My Memory Quilt

I finished my memory quilt right before Christmas. This is just one in a series of memory quilts made for family from my late stepfather's clothing.

If you want to learn how to make your own, similar memory quilt visit my tutorial for Making a Memory Quilt here!

I started with plans for several memory quilts months ago, sketching out some simple designs. My kiddo Fidget picked the sketch at the lower right for her memory quilt, the first one I made. I picked the sketch at the lower right for my quilt.

The designs are simple on purpose, with big blocks to really show off the fabrics and to allow for a faster finish (because let's face it, memory quilts like these are emotional to sew).

I picked a handful of shirts that I liked, and added a red shirting fabric for contrast. I ran out of the red fabric (yikes, I was so close!) and ended up using a small bit of a red shirt to fill out the blocks in the quilt.

The patchwork did go together really quickly.

I quilted with simple straight lines that outline one block towards one corner of the quilt.

This was the first time I quilted a larter piece with my new table, which worked great when I fully extended it!

I used a soft, 100% cotton flannel for the backing, and knew it would be super cozy when popped through a wash and dry cycle.

And it did! The quilt was an immediate hit with the whole family.

The cats don't want to leave the quilt alone.

Even when I'm using it!

When my mom was ready to clean out my stepfather's closet, I asked her first to pick out a selection of clothing that were her favorites for me to make a quilt. I've set those aside while making these other quilts, and will unpack these now to start making her special quilt. This will be a difficult quilt to make, knowing how much she loves him and that she's still struggling without him.

I'll probably take a break from memory quilt making after finishing my mom's piece, although I still hope to make some more later on in the new year. I've also had my eye on some very clever ornaments made from recycled clothing by Zack Foster on his Instagram, and I love the idea! Definitely saving all the bits and scraps from these quilts to make some super tiny mini's later on.