Isabella Selthun Memoir

■ What were the best and worst parts of the Senior Project/Senior Seminar?
o The best part of my senior project was seeing all of the t-shirts I had. My mom had kept some from my
elementary days and it was fun to see all of them. I also enjoyed putting the t-shirts in a design of how I
would sew them for my quilt.
o The worst part of my senior project was cutting my t-shirts up. It was hard to do because I won´t get to
wear them again. It was especially hard cutting the t-shirts that I got my senior year because I didn't get
to wear them that long.

■ List three things you now know after completing your Senior Project.
o One thing I learn about making a t-shirt quilt was how much fabric you use to make the quilt. At first, I
had brought too little fabric and didn´t have enough to make the borders for the quilt. So then I had to
go shopping again and it was hard to find the same fabric that I used with the border. I had to go to
three stores to find the same fabric that I used. The second thing I learned was if you sewed something
off it takes a lot more time to fix the mistake that you had made. It takes a lot of time to take the thread
out and resew the shirts together again. The third thing I learned was how time-consuming it is to make
a t-shirt quilt. I knew it was going to take time but I didn´t realize how the little things would take a ton
of time as the cutting and sewing did.
■ Which aspect of the Senior Project/Senior Seminar stretched you the most? How did you feel about and react to
this challenge?
o The aspect that was stretched for me was hand sewing the borderline all along with the quilt. I have
sewed many times with my sewing machine but I haven´t really hand sewed. That part took a long time
to do because I had to make sure it was sewed into a straight line or else it would look fun and crooked.

■ How has the Senior Project/Senior Seminar changed you (skills, attitudes, work habits, capabilities, confidence,
poise, presentation, etc.)?
o My senior project has changed my work habits by becoming more organized and managing my time. It
has helped me become more organized by putting down in my calendar when I would meet with
Mrs.Huber my mentor on talking or working on my project and making sure I wrote down my hours in my
calendar to remember when I worked on my project. It has also helped boost my confidence in sewing
bigger projects. It has helped me get more confident doing bigger sewing projects because I have
always done smaller projects because I was always worried I would mess it up or not do a good enough
job on them. Doing this quilt has helped me know that I can do anything I put my mind to do and can
accomplish a big project.

■ Has this experience influenced your future plans?

o This experience has influenced my future plans by it becoming a hobby that I can do in the future. By
making this quilt it makes me want to be able to make one again maybe for myself or one of my friends
or family.

■ What would you do differently if you had to do the whole Senior Project/Senior Seminar process again?
 o Something that I would do differently if I had to do my senior project again would do a different design
of the t-shirts. I would cut the t-shirts into different sizes and then have them spread out along the quilt
more rather than right next to each other.

■ What advice do you have for next year’s seniors?

o Make sure to get your project done early rather then waiting until the end of your senior year. Getting it
done early helps relive so much stress and you can spend more time enjoying your senior year and not
stressing about your senior project. Also make sure to enjoy your senior year. It goes by fast so you want
to enjoy this time and have fun.

■ What grade would you give yourself for your Senior Project and what justification do you have for that grade?
o The grade I would give myself is an A- on my senior project. I give myself this grade because I did
something was a stretch for me and I was able to create something I can use for a long time. I also had
fun and learning about the history and how making a quilt.