Sewing Cooler for Matt

2/19/2023

This is a follow-up to a post about incorporating "harder" and "groovier-than-average" elements into my sewing endeavors.  I'd like to show off a project that I recently completed for Matt.  Another "cool shirt," this time with a kaleidoscopic patchwork twist.

2/25/2023

Matt named it the "Bob Quam Shirt."  Bob Quam headed the church camp that Matt attended and loved as a kid--where he took his first backpacking trip and fell in love with the stars.  Apparently, Bob had some similarly bright shirts.  Maybe not quite this bright, I'm told, but...close.

Ginger helping me sort the fabric strips.  5/27/2022

I worked on this patchwork endeavor on and off since May last year.  I'd piece and sew on it and then put it aside in favor of other projects.  I actually forgot about it for a while until Matt mentioned it shortly after Thanksgiving.  The pattern for the shirt is a McCalls M6044.  

Playing games at our BnB in Paradise Valley.  2/25/2023

All the patchwork fabrics have a story, but my favorite is the teal corduroy.  Matt rocked this teal shirt when we met.  It was one of his favorites.  He wore it until it started to fall apart.  But, I'm a sentimental gal with a proclivity for upcycling.  There were parts of the shirt that were still okay.  So it went into my sewing stash instead of the garbage.  

Matt wearing the teal corduroy shirt at a family gathering.  This picture includes his brothers, Adam and Ryan, plus Aunt Bonita.  May 2002
In 2012, I used it in a binocular strap upgrade for Matt.  A few years later I took the yolk of the shirt and created a wall display for our collection of pins and buttons.  This patchwork shirt used up almost every remaining scrap.  What an extended career that shirt has had!  It may have been a mistake to include the teal in this patchwork shirt because it is more dilapidated than the other fabrics....but...my sentimental heart won out.  It looked right and I knew it would add an instant specialness to the shirt.  If it comes down to it....I'll patch the patchwork.  No biggie.  I did reinforce the teal with a layer of lightweight interfacing.  Fingers crossed.

Another photo with Matt is in the beloved shirt.  May 2002

My second favorite is the set of coordinating blue geometric fabrics.  This is one gift from my mom that I have gotten a boatload of use out of over the past decade. The dress, the vest, the curtains...  There was so much of it to start with and some of my past projects have been re-purposed, too, so this fabric just keeps making the rounds. Case in point, Matt's new shirt includes part of the cover I'd made to extend the life of our old sofa.  It pleases me.  There is still a lot of this fabric for future projects.  This is far from the end of it.  

2/25/2023

The best part about the whole project was how enthusiastic Matt was throughout.  He was so gosh darn excited about it from the first completed blocks right up through picking out the perfect retro buttons.  His amazement at my "making fabric" before I could even start cutting and sewing the piece of the shirt was really gratifying.  He makes me feel like a wizard with my sewing machine.  I hope the shirt lives up to the long anticipation.  

Finished and tacked up on the felt board at the sewing retreat house.  2/19/2023

If I had it to do all over again I would make the patchwork blocks an actual square.  Instead, they're rectangles about 3.5 by 4.5 inches.  That sorta limited how I was able to arrange the blocks.  I still struggle with the maths involved in quilting and patchwork sewing jobs.  It is not my strong suit.  Alls well that ends well though.  It turned out even better than my vision.

The sewing retreat bunch!  It was a great group of gals.  So much sewing and laughing.  2/19/2023

I finally finished the Bob Quam Shirt at the sewing retreat I attended last month with my mom, my aunt, Matt's mom, and a group of her friends.  I finished the Bob Quam Shirt plus two NON-patchwork shirts that felt like a snap comparatively.  Matt picked out all the fabric and buttons on these two as well.  Turns out he has a fondness for shank buttons and rainbow colors!  It was fun and we're both pleased with how the shirts turned out.  

The other two shirts I made at the retreat.  As of yet, I don't think they have names like the "Space Shirt" or the "Bob Quam Shirt."  2/18/2023

We went to a concert the evening I got home from the sewing retreat.  Matt immediately put on the Bob Kuam shirt and went dancing!

Photo of the dancefloor--with Matt circled--from the Railroad Earth show at The Elm on 2/19/2023.  Photo credit to GetRel Photography.

Comments

  1. I love all the uses you found for the teal shirt, and all the shirts you made are fantastic. Someday, I hope to get there with my sewing skills. I've mostly done easy stuff like curtains and tote bags. The patterns I've followed have been quite the challenge.

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    1. Thanks, Laurie. It is really satisfying to me to a) make stuff and b) squeeze every ounce of usefulness out of something. Especially, in this case, a shirt that Matt liked so much.

      I dove into garment sewing before I really knew what I was biting off, but fortuaately had a bit of luck and a lot of supportive help. The sewing shirts is new, as of last year. Mostly I found a dress pattern that fit me well (and had insturctions that made sense to me) and I made that over and over and over again. ...which is probably what I'll do with these shirts for a while, too. ;)

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  2. I am also amazed at your "making fabric" - wow! Fantastic job!

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    1. :) Thanks, Lisa. It was quite the process, but pretty darn cool all around.

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  3. That looks like so much work! I think I would have given up :). Using old fabric bits reminds me of the book Something from Nothing.

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    1. I adore that story! Thanks for making that connection for me! And it WAS a lot of work. :) Slow and steady got it done though. Danke!

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    2. The artwork in the book is so pretty :). Sehr schöne Bilder!

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  4. Beth you have certainly upgraded your sewing skills I am very very impressed. I made myself a blouse during lockdown but you have gone above and beyond! I love the story behind the patchwork shirt and now I’ll have to look at the book link shared by Eva 🙂❤️

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    1. :) Above and beyond! You are so kind! Thank you. I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

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  5. "All the patchwork fabrics have a story" you said... and this is something that moves me! What a beautiful art work with a meaning! Bravo!

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