(Disclosure: Campus Quilt Company created a custom quilt for me in exchange for an honest review of their product; all opinions are my own.)

When you write about Kentucky, you wind up with a lot of Kentucky-themed shirts. A LOT of shirts. More than one person could ever possibly wear. So, I was thrilled when Campus Quilt Company suggested that we collaborate on a t-shirt quilt.

Now, as y’all know, I take my quilts very seriously. Quilting is a serious legacy in my family. I even tried to make a quilt with my grandmother, but things didn’t turn out quite like I planned. I hold quilts to a really high standards because my grandmother has always made such exquisite pieces. I knew that Campus Quilt was the only t-shirt quilt company that would live up to those standards. They’re based right here in Louisville and have been in business for nearly 20 years! Their process was so simple and fun.

First, you order your quilt. You can order online or call 502-968-2850. You place a deposit for your quilt, and Campus Quilt will email or mail you instructions for how to prepare your shirts and where to send them. I’d advise washing your t-shirts without any fabric softener so they’re clean and ready to go!

Once you receive your kit, it’s time to get creative. You can choose the size of quilt you want — from lap quilt to king-sized bedspread — based on how many shirts you want to use. I went with the 30 shirt, full-sized quilt. As I said above, I have so many shirts that commemorate aspects of Kentucky life that I chose a Kentucky theme for my quilt. I chose 30 of my favorite designs and set up a bit of a pattern that roughly alternated light and dark designs. I laid out the shirts in order, then used the numbered stickers that came with my quilt kit to indicate where each design should go. (If you don’t want to choose the design yourself, you can ask the quilt makers at Campus Quilt to do it for you!) A lot of these shirts were very special to me — commemorating events or special places — so it was important to me to use a company I knew that I could trust to take good care.

You can customize your quilt as much as you want. It was very important to me to include sashing between the shirt designs. I grew up helping my grandmother cut and pin the sashing between her quilt blocks, and to me it’s just not a quilt without that sashing! I love that Campus Quilt gives you the option to choose sashing colors and quilt backing colors and fabric. Since most of my shirts were in blues and greens, I went with denim blue as the color for my backing and sashing. (Again, if you’re not fully sure what would look best, you can request that Campus Quilt choose fabrics for you!)

Finally, you fill out some paperwork, seal up your return kit, and ship everything back to Campus Quilt. I used UPS and was thrilled to see that it arrived at Campus Quilt Company within a couple of days. The communication was fantastic — I received email updates at every step of the process. And don’t tell my granny, but their turnaround time was faster than I’ve ever seen a quilt be made! I received my completed quilt in under two weeks!

The quilt is really beautiful, and so well-constructed. As you can tell, I’m a bit of a quilt snob. I know quality construction when I see it, and the Campus Quilt quality is amazing. They actually use long-arm quilting techniques; they don’t just tack the designs or use a lazy “stitch in the ditch” technique. If you aren’t familiar with sewing terms, just trust me when I say that you’re getting a thick, well-made quilt that will hold up as a keepsake.

Campus Quilt doesn’t just make t-shirt quilts. They can create memory quilts from flannel shirts, ties, baby clothes — basically any textile you want to commemorate.

I was thrilled with every part of the Campus Quilt process, from design to implementation. It’s such an amazing way to commemorate special events in your life! I’m already mentally planning more t-shirt quilt designs, from old sorority t-shirts to all that UK gear in my closet to my favorite bourbon distilleries. I can’t wait to order another Campus Quilt to make a meaningful scrapbook of the places I’ve been and the things I’ve done!

Campus Quilt and I want to share this experience with you. Visit my instagram to enter to win a t-shirt quilt (up to full-sized!) of your own! Thanks so much to Campus Quilt Co. for partnering with me on this post!