I’d been saving the shirts for years. There was the cursing upside-down turtle, the orchestra and tennis shirts from high school, the D.A.R.E. shirt from elementary, and the volleyball shirt from middle school. There was even the embroidered logo I’d cut from the polo shirt of my first work uniform.
I’d started saving shirts for these t-shirt quilts a decade ago, and they were finally finished. I caught myself more than once just sitting and studying its pieces – remembering – smiling. I wasn’t thinking about the shirt itself and wearing it. No. I thought about the people I was with during that part of my life. So many good memories were wrapped up in these memory quilts.
Over the years, my t-shirts were stored in a bin, or a box, or a repurposed toy chest; only seeing the light of day when another shirt was selected to join them in the waiting game. Though they were sentimental they also took up a lot of space. When I finally stitched them up as a t-shirt memory quilt, I was happy to reclaim the pace they’d filled for years but also excited to reminisce more often.
My t-shirt quilts now make regular appearances at family movie night where they’re cuddled not just by me, but by my family, who ask for the memory behind “this shirt right here.” My hope with Threads Remembered is not only to help you reclaim space in your closet, but to help you put a frame around your memories so you can enjoy them more often.