Over the last three years I’ve run over 50 road races. From local 5-Ks to finishing 12 full marathons and every other distance in between. If there’s on thing that all of the races have in common, besides the running, it’s the “race-shirt.” For as long as I can remember road races have always rewarded their participants with a t-shirt which not only commemorated the event but also allowed for sponsors to get their names out to the public too.
As you can probably imagine with all the running I’ve done I’ve accumulated a lot of t-shirts. For a long time they sat in my basement storage area tucked away inside a few rubber crates. I’d wear each one once or twice and then store them away. What was I saving them for? For a Campus Quilt.
Campus Quilt is a company whose mission is to take your old t-shirts and turn them into a lasting memory in the form of a quilt.
When it comes time to create your personalized quilt the first step in the process is to start an order with Campus Quilt. They have several different size options all based on the number of t-shirts you plan to use. From the smallest, 9 – lap quilt to the largest 49 – king size quilt and several options in between.
After going through all of my race t-shirts I was able to come up with 42 that I really wanted represented. That allowed me to choose the queen size. The queen sized quilt measures 8’9″ x 7’6″. After placing my order I was told to look for an instruction kit in the mail in a few days. I was charged $100 of the total cost of my quilt as a deposit and was informed that I’d be charged the full amount once production of my quilt began.
The kit arrived in a few days and it contained an order form, numerical stickers and a large shipping bag, which looked like a giant trash bag. I was asked to label each shirt with a sticker, numbering 1-42 and then place them all into the bag. Each number corresponded to a location on the quilt and this was all detailed in the instruction kit. Then I used the included pre-paid UPS shipping label to send all the shirts back to Campus Quilt. I’ll admit I felt a little sense of apprehension after dropping my bag at UPS. I’d basically handed over all my race memories to UPS and was left with only a tracking number to show for it.
In addition to the the size of my quilt there were other options to choose from as well. Like the color I wanted for the boarder and whether I wanted a flannel back or not instead of the standard cotton and what color I wanted for it as well. Included in the instruction kit was a swatch ring that showed all the different colors of both the cotton and flannel materials for both the boarder and the back.
Once my quilt arrived at Campus Quilt I received an e-mail notification that production was set to begin and should I want to change anything I needed to do it then. Once it was underway I was stuck. After a few shorts weeks I received another e-mail letting me know that my quilt was completed and that it would be shipping soon. A few days after that my quilt arrived.
The quilt came packaged inside out so I couldn’t see the images until I unfolded it – oh the anticipation!
I chose the upgrade to flannel for the back lining of the quilt.
I chose the same color for the boarder which separates each shirt.
The finished product is everything I hoped for. My bed is king sized and as you’ll notice although I ordered a queen sized quilt it almost fits my king sized bed. This is due to the extra space which the add on of the boarder creates.
Up close each shirt looks like it was hand quilted together.
There’s not much to say about the quilt itself except to say I’m thrilled with it. The quality is superb and it’s the perfect way to enjoy what I consider prizes I earned through sweat, and sometimes blood and tears too. I look at each section of the quilt and remember back to the race it represented. How I ran that day, pictures of the course, friends I met and made. And that’s exaclty what memories are meant for.
You can learn more about how to order up a custom quilt of your own by visiting the Campus Quilt web site here.
MSRP - $541 as reviewed (pricing starts at $129)
What I like – Great customer service, simple process, speedy.
What Needs Improvement – Expensive.
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