My Dad was an avid bowler until back and knee problems forced him to quit in his late 70s. About 25 years ago, when I lived in St. Louis, I took him to the National Bowling Hall of Fame. One of the pro bowlers had a quilt hanging on the wall there that was made by his mother from his old bowling shirts. Dad said somebody ought to do that with his old shirts. I wasn't a quilter then so I agreed and forgot about it ... until last spring. My Mom was getting rid of her stash since she no longer sewed so she told me to go into the closet in the spare room and see if there was anything I could use. When I opened the closet, there were several of Dad's old bowling shirts (unbeknownst to me at the time, there were twice as many in the basement!) and I remembered the quilt he wanted. So I loaded them in the bottom of a big shopping bag and smuggled them out of the house under a layer of fabric.
It took me all summer but I finished the quilt in time to give it to him for his 86th birthday in September. Four days later he had a stroke that landed him in a nursing home. My Mom was in home hospice care at the time but thanks to a wonderful, supportive husband and 3 surprisingly self-sufficient teenagers, I was able to spend 5 weeks 350 miles from home caring for her in her last days. And I slept under Dad's quilt every night.
When I was growing up, we always told Dad "Bowl 600" when he headed for the bowling alley so that's what I'm calling this quilt. By the way, he's doing pretty well with his rehab and should be home by the end of this month.

Awww I bet Dad loves his "600" quilt :D:D:D

Love it ! What a family treasure :mrgreen:

What an awesome quilt. You are a dear daughter.

I bet he can tell 600 stories to go along with the quilt what wonderful memories for all.

What a wonderful thing to do...It's absolutely gorgeous.. Thanks for sharing...and keep up the good work

Sorry for the loss of your Mother. And congrats on a wonderful quilt for your Dad. Glad he is doing better.

It's wonderful. I have my grandfather's bowling shirts but the fabrics are awful.

Pam, this is wonderful and you did a great job. I'm sorry to hear about your mom and so glad your dad is doing better...

Beautiful quilt

What a special treasure!!!

What a great idea. He will love his quilt. It will always bring back lots of 'bowling memories'. I should have saved some of my shirts from my bowling days! I wasn't a quilter back then so never even thought to do that!! You did a great job on this one!

what a thoughtful gift I know he will treasure it And I am so sorry about the loss of your mom its never easy losing those we love.

What a great idea!!!

I LOVE this quilt, it is really nice and I am so glad that it has brought you comfort and will bring Dad some when he gets home!

Yes, what a treasure!

Ditto from me. The quilt is lovely and I'm sure he will love it.

Wonderful quilt! What a momento!

Well done, its awesome. You should post a pic when he gets this.

This is one of those quilts that is "priceless"... Will mean so much to your dad when he gets back home. And like someone else on here said, he probably has 600 stories to tell from his bowling days.

This is a priceless quilt for sure! What a wonderful memory to cuddle him every night!

What a great story and what a wonderful quilt!

I several years ago did about the same thing with the square dance costumes to the grandmother of a friend of mine. The friend said she gave ti to her and she cried. It is on her spare bed. what you did for your father was awesome and now you have a wonderful memory to go with the love in the quilt

That is really a very special quilt. You'd never think bowling shirts would be special, but this really is.

Ditto here as well. You are a wonderful daughter, Pam :)

What a wonderful memory quilt for all of you.

That's such a wonderful quilt! And a great story behind it too. Thanks for sharing.

What a wonderful treasure! When he is able to come home he will soooo enjoy his beautiful quilt. The daily hugs from the quilt.. wow!
Thanks for sharing.

Pookie, most of the shirts were knits so I just interfaced them like the T-shirt quilts. The older ones were, like you said, awful fabrics - very thin cotton that was often very puckery because of the heavy embroidery. I just went ahead and used interfacing on them too so they wouldn't pucker so much. And some of the colors were kind of hideous so I picked the best ones.

Thanks everyone for the kind words. This fall has been a rough time but I would do it all over in a heartbeat. I am grateful I had the privilege of being there for both Mom & Dad when they needed me.

I love, love, love this quilt you lovingly made for your dad. I'm glad he is doing better and will be home soon to enjoy this quilt!

Wow what a wonderful gift for your Dad after all his ordeals.

Thanks for sharing your story...you are a wonderful daughter ...and great quilter!!

What a touching story......What a wonderful daughter you are.

What a wonderful quilt.