I thought it would be fun to take a break from stitching and share a few of the quilts I’ve made over the years.
You will see that anything goes here.
Top row: Baby Clothes
Middle row: Men’s Dress Shirts
Bottom row: Hawaiian Style Shirts
Top row: Anything goes for this quilt. You will find socks, boxers, name brands & even running shorts.
Middle row: Firefighter… what can I say, this one was hard!
Bottom row: Girls Fashion Tees.
Top row: Blazers. That’s right, a client came to me with his fathers blazers. I think he brought me 35 jackets. His father was known for being well dressed! The quilt pictured was made as a gift to his mother. I was so humbled by his reaction when he picked it up. It’s a night, I will never forget.
Middle row: Concert Tees.
Bottom row: College Gear.
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To be honest, each of these quilts has a story. From the minute you start to work on them you learn more about the person you’re creating for. Sometimes clients arrive with suitcases filled with clothing, others send boxes. Some of these quilts have been the most difficult projects for me to work on. But in the end, the reward is great. Waiting for each client to arrive for pick up, I always have butterflies. I worry- what if they don’t like what I made, what if I missed a special piece, what if, what if, what if…
In the end, the emotion is overwhelming for some clients. Others can’t stop grinning from ear to ear. We always share many stories and hugs. You see, memory quilts are not just for remembering one special moment in time, they can mean a lifetime of love.
I hope these few examples spark your imagination and have you looking at clothing in a whole new way!
Comments & Reviews
I have been making quilts for some time. I also made all of my daughter’s clothes when she was little, so I took 3″ squares of remnants from those and made a full size quilt for her. She used it on her bed at home, took it to college and now has it draped on her sofa in her house. Her biggest disappointment is that her cats also love it!! Guess I should make a quilt for them also. By the way, the quilt is now about 20 years old.
I have never heard of this before and I think it is an amazing idea. Perhaps I should make sure The Hubby keeps all his old shirts so I can turn those into a quilt. Just had the most fantastic idea of creating a black and white quilt from my wedding dress and my husband’s suit. I bet it would stunning, but I don’t think I could do that to my dress or his suit.
Thanks for the inspiration – I vow to make one of these someday!
Be sure to circle back and drop me a line when you do make one. I would love to see!
~Heather
It may be a while but I am saving it down into my inspiration quilts…
How do you make a memory quilt if the tee shirt logos and cut out blocks are NOT the same size. Like one is 9×9 and one square is 5×7,3×4 etc. ? When I lay all the pieces out it fits together. But how do you sew it together if they are not in a straight strip? I hope you understand my dilemma ?
The best way to do this is to create a grid with your odd sized blocks and add filler pieces as needed. Ultimately, you will need to have all pieces lined up to stitch together.