Sunday 7 January 2018

Memory Quilt

I was asked by a cousin, Diane, to help make a memory quilt. The family wanted to give it to their mother for Christmas. I designed a simple layout idea, using pieces from shirts for the flying geese.

design for memory quilt

The four patches we made from his hankies and his hunting cap. I don't think younger people use hankies any more. Diane quickly made the flying geese and four patches. 

four patches from hankies

The family gave us a variety of items they wanted in the quilt. Items like his suspenders, shirts, tie, fishing lure (my hubby removed the hooks), photos and crests.

shirt front with suspenders attached, a t-shirt from prostrate cancer run which his son participated in. The trees were made from pieces of his hunting cap.
The shirt front complete with placket, pocket and suspenders was incorporated into one of the blocks. A t-shirt for another block.

Trapunto stitching for his name

After Diane put the top together, I did the quilting. I used trapunto quilting for his name with feathers on each end. 
hearts and loops surround the couples wedding picture

I quilted the background with loop de loops and couldn't resist adding some hearts around the wedding picture. 

the complete quilt 
I used his tie in the blocks with his children's pictures. The tie that binds so to speak. Diane did the binding thankfully, no hand sewing for me. Yeah!

The family was pleased and their mother loved the quilt.






13 comments :

  1. Great layout. It was good that it was a team effort.

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  2. Lovely quilt Cindy and a great memory to who seems an interesting man

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  3. Hi Cindy,
    Oh, what a wonderful quilt. So much time and care was taken by all involved to make it just perfect for their mother. That not only makes it extra special, it also brings them all together for one purpose or gift that is filled with so much love. I'll bet she is just thrilled and feels all the thoughtfulness as she snuggles underneath it. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  4. What a beautiful design and I am sure this is going to be treasured by everyone. I agree with Anja, doing something like this is awesome to work on as a team.

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  5. I have seen lots of memory quilts but is by far my favorite. I think the flying geese are a perfect way to use several shirts, without them being the main focus. I love the photos and the tie between the ones of the children. The hunting cap made into trees was a great idea. The t-shirt and shirt with suspenders tells us a lot about the man. The quilting was well done, adding to the feel of the quilt. Some memory quilts are just a compilation of shirts cut into shapes and sewn together but this quilt captures the memory of the person in a beautiful quilt.

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  6. Cindy, this is beautiful! I'm sure the family more than loved it. Love all the little details you guys were able to add to the quilt. The quilting is just beautiful!

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  7. What a fun and interesting quilt. You should be proud of this one.

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  8. Wow, Cindy, this is an incredible piece of loving work. The shirt with his suspenders--! Just so over the top cool, and poignant. And 'the tie that binds' .... icing on the cake. (Bet you knew I'd especially like that bit) Gorgeous trapunto and quilting throughout.

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  9. This is such a beautiful tribute. I love all the personal details, way beyond cutting up shirts.

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  10. This is such a precious gift. I love the way you incorporated so many personal touches. The trapunto quilting of his name is just wonderful!

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  11. As you can tell from the comments, this quilt struck a lot of chords with people. The idea of a piece involving so many personal touches so perfectly suits a memory quilt. A work of art for the owners, imo.

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  12. What a treasure! You used so many interesting ways to incorporate all the different items. Love it.

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