Memory Quilt progress

Life and quilt shows have been slowing my progress, but it really is moving right along.

These are the three main pieces I'm cutting from the dress shirts.  I did just three shirts before I threw my hands in the air and decided to de-bone all the shirts, so I would have flat pieces of fabric to work with.

I mentioned that I also stripped the buttons from all the shirts.  Each shirt had at least 11 buttons, a lot had 15, and one had 18 buttons.  This is the reward, a small jar chock full of shirt buttons.

These are the shirts I de-boned, I'm slowly working thru them, cutting the pieces I need.  The de-boning took a good chunk of time, so I might not have saved time, but I did save my sanity.

May your bobbins always be full,

Oh, nothing, just de-boning some shirts.

To say my task of preparing these 22 shirts, so I can cut them with my rotary cutter is daunting, would be an understatement.  I actually walked by the shirts for half a day before tackling this part of my project.    My friend Nancy McFall suggested Bonnie Hunter's film tutorial on de-boning a shirt.  That tip has been invaluable.  Bookmark or pin it, because you may need it.  I mentioned Nancy in a previous post.  We have a lot in common; booksellers, married to retired police officers and quilters.

So, far I have 11 shirts de-constructed; 11 more to go.  One additional step I'm taking is snipping off all the buttons.  Why?  I'm 70, my parents went thru the Great Depression, and taught me many lessons about thrift.  This one stuck, never throw away buttons, you never know when you'll need one.  Each shirt has at least 11 buttons, most have more.  High count is 15, on the long sleeve shirts.  Don't worry, I'll use them for one thing or another.

May your bobbins always be full,