Quilt Joan made for Doug
From Doug's bike riding T-shirts

Quilt finished 9/15/16

---- Scroll Down to Read the Story of how this quilt came to be ---

The Artist and Quilt Maker

Doug enjoying his new quilt

Below are some of the original shirts
This was Joan's starting point

The back side of the quilt

Pocket holding the label

The Label

Detailed view of the quilt pattern

Detail of one particular square in the quilt

Some closeup views

The Diary of Doug's Bike Jersy Quilt

After making this quilt, I felt like I had been on a journey (somewhat like a hike) for four months. There was an uphill climb at the beginning and then gradually I found my stride. During this time I not only learned how to make a quilt but I also learned valuable lessons in building confidence, making decisions and facing my insecurities.

Let's start at the very beginning.

While on a hike in the early Spring of 2016, the idea of making a T-shirt quilt was planted in my head from one of the hikers in our club. Jan had made one for her daughter using her sports T-shirts from middle and high school. The seed was planted and I wondered if any of the boys would like one.

I started with Doug. Doug, " Would you like a quilt from your Maine-Endwell track and x country shirts. Doug did not want one from those shirts as they were old and in bad shape. However, he said would love to have a quilt made from his bike jersey shirts which were quite colorful and memorable.

It was agreed that he would send them to me in June and I would make the quilt during the summer.

Fifteen bike shirts arrived and the first and easy step was to wash them! Then my research began. How was I going to make this quilt? The shirts were made from a jersey polyester and most of them had a zipper running down the center front. I search on line and found a very helpful web site - Segovia quilts. I watched this You Tube video many times and finally decided that I would make a collage quilt with blocks in multiples of three.

Each blocks would have to be interfaced but with what kind of interfacing? After many trips to JoAnn's and the local quilt stores I found one interfacing that seemed to work best, a cotton fusible. I brought 15 yards!!!

Now I had a plan and all my supplies, it was time to start cutting the shirts. Here is where I froze. I didn't know what size blocks I needed and I wanted to use all the logos. I kept procrastinating, fearing that once I cut there was no turning back. You might say that I was in a state of paralysis. I wanted a pattern to tell me what to do and I had none!

Now it was July. One day I just said to myself, "just start cutting the shirts and cut the biggest pieces that you can" and so I did. Gradually, I got more confident and started cutting all sizes of blocks. I watched the video again, as long as they were in multiples of three the blocks would all fit together. Eventually I realized that I would have to cut into some of the logos and I just started cutting what appealed to me. I was feeling more in control.

Variety in size and color was now my goal. Slowly but surely I was gaining more confident and I was getting something done!! Soon I had piles of interfaced blocks in various sizes. Following the video, I laid a queen size sheet on the living room floor and began the layout phase of the quilt. Doug has a full size bed so my dimensions would be 72" X 75" (multiples of three)

I started at the center and worked out to the edges. If I needed a different size or color block I cut and interface one. This part was fun and it felt very artsy to me. I had three 15" squares from the back of the shirts and didn't know where to put them. One of my "quilt angels" suggested that I put them in the corner, but now I needed another shirt. Doug obliged and sent another shirt to me.

That shirt was perfect and I used just about every inch of it for blocks!! After many daily reviews and adjustments the layout was complete. Now it was time to sew the blocks together -- fear creeps in--just start!! It all fitted.

Then the decisions about borders, width of borders and fabric. I went off to JoAnn's again. I decided to have the quilt professional quilted and I chose Linda Morris. Last steps was a label and binding. The quilt was finished on September 15, 2016. The final dimensions are 82" by 85"

Doug, I hope that this quilt gives you many happy memories of your cycling and lots of warmth. It will need and should be washed at some point otherwise the fabric will rot.

Special thanks and credit to Dad for his support, setting up my work space, and driving to get special fabric in NE Portland. Thanks to all those who encouraged me not to give up when I started having doubts and my quilt angels who answered my endless questions.

This quilt was made with love and much learning. Mom

Care of the quilt

This quilt cannot be ironed or dry cleaned. Wash in cold water in a large front loader. (No agitator) Dry with cool heat or on a line