Embellishing the "Boyfriend Shirt"

Yup, there's that thing about wearing your guy's flannel shirt, or his bulky sweater, or bomber jacket... it hides certain parts you'd rather not think about... and makes you feel slim and petite... because it's, well, over-sized. And sometimes it's still warm from him, or smells like him (in a good way), and he feels close to you. You know, it's "the boyfriend shirt" phenomenon.

The boyfriend T-shirt.

Wearing the Boyfriend Shirt
I like wearing those oversized, well-worn and broken-in, washed-a-million-times soft, cotton T-shirts of my husband's for sleepwear. Those big Tees offer plenty of wiggle room, cover just what needs to be covered and are soft as butter. When my husband was going to "cut this one up for car wash rags" because it had a new hole in the front and a few stains, I said, "no." And promptly rescued it to make it mine.

Visible mending
With the focus on visible mending and sustainability these days, I decided to pull out the needle and decorative thread to embellish the stains and mend the hole in this well-loved shirt. This will prolong its life and there would be no question about to whom it belongs.

Running stitch with a decorative thread at the neckline.

A simple running stitch in a decorative thread follows the neckline. The hole (below) was covered with straight stitches, and a blanket stitch surrounds one of the discolored areas. More stitching will come as I find the time... and the imperfections.

Visible mending and decorative stitching on the front of the T-shirt.

The Boyfriend

For a number of years, he was the tech support guy for the department I managed. 

          He was the boyfriend for a short time. 

                         For 8 months, he was the fiancé. 

This past week, we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. 

Happy 20th anniversary to us! October 14, 2020. 

I love him and his T-shirt.

Happy 10 year Blogiversary!

I can't believe I've maintained the FiberAntics by Veronica blog for 10 years! 

I'm not as prolific a blogger as some (I don't post daily), but I'm pleased with my diligence, consistency and the accomplishment of hitting a 10 year milestone—yep, a decade of writing! And I am happy to have this documentation of my work, experiences and progress.

Most of my blog entries feature textile, quilting, stitching, knitting and fiber art endeavors but I also post about other creative activities such as mixed media projects, Artist Trading Cards, printing, typography and the annual Easter egg coloring session that happens at our house—and the subject of my first blog post back in 2009.

A few things I've learned along the way:

• keep making, keep learning.
• you don't have to finish every project you start.
• edit.
• fix a mistake as soon as you find it. (this applies to the work as well as life)
• take classes and teach classes.
• take classes outside your discipline.
• don't get down in the mud with the pigs.
• don't waste time with the passive-aggressives, the bullies, and the jealous. Life is too short for that sort of negative energy.
• hang out and spend time with the generous, the creative and the positive thinkers. These are the change makers! They will share and encourage without feeling insecure or expect something in return. You can be one of them, too.
• remember we are all a WIP [work in progress].

A big Thank You to my husband, family, friends, fellow guild members, students, shop owners and industry associates who continue to inspire, share, encourage and support the textile, quilting, sewing and creative activities that I—and so many of us—love to do.

Happy 10 year Blogiversary!