Jeanne Gates had a t-shirt blanket made for her daughter Lisa to save and celebrate her tees from her years at Loyola Marymount University where she was a proud member and president of Kappa Alpha Theta.
]]>Monika Butzbach had a t-shirt blanket made for her daughter as a memory book of her childhood and adventures growing up.
“Each t-shirt on the blanket has been worn by my daughter until they were falling apart or too small. She had a designated drawer for them and each time she went to clean out old clothes she couldn’t bring herself to give them away because of the memories associated with them.
The shirt collection goes back to when she was two years old hitting the trails with her mama, until she traveled 5,000 miles away from home. One of my daughters most memorable and life changing experiences was when she went on a mission trip with our church to Japan. Her Nihon Kenshu t-shirt represents the relationships she built with her Japanese host family and the many children that she was able to get to know and teach. She also learned a lot from her students about their culture and got to go to Asakusa and Niko the temples in Japan and experience their culture. It is a trip my daughter will never forget and now she will always have the t-shirt on her blanket from her trip to Japan.
Each shirt is a diverse memory and the blanket threads them together in a story I like to call life. From girl scouts to basketball, all the way to Chicago, all of her best memories are represented with just a few shirts that will help us both to never forget all of the fantastic times that she had growing up”
A blanket is our idea of a more comfortable memory book.
]]>McKenzie Hanson’s Project Repat blanket celebrates her acting career, “My t-shirt blanket brings back my fondest memories from all of the plays I’ve been in. I remember being able to miss school on the performance days, performing in front of my childhood peers, dancing on stage between performances, eating pizza sitting in a circle on the floor as a united cast, and the adrenaline rush of opening night. With every signature of the cast members on the back of these t-shirts, I remember family. Each t-shirt has a story of a great time and friends.
Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue Meet The Dirty Dan Gang was a landmark play for me because it was the first play I got to be a main character in. I have fond memories of this production because of the tight-knit cast. Everyone was family. We shared the innocence of being young and alive on stage. There is a joy in being on stage together; building each other up with the talent we each put forth.
Every time I received a t-shirt from a theater production I counted it as a prize. As I grew older I still loved theater but other interests weighed on me heavier than this old passion. When I moved out, all of my old t-shirts went into storage and when I pulled them out from storage I realized I had collected quite a few prizes. I needed to do something with them and fast. I’ve always loved the idea of putting the t-shirts together into a quilt but I didn’t know where to go. I was overjoyed when I finally found out about Project Repat. These memories will always be a part of me”
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A birthday gift blanket that also celebrates a long lasting friendship; from childhood camp to college sorority.
]]>Lexie Zelek’s colorful Project Repat blanket of childhood memories. From sports teams to concert tees, it represents, “all the good times”.
]]>Dru OConnel had five t-shirt blankets made to remember his father in-law who passed away this past December,
“I wanted to make sure that we had something to remember him by. His shirts were a part of him and I wanted to give each of his five beloved children a remembrance of their father. He was the rock of our family and is truly missed each and every day. Family was the most important thing to him and these blankets will remind us all every day how important our connection to him was. We all hold memories of each outing, church event, graduation and birthday party dad enjoyed and I used the shirts from them for our blankets. This is a great way to keep him with us”
We are incredibly touched to be entrusted with a family’s memories of a passed loved one.
]]>Coach Jabo coached basketball at Safety Harbor Middle School for 25 years. His blanket is a memento of all these years of coaching. “Coaching for 25 years, I saw many players move on and play on major college teams. Three of my boys even became players in the NBA.
I just retired after 36 years of teaching, 33 years at Safety Harbor Middle and 25 years of coaching basketball. Many of my players are going to join me for a party to celebrate my retirement, our 12 championships and an overall record of 225 wins. I will be handing out old game tapes, scorebooks and stat sheets and have my blanket proudly displayed.
This blanket represents all the years of coaching great players that went on to become great men”
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Kim Morcom knew she wanted a t-shirt quilt for her son’s graduation and told us, “I was so excited to find Project Repat which was not only the most affordable, but is clearly concerned with keeping jobs in the U.S. and finding ways to make affordable, quality products” So Kim jumped on the opportunity to make Randall a memorable college memento from his Virginia Tech t-shirts. “The blanket arrived a week before Randall’s graduation and it was perfect. Randall loves the blanket, it means so much to him”
Randall also wrote to us to explain this important meaning, “Saying that Virginia Tech has a lot of school spirit is an understatement. Being a part of Hokie Nation carries with it a ton of pride, and my wardrobe consists of mostly maroon and orange clothing as a result. Over the years, I collected more Hokie t-shirts than I knew what to do with. As many of them got older and faded, I couldn’t wear them all but wanted to preserve them somehow”
“This shirt is one of the first that I got in college during my freshman orientation”
“Football is a huge part of Virginia Tech, and this is just one of many shirts I have from our ‘effect’ games”
“Hokie Nation is one of the strongest communities I’ve ever known, and this shirt is from the annual Run in Remembrance in memory of those who were lost on April 16, 2007. We’re not defined by this tragedy, but rather we are made stronger, another thing I loved about Virginia Tech.
This is by far my favorite graduation gift, and I look forward to showing it off to everyone who visits. Now that I’ve graduated, I have moved 12 hours from Virginia Tech. But this blanket will help me to keep the spirit of Virginia Tech and my college memories alive and well no matter where I end up. GO HOKIES!!”
Diane Cookson had a t-shirt blanket made to hold onto some of her son’s favorite t-shirts. Looks comfy!
]]>Many Project Repat blankets are mementos of race triumphs. Our customers love when their blanket holds not only memories but feelings of pride and achievement. We love to make blankets with race shirts because we know how much they mean. Here are just some of the stories our runners have shared;
Beverly Bonnema-Ream has a t-shirt blanket with shirts accumulated over 6 years of running, “one is for my first Chicago Marathon that I did at age 60 after just running for less than a year. This is just a small part of my collection of race achievements, so many of them bring back memories of not just accomplishments but the places and people associated with them”
Becky Kacin and her kids (son, Owen, pictured above) love their blanket and what it represents, “each and every race shirt represents something. One reminds me of my journey of training for my first half marathon after having my youngest son. My blanket holds memories of hard work, friendship, firsts, fun and triumph”
Stephanie Berowski had two blankets made to save all of her race shirts, “Every t-shirt holds a memory from my races; some of tears, some of strength, some of encouragement, some of laughter, some of amazing trips. My first half marathon I placed second in my age group, another time a race fell on my Birthday and I made my 2nd best time ever. Every Sunday night, my family has a movie night and I curl up with one blanket under my head and cover up with the other” It is important to relax and savor all of your hard work.
Jodie Froehlich has kept her race t-shirts to remind herself of everything she has accomplished however large or small; “I love that my blanket is such an easy way to keep my memories all in one place. There are so many stories about each and every shirt included in the blanket. One is from my first marathon, one is from my first triathlon and another is from my first 50K. Each race has its own memories of the struggles i had to push through. Every race you receive a finisher shirt and I keep mine as a reminder of the triumph; crossing that finish line. When you run as much as I do, you tend to forget about the little races, but my shirts help remind me of each and every race, no matter how small it may have been because every race has been training for where I am now”
We congratulate you all on your accomplishments!
Do you want to see more race stories? See our posts about
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Barb Dean sent us her daughter’s gymnastics shirts to create a memento of some of Danielle’s most cherished memories, “since age 6 when Danielle took her first tumbling lesson gymnastics has been a huge part of her life. Danielle continues to share her passion as a gymnastics coach. Her blanket sports t-shirts from local and national meets, some of her favorite leotards and coaching shirts. We love the Project Repat blanket, it sure beats t-shirts packed away in a box up in the attic”
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Jamie Barringer had us make a t-shirt blanket with the shirts from her adventures as a competitive water skier. “I have competed since I was 10 and competed for 4 years at Clemson University. Most of my shirts are water skiing shirts - from collegiate tournaments, Regionals and Nationals.The shirts all hold special memories and this is a great way to use them without wearing them out!”
]]>Luis Alvarez and his wife, Lianny had their Project Repat blanket made as a way to hold onto important memories.
“There are shirts in our blanket that go back as many as fifteen years.We have kept them because of the memories they stir up. There are many memories shared with family and friends, and we want those memories to live on through our stories”
Each patch of their quilt means so much more to Luis and Lianny than the t-shirt that bore it. By presenting them in their blanket they have made a storyboard that holds within it their pasts.
Luis reflected on one shirt in particular that holds a memory, emotions and a part of who he is, “One t-shirt I have not worn more than three times in all the years I have had it because I wanted to make sure it lasted. In 2004, the 747th Finance Detachment were deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This shirt is the one we designed to memorialize our time there. It represents how much of a family the 747th Finance Detachment had become to one another. Even more it reminds us that we were successful in our mission of returning home safely. There are few words that can tell how special the time and people I got this shirt with are to me”
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