T-shirt quilt complete!

I really like the 60-degree shapes in the finished project; I'm planning another t-shirt project for later this year, and I think I'll use the same concept again. Just a few photos before it heads off to its owner this afternoon:

Finished! (This is the requisite "toes at the bottom" quilt photo.)

I marked two-inch lines across all the background triangles so I could quilt the flower-of-life motif on them. I only had brief flashes of regret about that decision, around the time I got to the larger blocks in the center...but one must persevere!

I outlined the continent shapes on this t-shirt section -- I like that you can distinguish the shapes even on the back.

She chose a wonderful backing fabric (Essentials collection by Wilmington Prints), which feels like the softest suede in its finished state. It's very snuggly. The quilting designs are nicely visible in the right light.

Scrapbusting (like a boss)

This is the sorry state of my vaguely color-sorted bins of scrap fabric:

Red. Also pink. And some purple. Plus other stuff jammed in as well. Gross.

I'm taking a very harsh look at these jumbled messes. Life is too short to use ugly fabrics, so as I sort through, I am throwing away the bits of really low-end fabrics that have survived from my previous (non-quilting) life, and placing everything that I don't like (read: traditional shirting calicos, Americana prints, 30s repros, cabbage roses, etc.) in a bag to share with whoever wants it. At the same time, I'm folding the larger chunks (more than a fat eighth) and pressing the tiny bits and chopping them into usable segments. I'm cutting strips of 1 1/2", 2", 2 1/2", and 3 1/2" widths (these are the good widths for using the Hex n More ruler).

Tamed strips, ready to use

I'm also cutting charm squares, building a nice pile of tiny tumbler units (yeah yeah, I'm nuts like that), refilling my tableside bin of postage stamps, and starting collections of 1, 2, 3, 4, & 6" triangles.

The tiny tumblers finish REALLY small

 While I'm doing this, I'm also stacking up colorful piles to use for a 60-degree scrap quilt.

colorful scraps -- so pretty in the morning sunlight!

I made some really nice progress on the scrap project so far. I think I probably have done about half of what I need to end up with a good throw-size quilt:

Building this with no templates is such a fun process!

I'm purposely trying not to start any other projects until I have quilted a few of the tops that are already hanging upstairs, but I happened to notice a stack of 1 1/2" strips that looked so pretty together that I just couldn't wait to use them, so I made this "Mini Disco" project last night:

From Jaybird Quilt's "Mini Disco" pattern. 12 x 16"

I go through this futile attempt at scrap taming every winter, but this time I think I'm being a little more realistic about what I might actually ever use. The garbage and share bags are a lot fuller than they ever have been in the past.

Shirts everywhere

This week's sewing has been a whirlwind of making favor bags for my boy's tenth birthday party (including multisided geek dice, candy, and a dime, because he's ten..."dime bags"...get it?), as well as his quirky birthday shirt, which has apparently become a tradition in this house:

Pink Panther barbecue shirt

In the spare moments, I finished all the pieces for the t-shirt quilt. Now I'm left to choose from a fairly evenly-spaced layout...

Blur One...

...or a more composed central star arrangement:

...or Blur Two?

Perhaps I'll let the quilt's owner decide. Either way, I'll get the pieces sewn together tomorrow so I can baste next weekend and start the quilting.