Not In Kansas Anymore: A Gift Years in the Making

My parents arrived this past Wednesday toting a mystery duffle bag containing a present they told me that they had, but needed to give to me in person. I had no idea what they could be talking about when they first told me about it, and even less when presented with a large soft duffel bag. Inside was something we'd been talking about for so long that I despaired that it would ever get done, and also something that will require some explanation for those of you who haven't known me too long: a t-shirt quilt made from Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts.

I've been collecting Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts since I was a teenager. I'm not sure what city my first one was from, but I've been marking my travels by purchasing the "city shirt" in any city where there's a restaurant. You can't get this shirt on the Internet and it always blends rock 'n roll motifs with landmarks or famous aspects of the city. I particularly love my Madrid shirt with a rock interpretation of Picasso's Guernica painting (see it here) and the Barcelona shirt with "tiled" images inspired by architect Antoni Gaudi's buildings in the city (particularly the Parc Güell). Another cool one was the 25th anniversary shirt marking 25 years in business, which I got at the original restaurant in London. Is HRC the best restaurant? No. It's food is roughly like TGI Friday's. But the shirts are a unique souvenir, and sometimes when you've been abroad for while, the HRC provides exactly the island of American-ness you crave. (Not to mention a hamburger done right, which does not involve frying in olive oil - I'm looking at you, Italy)

My good friends Veronica and Ellie both have one or more t-shirt quilts made from shirts they wore in high school or college that remind them of fun memories, but don't really need to be worn anymore. You take the shirts, cut a square out of the front or back and then put them in a big grid with fabric in between and on the back. It's a simple concept that nevertheless demands some time, attention, and sewing skills, of which my mom has the most of the latter and less of the two former.

Just when I thought I might outsource it to Veronica's mom, Dad's longtime coworker, Lorra Ewy (pronounced A-vee) mentioned that she needed a new sewing project, so Dad brought up our quilt idea. Laura did the planning, sewing, and layout and also chose the fabric based generally on my love of teal. Mom and Dad dug the box of t-shirts out of the basement and threw in a few of their own to round out a queen-sized quilt. Lorra passed it on to Wanda Hiebert of The Happy Stitcher to do the quilting, and I think the result is pretty great. Behold: