Tevis T-Shirt Wall Hanging

Two years ago, I did a t-shirt quilt for Marci. Shortly after receiving it, she completed the 60th Anniversary of the Tevis ride. She purchased two t-shirts: one to wear and one for me to make into a wall hanging. I have never even attempted to make a wall hanging from one t-shirt, so this was quite the challenge for me.

The only thing I knew when I started, was that I was going to have to build something around the two main parts of the shirt. So after cutting the front and back, I opted for the flying geese.  I knew that I wanted them to sort of lead your eye all the way around, but it wasn't until I had an epiphany in the middle of the night that everything came together.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the ride, its a 24-hour adventure with you and your horse covering 100 miles of some truly exciting trails. The ride starts just north of Lake Tahoe at Robie Park, has its first major vet check at Robinson (appx. 35 miles in); the second major check is at Foresthill (appx. 67 miles in); and then the finish in Auburn.

When I realized I had enough t-shirt material left for Dennis to embroider the names of the four major points of the ride, I knew I had something. 

Below are a couple close-ups of the quilting. The photos didn't turn out great, but since this is a quilting blog and not an endurance blog, I figured I'd share them anyway.

Thanks for stopping by!

Dory

The Tevis T-Shirt Quilt

Many of you know that my first love is my horses (not sure how to make that sentence grammatically correct). Last year there was a big fire that ruined part of the Tevis Trail--the famous 100 mile trail from Lake Tahoe to Auburn, California. I completed that ride on my mare, Elly, in 2005. The fire damaged part of the trail and the Western States Trail Foundation is working to get it back in shape for this year's running of the Tevis.

I wanted to do something to help, but since I live so far away, volunteering to be on the work crew wasn't an option. Instead, I contacted the Foundation and told them if they could get me Tevis t-shirts, I'd make a quilt and donate it to be raffled to help raise money for trail restoration.

This is what I sent to them just last week...

As you can see, I don't do T-shirt quilts the "normal" way. I like each t-shirt design to fill the entire t-shirt square. My pet peeve is a huge expanse of t-shirt material with a tiny logo. I know its easier that way, but I just don't like it. This quilt was challenging since all the blocks were either 12x12, 12x16, 8x12 or 12x8; thus the fill in with Laurel Burch Mythical Horses fabric. 

This is a shot of the label that Dennis made for the back. I wanted to get everyone's name on there that contributed shirts--especially since they didn't get them back!

Thanks for stopping by...

Dory

Adding to my Repertoir

I'm expanding my business to include making T-shirt quilts for those of you that have way too many. The idea to actually make them came when a friend of mine heard I was purchasing a longarm, so she sent me a box of her t-shirts. I think she just heard the word "quilt," and decided that I was going into the "quilt making" business.

It took me awhile before I actually made her quilt. I don't like the traditional t-shirt quilts where all the shirts are cut to the same size. That style often leaves too much empty t-shirt space and/or causes some of the design to be cut off. I did some research and discovered "Too Cool T-shirt Quilts." I liked their concept, but the quilter in me didn't like the "messiness." So I came up with this...

I made this quilt for a good friend of mine that competes in Endurance Rides. The border and sashing fabric are both from Laurel Burch's Mythical Horses line. 

This one was made for a friend that does Ride & Tie and is small enough to be a nice-sized lap quilt.

So if you're one of those people who competes in any type of event and has too many t-shirts, send them to me and I'll send you a quilt!!