath when I pinned it to the shirt.  Then I just cut around it!

After ALL of the shirts were cut up, I laid them out on my bed to see how I wanted them arranged.  I also figured out where I needed "filler" squares to make the blanket the size I wanted.  To make the filler squares, I just cut out plain fabric from the same shirts I'd already used.

Then I started sewing!  I would sew one row at a time....

....then attach the finished row to the one before it.

My seams weren't completely perfect, but (considering this is the first sewing project that I've done since 8th grade!) it came out pretty well!

After all 5 of my rows were sewn together, I went to the store and bought some fleece to be the back of my blanket.  I bought the cheapest stuff I could find (fabric can be pricey!).  Since my blanket was 60 1/2 inches wide (don't forget the seam allowance!), I wasn't able to find fleece that was wide enough to have just one strip.  So I bought 4 yards of fleece, cut it in half, and sewed those 2 pieces together.  Then I put the right sides of the t-shirts and fleece together and pinned it all the way around.  I sewed the edges closed, leaving a 1 foot hole in the bottom so that I could flip the blanket right side out.

~ When I had finished this step, I was carrying the blanket back upstairs to flip it inside out and Travis asked me, "Are you sure that you sewed it together right?"  (Joking, of course.)  I replied, "Of course!"  Then I got to the bed and laid the blanket down.  It was obviously still inside out, and as soon as I laid it down I shouted, "Oh, s#*^!"  BAhahahahahaha!  You should have seen his face.  I really freaked him out.  He truly thought that I'd messed up.  It was awesome. ~

When it was all flipped inside out, I pinned the hole closed.  Then I sewed an edge all the way around the blanket to give it that "finished" look.  I sewed the hole closed during this step.  And that was it!  I was done!

I LOVE this blanket!  It's so soft!  It feels like a giant sweatshirt.  :)

*All of these pictures were taken on my phone.  Sorry for the not so awesome quality.*

"My Own Sewing Machine!"

For a few weeks I had been wanting a sewing machine.  I have been seeing all of these sewing projects that I really wanted to try, but obviously I needed a sewing machine first.  I talked to Travis about it, and he was completely fine with me getting one.  To be honest, I hadn't planned on purchasing one so soon, but we found a really great deal at Joann's last weekend and I couldn't pass it up.  So, without further ado, here is my new sewing machine!

I am currently about half way done with my first project.  It's going well.  :)  Obviously I will post about it when it's finished.  

Also, today is Ranger's 4th birthday!

He really is the cutest dog ever.  :)

San Fran Japanese Tea Garden

Happy Leap Day, everyone!

So last Thursday (Feb. 23), after going to the Botanical Garden, Travis and I walked through the Japanese Tea Garden.  It's also in the Golden Gate Park, and actually just across the street from the Botanical Garden.  Unfortunately, we weren't very impressed with it.  The entrance fee was the same as that of the Botanical Garden (actually it was more, since they didn't give us a military discount), but it took us less than 30 minutes to walk through the whole thing.  That time also includes the time we spent buying tea to walk around with.

Who wouldn't want to drink Jasmine Tea while walking through a Japanese Tea Garden?

The garden was very pretty and well sculpted.  It just seemed very small for the price.  Here are a few pictures for you:

The biggest feature was the large red pagoda in the middle of everything.

Yep.  That's it!  Not much to write home about.  If you ever do want to visit this garden, I suggest you go on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, between 9 and 10 a.m.  Apparently you get free admission then.