@Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop - Shoes

Today...

Maggie @Gussy Sews has been traveling with Compassion International in Tanzania this past week, getting to experience the work that Compassion does and the direct effect that sponsorships have on the children living there. Not only has she been experiencing this amazing, and inspiring trip...but she and her other fellow bloggers have been blogging the entire time! Giving us at home a chance to "tag along" on some of their adventures, see some of the things that they're seeing, and feel what they're feeling along the way.

I was amazed though, because not only has Maggie been blogging about her trip, she also (1) updated her Gussy Sews store with new products, AND (2) posted a new Inspiration Workshop post! That took some dedication & major planning on her part. :)

This is my 1st time linking up with Maggie's Inspiration Workshop (a once a month link-up party, in which Maggie presents a prompt that is meant to inspire, connect and encourage creativity among the blogging community). This post's prompt is...SHOES!

And...go!

So my mind shot in a few different directions...I could use my handy-dandy Pinterest to showcase my favorite pairs of shoes out there (Lord knows, I pin so many)...I could take pictures of me wearing my favorite pairs of shoes that I own...I could talk about my TOMS ballet flats & April's One Day Without event  that I participated in (but I've already talked about it here and here)...and then I had it.

I wanted to talk about dance. Dance shoes to be exact!

These are all pairs of dance shoes that I used to wear when I was younger: soft pink ballet shoes, tap shoes, & (probably, my favorite) red-dyed toe shoes

I started taking dance classes back when I was 4 years old and didn't really stop until I was about 21. It was my LIFE! I lived and breathed dance 24/7 when I was young...I'm pretty sure my Mom had a hard time getting me to go out of the house wearing any other shoes than my dance shoes. I took classes throughout high school, while also dancing on the school's dance team. When I moved away for college, I danced with the college team for awhile and taught at a local studio...but school got in the way, life got in the way, and now it's something that I look back on with such great memories...it goes without saying that I desperately miss it! You can still occasionally find me dancing in the kitchen :), but that's about it. One thing's for sure...it will always be a part of who I am. 

I think I talked about this in my quilt post, but this past fall, my parents moved out of the house that my siblings and I grew up in. I had to go through all of my stuff that I still had stored there, leading me to find all of my old dance shoes...it was like 'taking a trip down memory lane' and I'm so thankful that I've held onto them all of these years.

I remember dying many pairs of toe shoes (red, blue, black), just so that they'd match my costume at the time. And I remember begging and begging my Mom for those tap shoes in the middle...they look like jazz shoes, but they have taps on the bottom. They were definitely the cool thing to have, back in the day!! :)

These shoes, whether kept in a closet or hung on a wall somewhere eventually, will always represent long hours of practicing my heart out, fun times had with so many good friends, and doing something that I love and that made me extremely happy <3

 I threw them on, just for kicks...please don't criticize my turnout, it has been awhile!

Thanks for hosting this awesome Inspiration Workshop Maggie! 

You got me to put on some old shoes that were just begging me to dance around in!! :P

Stocked Full of Memories

So, this past fall, my parents moved out of the house that my siblings and I grew up in...it was a good decision for them at the time, but sort of sad too. It meant that "home" would have a very different feel each time I visit, and it also meant that I would have to go through all of the memorabilia that I still had stored there, dating all the way back to grade school (yeah, I'm serious). It was fun going through it all, even if it meant getting rid of some things. You know, those things you come across and think to yourself "Um, why the heck do I still have this?!" But nonetheless, it meant something to me at one point or another. So while going through all of my belongings to choose what I would keep/pitch/donate, I came across a TON of old t-shirts from almost every dance recital and musical that I was ever in...and there were a lot. That was definitely something I wanted to hang onto, but what was I going to do with them?! Some of the dance recital shirts are from when I was a little girl, so the t-shirt would obviously NOT fit me! Well, my sister came across a company that takes your t-shirts & turns them into a quilt. Now, I know this isn't a new concept...people have been doing this for years upon years. But needless to say, I knew this was my best option & I couldn't wait to have a quilt made out of all of my own t-shirts!

The company I went with is called 3 Stitch Creations and they're located in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. They were great to work with, very communicative from the time they received my t-shirts (because who really wants to mail those things off, in fear of them not getting to where they are supposed to, and ultimately getting lost forever) to sharing with me the final product before even mailing it to me. The experience was great! They offer all different sizes of quilts (which is dependent on how many t-shirts you send them) and customize it just to your liking. You decide the color of the backing, the stitch design, and you proof the final design before they begin stitching it together. I think their prices are very reasonable (and again, depend on the size of the quilt)...I mean, I can't imagine how many hours go into a quilt like this. But anyway, here is my finished product, that is now in my possession:

As you can see, mine is very colorful & I was very active as a kid!

Backing: Black

Stitch: Loop-the-Loop

Size: Lap Quilt (15-20 shirts)

You can see the stitch detail here:

*This was the t-shirt I was talking about that was teeny-tiny...my 1st ever dance recital back in '89-'90!

I can't really express into words how much this quilt means to me - every time I look at it, I am flooded with memories from each and every recital/show! I would have loved to be able to do it myself, or have known someone that quilts who could have taken on the project, but I am extremely happy that I went with 3 Stitch Creations - they do amazing work. They also have an Etsy Shop, which makes ordering even easier! Just think about all of those t-shirts you have lying around or stowed away in dresser drawers - they would look great made into a quilt! :) One of the most popular quilts that they create are for sports teams - so maybe your hubby has a favorite sports team & has tons of apparel - get a memorable quilt made!

Hopefully this gives you a great idea to put your old t-shirts to good use!