Sunday 6 January 2013

Memory Quilts

I recently made a Memory Quilt for a lady who turned 90 yrs young on January 6, 2013.  It was such an honour to be part of something so special, so I thought why not have an article on making memory quilts.

This quilt was an order for my business.  It was a celebration of a life well spent.  Many family members got together and made a square each.  These were posted to me so that I could piece it and then quilt it.  The blocks were just delightful and everyone of them was unique.  There were blocks made by the great grand children with puffy paint and thoughts of 'Nanna'.  There were blocks made with Psalms on it.  Other blocks with photographs, newspaper articles,lace, embroidered and just written in pencil.  The quilt turned out fantastic and I know the recipient would have been delighted and touched at the wonderful sentiments.

The completed Memory Quilt

Details of flowers on blank patches



Here are some other ideas for making memory quilts:-

Quilts made from baby clothes - you can save 1 article of clothing for every month of the baby's first 12 months and then put this together into a memory quilt. What a special quilt for the baby, but also for when the baby grows up and has something to pass on to their child.

Quilts made from children's clothes - I recently had a request for a memory quilt for a teenager who was turning 16.  Her mother had saved up fabric from her dresses and wanted to make a quilt to present to her on her 16th birthday.  This also works for any special birthday - 18, 21 - what a lovely gift it would be!  So all you aunts, new mums, grandmas - this could be a very special project for you so start collecting fabric as soon as you can.  Works for boys and girls equally.

Sporting quilts - If you're children are like mine then you would have been through many different sports before they were done with it.  Our family went through cricket, soccer, netball, basketball, baseball, water polo, karate etc.  I wish I had saved up some of  the patches etc that they had won or acquired as they qualified.  These would make great memory quilts.  But you could try this yourself - a great gift to present to your kids for a special occasion.

Travel quilts - I am a fabric-a-holic, so I collect a fat quarter (at least) from every place I visit.  I have also started to collect lace, doilies etc and these are going into a memory quilt of my travels around the globe. 

As you can see, this is only limited by your imagination.  So why not start on a memory quilt - collecting your fabric is half the fun!  Remember to pin a note onto the piece with some details so that you have it in later years for your reference.

I would love to hear from you if you have made a memory quilt or any other ideas that you would like to share.

Until next time,

Yours in quilting

Vanita

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