I Want It All at Once

What did you do during the pandemic? Forced to stay home, many of us took on projects we had been neglecting. My pandemic project was to go through my t-shirts and to make a t-shirt quilt. Once I got started, I realized I had way too many t-shirts for one quilt. I decided to sort them into themes. The one I am sharing today is a “this is my life” theme. I named it I Want It All at Once. Future t-shirt quilts will feature some of my travels.

Always an advocate for work life balance, I included t-shirts that represented my professional life, my sorority Delta Sigma Theta, motherhood, travel and quilting.

I began the quilt with a Vanderbilt University t-shirt because that is where I went to law school. I ended the quilt with a t-shirt from the Southern Poverty Law Center, my latest temporary post retirement job.

My friend Maxine Moore quilted I Want it All at Once on her long arm. Because I love elephants so much, she quilted an elephant pattern into the background of the quilt. How cool is that!

I like including African fabrics in my quilts if the design allows it, so I framed the t-shirts with a red African border. There is also some African fabric in the pieced back of the quilt.

As with all my quilts, I attached a hanging sleeve on the back in case I want to hang it, but this one is probably for cuddling. There is a label on the back that documents the quilt. I signed it on the front.

A fun fact about this quilt — the center block that says “I Want It All” is from a pair of Victoria Secret panties!!😍