Lia's T-Shirt Quilt

I made granddaughter Lia a t-shirt quilt for Christmas, similar to the one I made for her brother for his birthday.  I had planned to learn how to quilt on a long-arm machine on this quilt, but, alas, this was not to be. My friend's machine was not cooperating!

So I ended up finishing Lia's quilt as I did her brother's--backing it with fleece that was then brought back to the front to bind the quilt as well.  I top-stitched the "binding" down with a wide zig-zag stitch.

Actually, I think the way it turned out is better than my first plan, because this quilt is now much more cozy and soft!  I think Lia will really like it.

These t-shirts were set aside by Lia's mom a year ago, after she had asked me to make her children these quilts.  I happened to find the paper bag of t-shirts totally by accident one day last spring.  A serendipitous find, for I had been sad to think that I couldn't fulfill Kathy's request, since I didn't believe that she had had the energy, in the throes of her illness, to gather up the shirts.  But she did, and there they were, waiting for me in the bottom of the guest room closet!

So now I consider that this quilt is a gift from both Lia's grandmother and her mother.

Here's as much of the quilt as I could get in
one photo.  I think it shows it pretty well, however.

I don't have room to pin this to my design wall, so I just photographed
it laid over my cutting table.

Here's a close-up that shows how the borders and the
binding interact with the squares cut
from the various t-shirts.