Wednesday, September 28, 2016

We're giving you soul power I like it sweet and sour When it comes to lights and set designs I'm at the control tower

This t shirt quilt is one of the few that doesn't involve athletics.  Most of the recipients are either lovers of sport teams or athletes themselves.

This recipient is a Theatre Design & Production and Stage Management major at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts I don't know if they have a specific name for the drama-related majors but if he was at my alma mater Carnegie Mellon, he would be known as a dramat (emphasis on second syllable).  He was the set designer and overall technician for many shows at his high school and received quite a few Cappie Awards for his work.

The shows with which he was involved ranged from Orwellian serious drama and Japanese plays
to Broadway musicals and children's favorites.


This young man is a formidable talent and it wouldn't surprise me to see him awarded a Tony in the next decade or so.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

I'm flowing prose to cons and cons to pros I'm like Toucan Sam when I follow my nose


This quilt was made for the first child of parents with very eclectic tastes.  The parents are big fans of Dr. Who and Star Wars as well as being birdlovers of the toucan species.


Making a tardis quilt took some work on graph paper but as it was all rectangles or squares, it was not terribly complicated.  Instead of pure white fabric that would have better emulated the warning sign, I found the I Love Mommy/Daddy fabric in blue shades.  It also comes in pink for girls.


The two upper windows of the police box revealed parrot fabric which is as close as I could originally find to actual toucan motifs.Then I discovered that Kelloggs Cereals had licensed their characters and I was able to find a Toucan Sam polarfleece which made a great backing.

 

I was also able to find a small tardis repeating design fabric for the lower panels.  It was a very stretchy Lycra so it had to be backed as I would do with a t shirt.  This quilt had a variety of different materials. The parrot windows, the planet background fabric, the Police Box sign (which I actually used Star Wars designs) are all cotton.  The warning sign and the cobalt blue are flannels.  And as mentioned before, polarfleece and Lycra were also incorporated.


Thursday, July 14, 2016

I wanna be a Pi Beta Phi. Boom, Boom, and honey that ain’t no lie.Boom, Boom, I wanna be a Pi Beta Phi. Don’t you, don’t you, don’t you, Won’t you?

This quilt is made for a very loyal alumna of Bradley University. She pledged the Illinois Theta chapter of Pi Beta Phi as an undergraduate and is currently very involved in her local Pi Phi Alumnae Association. She also is a dog trainer extraordinaire and volunteers with her pets at local hospitals.


These shirts are quite vintage but they were in remarkably good shape.  Most of the sorority shirts I come across nowadays are t shirts that commemorate a formal or mixer.  I haven't seen a football jersey letter shirt in years except of course on this circa 1980s shirt quilt. :) Of course fraternity little sisters are not allowed anymore either.


The athletic teams at this university are known as the Bradley Braves.  The recipient was able to find a tiny applique patch of the original mascot.  The Native American mascot was ultimately considered offensive and is no longer in use.  They currently use the same team name but the mascot is a gargoyle.

 

Thursday, June 2, 2016

It's Vicky who certs VA, to cert VA every day It's Vicky, it's Vicky (Vicky) Vicky (Vicky)

This quilt was made for a longtime Webster University employee who recently retired. She worked for Webster National Capital Region for over 16 years.


As well as being a Gorlok, the recipient was a military wife of a career Marine.  These two Americans met in the most romantic way.  He was posted to the US Embassy in Paris and she was a student at Le Cordon Bleu! The BDU block (bottom row, center) was the husband's uniform shirt. The pockets weren't quilted down so they are still usable.


In their free time, they raised and showed Briards, an ancient breed of herding dog originating in France.  They both love all canines so much that they eventually opened a day care for dogs in their home.


The main responsibility of her position was to deal with our Post 9/11 beneficiaries.  I saved this shirt from a 2010 VA Conference for this quilt I knew I would have to do some day.



The back used a Marine-themed polar fleece and a coordinating national colors flannel. 

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

I drink Brass Monkey and I rock well, I got a campus on Brookley, that's where I dwell


This is a needlework depiction of the former BAFB/now JBAB Education and Training Center on Brookley Avenue.  All the design but the flag was cross-stitched or embroidered.  The appliqued flag was from a flag motif fabric that happened to be the perfect size ratio.  It was made for a Cornell alumna who worked at one of the schools at the Ed Center from 2000-2002.


Friday, April 15, 2016

Just back from Japan and ooh I'm laggin' Goin' rao rao with the dungeon dragon

This is different than my usual projects.  The recipient had a gorgeous sashiko (Japanese embroidery on indigo) jacket that she bought in Okinawa.  I wish I had thought to take a picture of the jacket as it was quite lovely.


The recipient is redecorating a guest room with a blue and white theme so she thought the sashiko jacket could be repurposed into pillows. We added a blue and blue batik for the contrast fabric which is quite appropriate given that she is a Kappa Kappa Gamma alumana.


The first pillow was from the front of the jacket.  I sewed the opening down so there wouldn't be a gap while leaving the frogs and coordinate in place.


This was a basic 4-patch using 8 inch squares. I really loved how the batik coordinates with the sashiko embroidery.

To provide some visual interest for the bed, I made a bolster pillow with the two main fabrics.  I also added some cream lace to coordinate with the ecru fabric from the first pillow.




Thursday, March 3, 2016

Down with Ellie and Caitie and you ain't And I got more juice than STAB's got Saints

This quilt is actually a quillow, a quilt that converts to a pillow. The recipient is a graduate of St. Anne's-Belfield, a boarding school in Charlottesville, VA and is now a student at Dickinson College.  The recipient's older sibling is also a recipient of a Rosemary Remembers quillow. The quillow incorporates swatches from her uniform skirt as well as organizational shirts.



The recipient was very busy in her K-12 years.  She performed in theatrical performances, sailed in regattas, participated on the cheerleading squad, served as a camp counselor, played a variety of sports. She is a well-rounded young woman and I have a feeling she will excel in her career choice of elementary teaching.