I met Lynette at a craft show earlier this year and she asked about t-shirt quilts. Her daughter played softball at Cedar Crest College and wanted a way to use and enjoy all the t-shirts she had collected over the years. So we decided on a queen sized t-shirt quilt.

Lynette’s daughter Danielle had so many shirts that it got a little challenging. Should I use the front or the back? Some designs were so big and others so small. What’s up with that? So I ended up doing a 16″ finished block that have me the flexibility for numerous layout options – a large block, two 16″ x 8″ pieces, 4″ squares put together to make the larger units – the possibilities were many. I played with numerous border fabrics but ultimately decided on this grey on black swirly pattern because it reminded me of the softball pitch – how those girls wind their arms around and around.

Speaking of pitching, these ladies threw me a curveball. They wanted something special on the back – not just a fabric. So we decided on a softball diamond. This is not to scale but I do think (hope) it is immediately recognizable for what it is supposed to be. I used a paler yellow and grey polka dot for an inner border. This is a little lighter than her school color but I thought the green would be jarring against the solid green “grass.” I used one last piece of a t-shirt with an appropriate saying, “All it takes is all you go,” above the field and the same outer border from the front. Four remaining t-shirts made up the corners of the back. I am delivering it this weekend. It was so much fun to make, but was a ton of work, so I really, really, really hope she likes it!