Memory Quilts
My biggest finishes of the end of 2017 were undoubtedly the memory t-shirt quilts. A wonderful family in our parish lost their dad to cystic fibrosis several years ago. K asked me to make quilts for their three kids out of his t-shirts in October. I basically dropped all of my other projects and started working on these.
I didn't share a ton, and I'm not putting them on Instagram. But not many IRL acquaintances read this, so I feel a little better about sharing them here. They just seem like really personal things to share in my community.
I designed each of them myself; they were based off of various pictures and inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram, but I didn't use a pattern from anywhere. K picked out which t-shirts needed to go in which quilt, so I based the designs largely from that.
They were the first t-shirt quilts I've made. The steam press is an absolute must; it made putting the stabilizer on SO much quicker and easier.
The one for the eldest - a simple design with a large stipple all over. The Dad wore cargo shorts everywhere, all year, so I incorporated a pocket into each quilt. It was a bit of a challenge, but I love the final result. I was a little worried about the thread I'd picked on this one, but it definitely worked overall.
A bit of a closer view of the cargo pocket - I obviously couldn't quilt over too much of it!
The daughter's quilt - I wish in retrospect I'd made this one a bit wider, but I do love the final design. She's an amazing artist herself, so hopefully she approves. I did three different colors of thread in the quilting, so it was a lot of stops and starts. The blocks were about an inch wider than my long-arm could accommodate, so a lot of back and forth, too. I did straight lines in the black, which were a ton of work and are almost impossible to see other than up close, but I'd probably chose to do the same thing again.
I used invisible thread for the t-shirts themselves, as there were multiple colors. You can definitely see the texture when the quilts are in the sun like this.
This is the one K said she likes most, which I was so glad of, because it's the one I definitely struggled with the most. I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like, but getting the design onto the wall was much harder than I'd anticipated. I am pleased with the results, though!
I did a more dense overall quilting on this one. I used a silver thread, so it was more noticeable in the black, but K said she loved how it looks.
I didn't share a ton, and I'm not putting them on Instagram. But not many IRL acquaintances read this, so I feel a little better about sharing them here. They just seem like really personal things to share in my community.
I designed each of them myself; they were based off of various pictures and inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram, but I didn't use a pattern from anywhere. K picked out which t-shirts needed to go in which quilt, so I based the designs largely from that.
They were the first t-shirt quilts I've made. The steam press is an absolute must; it made putting the stabilizer on SO much quicker and easier.
The one for the eldest - a simple design with a large stipple all over. The Dad wore cargo shorts everywhere, all year, so I incorporated a pocket into each quilt. It was a bit of a challenge, but I love the final result. I was a little worried about the thread I'd picked on this one, but it definitely worked overall.
A bit of a closer view of the cargo pocket - I obviously couldn't quilt over too much of it!
The daughter's quilt - I wish in retrospect I'd made this one a bit wider, but I do love the final design. She's an amazing artist herself, so hopefully she approves. I did three different colors of thread in the quilting, so it was a lot of stops and starts. The blocks were about an inch wider than my long-arm could accommodate, so a lot of back and forth, too. I did straight lines in the black, which were a ton of work and are almost impossible to see other than up close, but I'd probably chose to do the same thing again.
I used invisible thread for the t-shirts themselves, as there were multiple colors. You can definitely see the texture when the quilts are in the sun like this.
This is the one K said she likes most, which I was so glad of, because it's the one I definitely struggled with the most. I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like, but getting the design onto the wall was much harder than I'd anticipated. I am pleased with the results, though!
I did a more dense overall quilting on this one. I used a silver thread, so it was more noticeable in the black, but K said she loved how it looks.
In addition to a larger section of the cargo short (an even bigger challenge) I left a pocket from a hoodie intact, so you can still put your hands in the pockets.
Overall, I think I put more thought and prayer into these quilts than any other I've made. I didn't know the Dad well, but I knew him my entire life. His younger sister was in my class from pre-school through high school. I hope he's looking down and approves!
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