Here she is in all her frustrated, yet finished, glory.
Special note here, this corner shows the binding, which was quite difficult to attach.
This shows the back - the millions of stitches that we had to use to hold the batting (middle layer) in place.
Here are the two pillows I made with leftover scraps from the shirts on the front of the quilt. They were pretty fun to make.
Thus, major project #2 of my year is done. First, the Ireland scrapbook. Second, the t-shirt quilt.
Next on my list of accomplishments is to read Harry Potter #7, after seeing Wicked, the musical, in Chicago on Wednesday, of course.
You would not believe how long it takes to work on a 7 1/2 foot by 9 1/2 foot quilt.
FOREVER!
The idea, the design, was ruminating in my mind last Fall. In December I began the arduous task of interfacing and measuring and cutting up all of my favorite old t-shirts. That was Step 1. In December. That month, I also picked out the colors of fabric for the inbetween parts - charcoal with a subtle pattern and deep red with dark flecks in it. These would, in essence, create the cross-beams between each shirt square. I began cutting those out, as well, while on vacation at my sister's in Arizona.
In January, I bought a sewing machine. And thus began Step 2 of the quilt -- sewing all the t-shirt squares, strips, and tiny squares together in rows and then one by one sewing all the rows together. 8 rows of shirts. 9 of the cross-beams.
I almost quit in March, when I realized that it wouldn't/couldn't be perfect. I messed up one cross-beam row. Didn't align at the corners with all the other squares.
I left it sit, my sewing machine idle, for at least 6 weeks. I was immersed in a huge scrapbooking project. Once that was done, I had nothing left to work on, except this ginormous quilt, hanging out unfinished in the corner.
I got the top part finished in...well...May, I think. At that point, I believe I had done the hardest part.
That is, until last Thursday, when I delved into it again, after a long break. I headed to my parents' house and swore I couldn't leave until it was completed. I needed my mom's expertise in sewing and her help with the calculations (I really suck at numbers)..
After 3 trips to the store for more supplies, we began. Step 3 -- quilt assembly.
Assembly...doesn't seem like it would take too much time. But this is what I found that it entails.
~ Taping the fabric backing to the floor
~ Laying on top of that, the batting, or stuffing, for the quilt
~ Cutting and sewing the batting in order to match the size of this gigantic quilt
~ Putting it back on the floor, on top of the backing
~ Laying the quilt top (all of my t-shirts and what I had finished up until this point) on the batting
~ Pinning all 3 layers together - using probably around 200 pins...all of the ones I had, plus what mom had in the house
~ Using embroidery floss to making stitches through all 3 layers to hold the quilt together when the pins are removed (12 skeins of charcoal floss, 4 of red, 1 of white): Note that each stitch is actually a double stitch, requiring double the amount of floss and time. Five stitches in each of 48 t-shirt squares; 3 in each of 100+ charcoal strips; 1 in each of 63 tiny red squares.
~ Removing all the pins
~ Flipping the quilt over and tying knots in every single stitch
~ Putting whole quilt on floor, trimming the edges and preparing for attaching the binding
All that is left, Step 4, is binding the quilt together - which makes the edges look nice and holds it all together. That is what will happen tomorrow.
December to August. That's how long it takes to make a quilt. Without Mom and Dad's help this week, it would never have been completed.
The Breakdown
1,462.8 miles
20 bottles of water
15 music CDs
13 people (Sarah Morrison and fam; PJ and Shawn; Elizabeth, Samantha, and Lydia; Tommy, Tracy, and Beka)
9 cans of soda (Cherry Lem/Diet Pepsi)
6 states (Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina)
5 cities (Elkin, Durham/Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Concord, Surfside)
4 books (Suite Francaise, Not Without My Daughter, Fourth Dawn, We Really Do Need Each Other)
2 Powerades (red and blue)
1 book on CD (Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston - highly recommended)
Total cost (including gas, food, entertainment, and tolls): $216.43
Best vacation ever.
My vacation is going well. It's everything a vacation should be. It began with lots of family time and now it's just me. Me, in my house. By myself. Relaxing.
There's plenty of time for reading, listening to music, jogging, organizing things (as librarians tend to do), catching up with friends, walking, etc.
But I'm kind of going crazy. Stir crazy. Cabin fever crazy.
I've only been here for a few days by myself and I've exhausted all conversation possibilities with myself. I've cleaned as much as I can. I've played the piano for hours. I've read for hours. I've watched movies for hours. I've stared at my phone wishing people to call me. I've checked my email 100 times a day. I've blogged here and there multiple times.
I'm currently packing my things for my road trip, which begins later this week, but I'm so distractible. I feel like I have ADD.
Each time I leave the house to go on a made-up errand, I desperately want someone to be here when I return. But there never is. I want to come home to someone, to talk to someone, even if it's about nothing. I know I've said it before, but I really would love to have a friend in the exact same stage of life as I am right now. Right here. Someone I can call randomly or who I can plan to see every day. Someone who understands where I am.
Here's the dilemma. I am on day #4 or #5 of "Alone-time", and I'm going bonkers. What am I going to do next summer when I have two entire months off? I'll have to get a summer job just to keep myself busy, preoccupied, and to not go insane. Part-time at a clothing store? Mostly for the discount on clothes. It's a possibility, I guess...
I've promised to fly out to Arizona to babysit/nanny the girls for a few weeks in June, next yea. So that'll help to keep me very busy, but only for a short period of time. Seriously...I need a game plan for the rest of the time.
If I could organize my life like a job - have planned events and projects to accomplish and check off of lists - then I could probably make it without needing an income-producing job. It's not for the money. It's for me. I can't sit still.
I guess the most disturbing part is that this idea of ADD Lana is so contrary to who I thought I was. I thought I was quiet, introspective, and easily amused. When I step away and look at myself, that's always what I see. Upon further reflection recently, I think I am those things, at times. But increasingly, I'm finding myself unable to be still. I've trained myself as an efficient multitasker throughout my school career and now I don't know how to be anything else.
Any advice, friends and readers?
This is how I know I picked the right day to browse.
15 shirts for a total of $121.00
I won today!
....READING
Caught Ya!
Matching Jammies...and a book about baby farm animals.
Katie's favorite book - Green Eggs and Ham - and her Great Grandma.
Reading cubbyhole, anyone?
Lounging...and reading, together...
And with Mommy.
My all-time favorites from last week...
Look closely, yes, that's right. Maddie is reading Married for Life, most notably the chapter entitled: "You only get out of a marriage what you put into it."
We always knew she was ahead of her peers, but seriously. Maddie, darling, you're nearly five years old. You have time. Your clock isn't ticking quite that fast.
In the car, she was expressing how badly she wants to have her own baby.
"But maybe, Mommy, I should wait until I finish high school," she said, wisely.
Emily agreed, adding, "Yes, baby, at least high school, probably even college would be good."
"Yeah," said Maddie, "probably after college. Because that way you can learn how to take care of babies."
Sounds like a good idea.
Work is officially over for me until August. It's a great feeling, and to celebrate, I've been hanging out with some of my favorite people. We have a couple of smashing parties, gone swimming, played games, and, in general, had a blast. Emily, Franz and the girls left for Crooked Lake this morning (I'm jealous), and already it feels almost as if I have just now begun my vacation. Little girls wear me out. Hearing Maddie begin a sentence with "Well, actually..." and Katie say, "Wana [that's me], watch dis" or "Gamma did it" in the midst of one of her unending tall tales, melts my heart every time.
Happy for a moment or two - engrossed in a book - with matching pj's.
Party #1 - Saturday at Ev and Em's
Maddie by the lake with a cattail
Special note here, this corner shows the binding, which was quite difficult to attach.
This shows the back - the millions of stitches that we had to use to hold the batting (middle layer) in place.
Here are the two pillows I made with leftover scraps from the shirts on the front of the quilt. They were pretty fun to make.
Thus, major project #2 of my year is done. First, the Ireland scrapbook. Second, the t-shirt quilt.
