Quilt Story 2

Another quilt to tell about. I mentioned this in my first Quilt Story, I mentioned my husband needed a warm quilt for winter and likes flannel shirts.

Voila, the Winter Flannel Quilt was born. This was was a bit easier than the first quilt, mainly because I had a little experience, and it was not going to be as big. I had a twin comforter I planned on using as batting and was going to make the top to fit that. (good intention anyway).

This is acutally an Upcycled Quilt, made from 6 different flannel shirts.

Lovingly cut into pieces after an early morning raid on hubby's closet, and sewn together for one who fully embraced Grunge, and the look in the early 90's, and never let go of the fashion. (ooopps, I was just corrected- "Kurt Cobain stole MY look, man!" True, he was dressing like that since the mid 80's, but what Gen X male didn't after survivng the early 80's!

Anyway....

Similar to the error in the original Quilt Story, where the backing was too small for the huge top I created, this quilt top was also too big! I couldn't use the twin comforter as batting because I made the top too big!

Sensing a pattern here - biting off more than I can chew was all I could think. But, I did what I had to do and went to get the proper sized comforter to put in the middle as batting. The request was a thick, heavy, warm, quilt. Buying enough raw batting would have cost more than I wanted to spend, so I found a cheap, ugly Big Lots comforter on sale in clearance. And guess what...this comforter was too BIG. Scissors in hand, cussing, comforter pieces all over the living room floor, and about a half hour later, I had the correct size.

Needless to say, each comforter has been a challenge, but well worth it. I love to see the end product of my work. I particularly like that we use this one nearly every day, cuddling on the couch. It is think and very warm, and very comfortable.

I am inspired to hit the local Salvation Army to find more great shirts I can cut up and put in a quilt (another closet raid might not be in my best interest).

I think I would have a hard time just picking out fabric to make a quilt from the fabric section at Wal-mart, as it is much more interesting to use fabrics that were used for something else. Quilts are far more special when there is a history behind the fabrics.