LSU Memories ~~ a finish!

A finish! Wait, a quilt finish! I've actually finished a quilt. This one is a memory quilt made of tee shirts from LSU. Purple and gold again! 

This quilt is to be a gift. A former client returned to request that I make another. I guess I couldn't resist that compliment because I happily took the job.  

I can't seem to just do the easy thing. I have to try something different every time I make a quilt. With this one, I decided to give color blocking a run. Some of the tees had designs on both sides, so those were easy to match up. Luckily, there were a few different shirts that looked good together and could make a large color block.

six gold blocks, note that I placed
 the two heavy designs side-by-side

four purple blocks from three quilts;
not all blocks are the same size

Of course, I didn't made this color block decision until after I'd already sewed columns together, so I had to rip a few seams out to make things match up. 

one block from many small designs

one block from four designs,
two pockets, and some filler area

Some of the tees had small designs that I could sew into one block. On the left block two pieces are actually pockets, which I left intact and open. Since I got two blocks this way, I was able to get 30 blocks to sew into five blocks by six blocks, making the quilt 70" x 84".


As I generally do with memory quilts, I chose to quilt each shirt or section with a different quilting motif. In the collage above you can see that the gray has an allover meander of loops within loops; the white Spring Greening Day has a tight flower motif; the purple (though it looks blue) has one of my favorites, scrolls; and the white Tabasco shirt has bamboo stalks. 

Each one either mimics a design on the shirt itself or picks up the theme of the shirt. For example, Avery Island, where Tabasco is made and bottled, has a grove of huge bamboo stalks and a large Buddha statue. Anyone who has toured the island would remember seeing the bamboo grove. Many brides have their bridals taken in the gardens, and there's a place in the grove where photo subjects can easily step into the bamboo for shots. I'm not sure that it's encouraged, however. 

And finally for the binding I chose this interesting tiger-skin cotton from my stash. The colors are blackish purple and shades of gold. I'm not sure I'm thrilled but it fits the theme of the quilt and seems to frame it well. 

		Quilt Stats
	Name:	LSU Memories
	Size:	70 x 84
	Fabrics:	Tee shirts from client
	Backing:	Natural muslin
	Binding:	Tiger-skin fabric from stash
	Batting:	100% Cotton
	Pattern:	Puzzle design
	Quilting:	custom design based on tee-shirts
	Completed:	2018 August

Here's another LSU quilt from 2012. It seems that I've made two LSU quilts already, but I can't seem to find the other. I suppose that I've lost track of all these memory quilts. A bit ironic, don't you think?

Link Ups

(It is a quilt finish, after all!)

My Quilt Infatuation (NTT)

Busy Hands Quilts (Finished or Not Friday)

Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!)