Finally! Some Progress (and Pictures)!

Ta-daaa!  Here it is, the majority of my Dad's Christmas quilt.

For a quilt that is mostly navy blue and beige, it really is "reading" as green.  It's kind of funny, but that will definitely affect what I choose for my borders.  I can either play up the green or play it down with navy or red.  Choices, choices...

Here it is hanging on my cheater "design wall" as I have been calling it lately.  I am looking at it and pondering which of my new thrifted shirts will become the first border.  The original pattern calls for a piano key border, which is absolutely gorgeous, but I am running so short on time, it may prove very unpractical!

Readers (both of you!) may remember that I had a very unfortunate situation occur with my first quilt ever made from vintage shirts.  It was to be a baby quilt for the new honorary grandson, but it disintegrated in the wash.  I disintegrated when I found it.  Fortunately, the baby's living great grandmother made him a quilt, so I didn't feel quite so bad.  But, I am definitely making him a "big boy" quilt for a twin bed.  Anyways....

It was a big step for me to even consider making another quilt out of shirt material after that.  But, I have a new sewing machine and my old, second hand machine may have been the culprit, so I am stepping out on faith here!

Hubby who originally hated this pattern when I first showed it to him, really seems to like it now that he sees it in person.  He keeps telling me that he really likes the "ring" in each block.  It's not really in each block, it is kind of like an optical illusion thing.  The "ring" is formed by a secondary pattern when the blocks are butted up against each other.  Nonetheless, it does give a lot of interest.  Isn't it funny how secondary patterns emerge with some quilts?  When I first looked at this one, it almost looked like an exploding star to me, but hubby immediately focused in on the rings.

I cropped this photo to show the actual block unit that is used to create the quilt top.  The color placement in my version is not quite the same as in the original version (due to my error) but I really like that it looks extra scrappy this way.

I am very pleased with how this is turning out so far.  Now, I am off to dissect a few shirts and start auditioning borders!  Can't wait!