This blog post is all about Charlie and his memory quilt. I have decided to forgo my usually long rambling info and get straight in to the good stuff. And what can be better than 12 years of memories crammed into a quilt!
Boys clothes are so much fun to work with. They don’t usually have the small details you see in girls pieces but are more striking in terms of pattern and bold imagery. So it means their memory quilts pack a punch. What was funny about working with Charlie’s is that my own son, Cooper, had some of the same clothes in his wardrobe growing up – especially the football clothes and Scooby Doo pieces. This became my own personal stroll down memory lane at times. Then it caused a touch of guilt as I realised Cooper’s own quilt is half finished in my cupboard along with his sister’s. I guess that is the reality of being a quilters kid at the end of the day.
Due to the sheer size of the patterns on some of his tees I worked with 16″ (40cm) blocks. This allowed me to get as much detail from the larger sizes as possible. It meant a good mix of simple and quite detailed squares.
Some of my favourite parts of his tees couldn’t me cut into squares or rectangles due to the shape of the clothing so I added them on afterwards. There was no way Scooby was being left off and he became a gorgeous fun detail all of his own as a result.
Obviously working with squares that large meant that squares featuring baby clothes were extremely detailed. As much as possible I tried to work with complimentary colours so that there was some order but the reality is the mix of colours made everything all the more fun in the end. Little extra details were added on afterwards ranging from tiny pocket details to the large giraffe. And how cute is that chimp!
I kept quilting very simple as always and just did straight lines a couple of inches apart. With so many different fabrics in the quilt top I wanted to make sure I didn’t stretch anything in the final stages.
At the request of Charlie’s parents I backed the quilt in cosy flannel. I love working with Flannel and back all my own quilts in it. It is soft and adds warmth while still being 100% cotton. Plus it is so much easier to work with from a quilting perspective as I find it just doesn’t move as much when you are pinning the quilt.
I kept the binding simple and plain red – simplicity is always key. It frames the quilt beautifully.
Photo shoot time – a simple chair on a white background was all we needed. I do love this as a background for detailed quilts.
It was such a pleasure creating this quilt for Charlie and his family. Memory quilts are a quite way to keep your favourite clothing without having them tucked away in boxes, after all I often wonder what our kids are supposed to do with many of the things we tuck away for them, unable to throw away. A quilt will always be able to be used and loved. It is a win win really.
There are still a couple of spots left in my store for custom quilts for this year. You can find more information here. If you would like a memory quilt of your own but want to chat through the process first please contact me and we can have a chat.
So halfway though 2018 and another quilt finished. More importantly another blog post written. There is still a lot more to come and most of it is pretty! And now as we stare down the barrel of a brand shiny new week I hope your coffee is hot and flowing freely.
Sarah x
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