Rhea's Memory Quilt

I adore making memory quilts.  Relationships are big to me and making a custom memory quilt with a new client is my very happy place.

 

Especially when there is a good story attached.

 



 

 

Sweet Rhea and her brother lost their dear mama not long ago and I had the honor of making a memory quilt for each of them.  Well, she insisted the brother came first and Rhea's will come next. 

Mama loved color and bright clothing so I thought it was appropriate to incorporate that into the quilt.  Knowing this was going to be for a man I wanted to keep it masculine as well. 

I went with the color spectrum/rainbow layout. 

The back is warm green flannel with some extra squares down the side. 

It was really nice to get to know Rhea and her family through this journey.  I'm excited that I can continue to work with her and make something a little bit different but with the same clothes (I kept the fronts for the brother and saved the back of each clothing piece for her.) 

Included in this memory quilt are swimsuits, leather handbag pieces, sweaters, pants, tshirts, dresses, and other clothing.  The textures are my favorite part.  Lycra, cotton, spandex, leather... it was so fun to touch.

Memory quilts always allow me the chance to slow down and think about family.  The client's family I'm working with as well as my own.  I create these with peace in my heart and a prayer on lips.  I try to be timely but can't help but slow down and take a pause every so often as I consider the lives that will be touched by this quilt. 

I do pray that it will bring comfort and peace to the memories of her.  Love and blessings to you and your families.

xoxo

Once a month blogger

Well incase you can't tell... I'm totally in love with Instagram.  It's just so... insta.  So if you like seeing pictures of quilts and cute kids head on over to my page there.  Of course I'm thepincushion. 

 

So it's been a super wackadoodle fun beginning to the year.  I think I've done 15 quilts so far?  Yep that 's wackadoodle.  But thank goodness they've been really fun quilts to make! 

Here are some memory quilts for two little guys from their baby clothes + mom and dad's pajamas.  I chose the granny square quilt pattern for one and a rainbow for the other.  Seriously.  I love how they turned out. 

 

 

 

Thanks for the pic, Kate! 

After that my very best good friend asked me to make the bedding for her two girls.  A perfect change of direction of working with two little boys' quilts.  Yin and Yang!

We worked together to get ruffles, stripes, and that light flowy airy feel without being too juvenile.  I think they turned out well... let's hope the girlies do too.  Never made a ruffle quilt before.  I'm not gonna lie.  I loved it.  Ever since since having my own little girls to cohabit with I am like a 7 year old all over again.  Pink! Ruffles! Flowers! It looks like my daughter is my interior designer but nope, I pick out and hang every one of my "whimsical" art pieces.

I digress.

Sometimes this sewing thing (hobby? job? fun little time filler?) can feel like work.  Wait, let me rephrase that.  Almost never does this sewing thing feel like work.  Well maybe when I have to baste a quilt or something, but that's about it.  As long as no one asks for batik in their quilt, I'm good.  

But then there are times when the sewing thing is off the charts ridiculously fun.  Like making bedding for my friends' babes.  Or a client orders a wedding quilt and then comes back (after an appropriate amount of time!) for a baby quilt.  I am often pinching myself and thanking God I get to use needle and thread to grow relationships with people.  It's really the coolest thing out there.

Little Charlie was born a couple weeks ago and she is also getting a quilt chalk full of pink and girlie.  I really like working with bright, saturated colors.  Hopefully baby Charlie does too!  I often stumble into my sewing lair early in the morning with my cuppa Chai and need crazy bright fabric to help pry open the peepers. 

A series of quilts you will see a bunch of in the next few months are my stars quilts.  A very good friend adopted two precious girls and my gift to them were new quilts.  She already had two biological kids so quilts all around!  Honestly I hope to get them done before they go to college. 

Here is quilt one for the youngest.  I used all Sherbet Pips.  While assembling the quilt top I starting to question myself how in the world I came up with such a brilliant idea to give a 3 year old a mostly white quilt.  Yeah....

When I became a mother I made a bunch of weird rules in my head... no binkies, no TV, and NO commercially licsenced crap on or near my children. 
Ahem.

But if it's in the form of a quilt, it doesn't count, right?  Gramma got the jammies so that also doesn't count. 
And TV is ok if everyone in the house is sick and whiny. 
Binkies... I think I actually TRIED to force it in my middle daughters mouth to get her to stop crying.  She hated it and opted for 4+ years of finger sucking anyway.  Me and my orthodontist are going to be BFFs I'm guessing. 

So yeah, my son has a Spot book that he lovingly refers to as "Pots" and even (melt my heart right out of here!) "Potsies".  POTSIES!!  So when I saw little Potsies in fabric I got it and made it into a quilt in about 38 minutes.  I bought two book panels and put some batting in the middle.  No books, just quilts.  That's how I roll!

Memories

It's been a memorable year already! 

 

It has been a very good start to my quilty year.  What an honor to get to work closely with others.  We start as strangers and end as very good friends.

 

This is a wedding quilt for Ellie and Mike.  They had some really fun guests sign their quilt squares.  Must have been a lot of Lion King songs as I kept seeing "Hakuna Matata", "Elton John was here", and "Can you feel the love tonight?".  Made for a good flashback and singing songs in my head as I sewed.

 

 

Monograms and wedding date appliqued on ivory sateen.  The bride loves pink polka dots so we found the perfect backing. 

I have been so thankful to share in the memories of my clients with weddings and also in death. It is so moving to make a quilt as therapy. Even though I don't usually know my clients, I still find great comfort in hearing stories of their memories and seeing pictures of what is meaningful to them. 

This sweet, sweet woman wanted to give memory quilts as gifts.  I can't think of a better gift to give (naturally!).  She took the time to consider who would like certain parts of the garments and style of backings.  It was so touching to hear stories and get to know this lovely family through their story of clothing. 

 It reminded me of my dad and our time in the garden, stacking the wood pile, and seeing his dress clothes for work. 

Melissa and I joined forces to create these seven special quilts.  It was very touching and so good to meet Laura who asked me to take on this project.  Thank you, Laura!  Hope to have a cup of coffee and hear more about your dear family someday.

 

 

Recently I got to make a cheery bright banner for a birthday girl.  I actually made a quilt for the little one when she was born and now she's having a birthday.  Aww!  It is two-sided but the letters are only on one side.  So they are able to hang it up in the playroom or bed room year round and turn it around for birthdays.  Sweet!

 

I do hope your year is off to a good start.  Looking back at memories and looking forward to celebrations is what the new year is all about.  Today our "celebration" was longer days, a little bit of sunshine, and a cupcake picnic.  Yes, sunshine in February is always a reason to celebrate.  Eat Cake!

Hotness

Wowee it's hot in here!  I love it, though.  I am a huge fan of all four God-given seasons in this part of the world.  I really do enjoy each and every day, no matter the weather here. 

This is the first year I've planted seeds in the garden.  We usually just put my FIL's leftover tomatoes and peppers in the ground.  But this year I'm very motivated for some reason...

It's been a few weeks now and I'm happy (and surprised!) that some seeds have actually sprouted and are really and truly growing! 

These hands have also been busy in the sewing room too.  My very creative client envisioned these eclectic colors and fabrics together.  It's so super amazing to me.  Orange, fuschia, aqua... so unique and so modern.

Because I'm expecting less than 10% of my seeds to grow into food this summer (I've learned low expectations are good), we've been hitting the pick-your-own farms like crazy.  We always love those activities anyway, but this year I've ventured into the canning and preserving world.

 Strawberry jam!  Yes, it's "only" freezer jam but dagummit I made it and stacked those lovely little jars in my freezer in less than an hour.  All during baby's morning nap.   Baby steps for me.  I've never really canned before, so this was a realistic first step.  Next year I'm jumping in completely.  Probably.

My goal this year was to get outside as much as possible.  Like all the time.  We live within walking distance to a Starbucks which has been a great motivater for the girls to learn about money.  The values of each coin, paper, and when it's gone... it's gone.  My oldest got about $8 from her Easter egg hunt and has been saving it all spring.  We taught her to tithe, save, and spend. 

Her younger sister, however, has decided her currency would be a little easier to accumulate.  PomPoms seem a lot easier to come by than shiny coins, so she tries to pay for her Starbucks cake pops with fluffy round balls.  It's great.  Anyway, she asked for a change purse and I happily obliged. 

I bought the purse frame at JoAnn for about $2.  The rest of the fabric and interfacing I had on hand (scraps).  I followed a tutorial (can't remember which one now) and had it done in a couple of hours.  

It's been a few weeks and she still hasn't lost it!  It's been filled with locust skin, acorns, pebbles, and some feathers, so I take that as a good sign she likes it.

Spring and Summer mean graduation which is good for tshirt quilts!  This one was so fun to make.  I love the colors and pattern.  It was such a unique creation and made for one of the nicest girls out there.  I used a high loft batting for the first time and was amazed at the super softness of the finished quilt.  It was hard to stop touching it.  I really loved the outcome. 

Tshirt quilt #2... another twin size quilt.  My friend here had a million gajillion shirts.  So many, infact, that I had to put some on the back.  It made for a very difficult FMQing but I was able to maneuver it and coax it into submission.  I used a gray Flea Market Fancy for the back, one of my all-time favorite prints.  I think it tied in the school colors well and added a little "girliness" to all the sporty shirts.

Currently I'm working in a wonderful memory quilt for an extraordinary client.  She's more like a dear friend that I've never met in person, but just one of those that I really connect with.  Five generations of garments are going to be included.  The quilt top is done and I'm so very excited to see it come together.

The patchwork squares are 5" each.  Then I came across this 8" old patchwork square in her stack.  Hmmm... I could not take the thought of hacking into this beautifully hand-sewn treasure from the baby's great-grandmother.   So I gently unpicked the stitches and made it into 4 mini blocks with some ivory sashing to bring it to 5".  Perfect.

More on this quilt as it comes together.  I'm so pleased with the progress and know that it will be well-loved by many people.  It is such an honor to make these special heirloom quilts.  Meeting people from all over the world and getting to know their stories is always such a blessing to me. 

From college graduates to new babies and expectant mothers (and grandmothers!), it is always a joy to connect with someone who loves quilts as much as I do and feels their power to link the past to the future. 

Enjoy these summer days.  My love and I have had some great times with the kiddies and especially alone with a little wine.  We could use a little rain but we sure do enjoy the sun.

Stay cool, my friends.

Colors of Spring

I love the colors of spring...

Fuschia, lilac, yellow,

Blue and green...

Spring gives me a bag of mixed emotions.  Weather-wise it can be 80 one day and snowing the next.  But really it is the fresh air and promise of new life that is so inspiring.  Weddings, birthdays, bulbs coming up... really a lovely time of year. 

I've enjoyed my spring projects and can't wait to show you some more special projects from this spring.  Because they are bursting with color and happiness and fun!

Happy Spring!

Memory quilt is done!

Wow, what a journey it has been. I am so thrilled to:

1.) Have this finished before 2010!

2.) See the completed work of this quilt come together. Every quilt finish has a great sense of accomplishment, but this one is at the top of the list. It's very special to me.

I ordered the label from Tracey, aka The Dancing Needle on Etsy. The first one had a typo, the second one got lost in the mail, and the third one was juuuuust right. I do highly recommend Tracey's work even through the glitches. She was such a sweetie with sending replacements. Thanks, Tracey!

I had some reservations about including it. It was a surprise for the recipient. I hope a good one. I guess she could get out a seam ripper if need be. Mr Pin Cushion and I talked about if for a while and finally he just asked me what I would want if the roles were reversed. Isn't that how we should make most of our decisions concerning others? What a good man!

The binding (black dress pants) got finished up in Washington DC. We made the trip to visit my big brother for a very special promotion ceremony over the weekend. It was so perfect to be in the car with my family. It was overcast and rainy outside while I was sewing and chatting with my family inside the car. It was seriously a wonderful road trip. I can't express enough how I loved being together and sewing at the same time!

Anyway, the quilt is off to find it's home. I feel like I just sent a child away to college. But I must move on... Bubbles the Bunny awaits.

A new commission to re-create this rabbit for a local ventriloquist. I'm way excited to make this thing, it's a great opportunity. Just got back from the craft store with styrofoam balls, felt, cork board, and polyfil. Honestly, I do feel a tad panicked. But I draw a lot of inspiration from the show Ace of Cakes on Food Network. Every episode seems to involve their creative juices, a mishap, and how they really think themselves out of another pickle. It helps me to feel better that very successful artisans also make mistakes and not everything comes naturally and perfectly every single time.

Updates to come!

Check it out!

Jelly roll giveaway at Missourit Quilt Company!

I recently discovered my love for jelly rolls when doing the Picadilly quilt a few months ago. Now I crave them.



By the way, the Memory Quilt is getting quilted. I am so happy with this one.

And today is the first day of preschool. It's been good but weird. I miss that little monkey.

August in review

Oopsy! There goes August and summer for that matter. I've been working and taking pictures and here are a few highlights of where I've been.

First of all, the memory quilt back is finished! It has actually been added to since this picture, but just border-type thingies.

HOPEFULLY the completed finished totally done picture will be up soon...

I know I'm not breaking any records with my slowness of making this one. The quilt was getting so bulky with all the different fabrics, so I went in search of a walking foot.

Dear Walking Foot Inventor, I love you.

And yay for tomatoes! And peppers! Each year our piddly little garden is a little less piddly. I once read a tip in a gardening magazine in a waiting room or somewhere about putting used coffee grounds on the soil for composting. WOW, best tip ever. Since that seemed to work so well, we just put the rest of our food scraps out there too (you know, the normal stuff like peels and seeds).

Add a little princess charm and voila - more tomatoes than we know what to do with! I always thought that was the mark of a successful gardener - giving away heaps of things while saying, "we have so many, we just couldn't possibly use them all". It translates as "I'm such a remarkable gardener. Did I mention I was generous too?" Sorry, I digress. But hey, we got tomatoes.

And we had a birthday here. Mr. Incredible got a lemon cake on a special plate. He is one super awesome fantastic guy. Really. He works his little brain all day and comes home to his "housefull of honeys". Usually one of us is crying, but he somehow manages to act happy to be here. And he keeps coming home to this estrogen palace, so that's a bonus. It's really something to keep falling in love with the same man after all these years. We've both kind of changed, matured, had two new people enter our lives, and sometimes it's weird to think we knew each so long ago. Ya know, back when we drank cheap beer and slept till noon? Anyway, I never know how to appropriately celebrate the birthday for the love of my life, but we were together with Chinese food and a bottle of wine.

I think he was ok with that.

Quilt top done!

Yay! The quilt top is done. Sorry for the bad lighting. A very rainy and dark day here, not much natural light. I still have some white shirting left, so there may be some sort of border, but the major part of the top is done. I hope the recipient is liking the progress! Now onto designing a back with the remainder of the garments left. Usually I can whip out a quilt in no time, but I really feel nervous in between these major steps.

Layout

Isn't this just darling? The temperature actually got above 70 a few days ago, so we hit the pool. Well, actually it's a sandbox 90% of the time, but for a few gloriously warm days, we have a pool.

And I also accomplished a layout. Well, a first round anyway. There's a lot for the eye to take in, so I know this will be moved around quite a bit. Actually while the pictures were uploading (my least favorite part about blogging), I rearranged most of the squares. And if the recipient (you know who you are!) or anyone else for that matter has any suggestions, I am certainly open to them.

I think this one is my favorite. There are many favorites, but this one and I bonded very late one night. The center squares are from many pieces of a tie. Three of them were big enough to work with, but then I was left with eleventy million tiny pieces and a whole lotta willpower. The fourth square has at least 12 seams in it. And it only measures 1 1/2 inches. Every quilt has a story and I think this one could have a mini series!