T-shirt plan... maybe

Start Your Engines

"Don't you just love starting a new quilt?  For me, it's a new beginning, filled with possibilities and anticipation.  I can spend hours thumbing through magazines and books to find the one pattern that simply must be made ahead of all others.  The thrill for me is in the hunt, actively using sight and touch to find the perfect fabrics.  My mind is alive, weighing all options.  I tingle with excitement as I cut the fabric, knowing my sewing machine will soon hum and finished blocks will cover the design wall.  As the quilt top progresses, though, there seems to be a point where the initial excitement fades, replaced with repetitive work.  It feels like the top will never be done.  The temptation of the next quilt, beckoning from the stash, grows stronger and stronger, making the task of finishing that looms ahead even more daunting."

(This is the beginning of an essay by ZJ Humbach, from Quilter's Newsletter, September 2007; she goes on to extoll the joys of longarm quilting as a different sort of creative outlet.  The essay also describes some of the challenges of the ADD adult - excitement about new ideas, and great challenges with follow-through.)

So, I'm sorta stuck in the in-between: I am actively exploring the next project--a t-shirt quilt with Sweetie's college memories--while trying to maintain energy to finish framing, sashing and bordering the two baby quilt block collections I made over the past year in Buck-a-Block.  Oh, and I want to get back to working on the wall-hanging with words that I started last summer.

But ideas for that t-shirt quilt are very compelling.  I found a setting idea I like in Terrific Tees: I can't believe it's a t-shirt quilt!

Log cabin blocks in white and scrappy reds, with room for 6 white t-shirts.  The t-shirts integrate almost too well in this design, as they are all on white backgrounds.  The t-shirts I have to work with have much more variety in color, scale and theme.  Plus, I have 12 of them.

Started coloring on a blank log cabin page, to see if the "rainbow" color scheme might work here.  I kinda like it, but I'm still restless: maybe there's a better design out there.  Will all 12 t-shirts fit here?  Will they look out of place?  Will the t-shirts be adequately showcased?

What's the rush?  Nobody's waiting on me to finish (or even start) this quilt.  Well... Piece by Piece is having a great anniversary sale this weekend.  Don't I owe it to myself to buy fabric I might actually use (soon!) when I go visit the quilt shop?