175. Workday Blues

 In 2017, I was part of a book tour for Sharon Holland's new book, Utility-Style: Quilts for Everyday Living.

I had collected several of my father's shirts and one from our son. I was never sure quite what to do with them, but knew one day just the right project would come up.

When Sharon asked me to be part of the blog tour and I paged through the book, I knew I had found the perfect project, the Comfort quilt. The premise of her book is to make quilts to be used, a part of your everyday life.

The shirts from my father were ones he used for everyday. He definitely favored the color blue, so I decided to name the quilt Workday Blues.

The pattern calls for 8" squares and I was able to cut enough for a quilt that is 48" by 56", a nice size to cuddle with. I felt there was enough going on with the stripes, so I didn't add the little corner triangles, as shown in Sharon's quilt.

In keeping with the idea of using fabric I already had, I remembered some favorites by Amy Butler and Lotta Jansdotter.

For the binding, I used a wonderful check from the Vintage Picnic line by Bonnie and Camille. At this point it is quilted by stitching in the ditch (the batting I used said quilting could be 10" apart) but although it is already bound, sometime I want to go back and add some hand quilting.

There was enough fabric from those five shirts to also make a coordinating pillow. It includes a pocket in the center square and part of the front placket.

Instead of my usual zipper closure on the back, I used the placket from another shirt.

Title: Workday Blues

Pattern by: Sharon Holland

Date Completed: 2017

Size: 48" x 56"

Quilted by: Me