Heather C. Watson 4/24/20 Heather C. Watson 4/24/20

Stay Cozy with Campus Quilt

A Kentucky-based company makes THE BEST t-shirt memory quilts!

Campus Quilt Kentucky Wildcats T-shirt Quilt

Hey y’all. We’re all spending a lot of time at home right now, and if you’re like me, you’re looking for creative ways to make your home as cozy as possible. I’ve found myself reaching for my Campus Quilts time and again!

Now, if you’ve been reading HerKentucky for a while, then you know I absolutely love Campus Quilt Company. I love that it’s a Kentucky-based, woman-owned business (the owner is actually a college classmate of mine!) and I am so impressed by the quality of their quilts. Now, y’all know I grew up in a quilting family, and I have pretty high standards for quilt quality. Campus Quilt absolutely does not disappoint.

A t-shirt quilt is such a special way to commemorate your favorite things. I’ve worked with Campus Quilt to make a quilt from my favorite Kentucky-themed shirts and one from special Kentucky Wildcats shirts. The UK one is so special because I included so many fabulous memories from Bowl Games and Basketball Championships. It’s the absolute BEST for cuddling up and watching a game!

I had to share these photos because they’re so cute, and because it’s CRAZY how much Harry has grown in six months. They also give you a great sense of the amazing attention to detail on every Campus Quilt. I highly recommend getting the flannel backing; it adds to the warmth and coziness of the quilt!

I’m already thinking of some other ways to clean out my t-shirt drawers and design a great new Campus Quilt. Some ideas I’ve had include The Black Dog Tavern shirts (Bob and I love these shirts because they look like our Labs!), Bourbon shirts (what a cool gift for any Kentuckian!) or Vineyard Vines shirts (I have so many that are Kentucky and Derby-themed!) I’ve also seen great ones with a college or sorority theme or high school sports theme as well as concert tees, race tees, or travel tees. If you loved it enough to buy a t-shirt, then you can make a cool quilt!

Campus Quilt has graciously extended a promotional code to HerKentucky readers. You can use code herkyquilt10 for 10% off your own Campus Quilt. This blog post goes through the entire process of how to get started in designing and ordering a Campus Quilt of your own! Let me know what kind of quilt you’d design in the comments!

Heather C. Watson 10/24/19 Heather C. Watson 10/24/19

Keepsake T-Shirt Quilt by Campus Quilt

Louisville-based Campus Quilt Co turns a drawer full of t-shirts into a keepsake memory quilt!

(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!

Heather C. Watson 10/26/16 Heather C. Watson 10/26/16

Orange + Green Halloween Quilt

Every Thursday, I show y'all one of the gorgeous quilts that my grandmother has made for me over the years. Today, it seemed seasonally appropriate to show you this Jack O'Lantern themed quilt she made me a couple of years ago. How fun are the sad and surprised pumpkins?

Check out more Quilt of the Week posts here:

Heather C. Watson 5/6/16 Heather C. Watson 5/6/16

Lilly Pulitzer Kentucky Derby Quilt

Happy Derby Weekend, y'all!

I've shown you most of my quilt collection before, but this may just be the most special one of all!

Several years ago, we were able to find some yardage of this gorgeous Lilly Pulitzer print on eBay. The print is "Low Riders," and it features gorgeous shades of mint, periwinkle, and butter, as well as horses and some rather iconic spires.

Of course, it's no secret that Lilly and Derby go hand in hand! My local Lilly Pulitzer store, The Peppermint Palm, goes all out for Derby; they always work with local milliners to match the latest Lilly prints, host the Derby Festival Princesses, and generally have lots of Derby-time fun!

The ties between the Lilly Pulitzer brand and the equestrian lifestyle go back to Mrs Pulitzer's own love of horses. The late Mrs Pulitzer often cited these ties to her own childhood memories of traveling to Kentucky from her family's upstate New York home to watch her stepfather's horses run at Churchill Downs. As a young adult, Lilly even served as a horseback courier for the Frontier Nursing Service in southeastern Kentucky!

My Lilly Derby quilt is such a special keepsake, because it combines so many things that I absolutely love -- Lilly Pulitzer, the Kentucky Derby, and the priceless feeling of having a quilt made by my grandmother!

Happy Derby, y'all!

Check out more Quilt of the Week posts here:

Sarah Holland 4/21/16 Sarah Holland 4/21/16

Quilts, Quilts, and more Quilts at the AQS Quilt Show

There is one event the entire year revolves around. There is one event every Kentuckian around me loves but also dreads. The tourists. The crowds. The traffic.

The Kentucky Derby?!?!

Nope! That's for you central Kentuckians. Over here in Western Kentucky, the event of the year is the AQS Quilt Show. Starting early this week, the streets of Paducah will start to fill with quilters from near as far (seriously, FAR, as in Japan far) and really live up to its name The Quilting Capital OF. THE. WORLD.

The Quilt Show transforms the entire town. I will never forget the first year I moved back. I walked into my favorite coffee shop downtown only to find the front had been filled with fabric bolts of every color. Coffee shop/Fabric store! Only during the Quilt Show.

Some less enthusiastic citizens complain about The Quilt Show. These are the people who have never actually gone to the Convention Center and taken in the beauty and artistry that is competitive quilting. These are the people who prefer to frown over the slightest change in their routine and giggle at the ladies in their quilted vests. These are the people who don't even go down town the entire week for fear of being confronted by someone not from Paducah!

These are not my people.

I'm very lucky to have my own quilting tour guides every year. My husband's parents run Planet Patchwork, a popular quilting website, and have been coming to the Show for years. (That's how I knew Nicholas and I were meant to be. He took me to the Quilt Museum on his first visit to Paducah and showed me his father's endorsements in the front of all the quilting books.) They show me all the best shops and shows. We eat at the church quilting luncheons. It's a blast to be a foreigner in your own town.

So, as the rest of Kentucky gears up for a little horse race, Paducah will be living large with the quilters. If you're not from around here, I encourage you to come by. And if you are from Paducah and have never embraced the Quilt Show in all its glory, it truly is your loss.

~ Sarah Stewart Holland

Heather C. Watson 11/26/15 Heather C. Watson 11/26/15

Blue and Brown Kitchen Print Patchwork Quilt

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Julia Child said that "People who love to eat are always the best people." Let me tell you, this Thanksgiving, Julia would certainly approve of everyone at my house. We've feasted and given thanks, and we decorated the sofa with this gorgeous cooking-themed quilt that my grandmother made for me a few years ago. I love the fun prints and colors in this one!

Heather C. Watson 11/12/15 Heather C. Watson 11/12/15

Pink + Green Hearts + Polka Dots Quilt

Every Thursday, HerKentucky presents a Quilt of the Week. Over the years, my grandmother has made some absolutely stunning quilts for me; I love to photograph them and share their stories with y'all. This week's Quilt is a pink and green hearts and polka dots pattern. Several years ago, I was walking through the grocery store and saw a cute hearts pattern on a magazine cover.

Of course, my tastes run more toward jewel tones, Lilly Pulitzer-ish prints, and deeper pinks and greens than the magazine's example. My granny was able to work with colors she knows that I love, and the result couldn't be more stunning.

I absolutely love the sense of motion that the subtle paisleys and swirls add to the hearts.

Check out more Quilt of the Week posts here: