Last Friday my niece, Michelle, tagged me on facebook with a request of her friend, Angela. Angela wanted a memory quilt made with clothing from her dear friend, Erika, who had passed away recently.
When Angela and I touched base, she said she had some bandannas and a skirt that had a large sun on it that Erika had loved and worn a lot. Erika's mother had allowed her to choose some things and these were very personal to Erika. She had a condition called Alopecia that caused her to loose all her hair so she wore the bandannas a lot.
My first thought was, "Oh, boy, this is going to be a piece of cake. Bandannas are large and can be sewn together quickly. I can get this done in no time"
Friday night Angela brought the things over and told me a little bit about Erika. She had the Alopecia since childhood, she was a wonderful friend, she loved and missed her very much and Erika loved purple and butterflies, had the heart of a hippy, the soul of a gypsy and the spirit of a fairy. Here's a photo Angela sent me yesterday of her and Erika-Erika, of course is the one wearing the fairy wings:
I looked at the bandannas and skirt spread out on the dining room table with new eyes-maybe cut that large sun from the skirt and create a peaceful scene with it coming up over a mountain or something and Angela suggested maybe the light blue ones could be the sky-WELL-there went that piece of cake right out the window. So much for just piecing a bunch of large squares together! But, hey, I love a good challenge.
Just WHAT do you do with a pile of 14 bandannas and a brown corduroy skirt with a great big patched sun on it???????:
These aren't the usual fabrics I create my landscapes from.
I took Angela on a tour through my quilting area in the garage that looks like a total disaster area. Showed her my long arm quilter Erika's quilt would be quilted on. She looked through my fabrics-I told her I love batiks, it seems Erika did also. She saw a couple of butterfly prints and she is trusting me to create this special quilt. Well, as it turns out-2 quilts. Could I possibly squeak another quilt from the 14 bandannas and the skirt for their friend, Kelly? OK-I did say I liked a good challenge, didn't I?
Before Angela got home that night I had cut the folk art sun from the skirt and had pretty well decided that, yes, it could come up over a mountain and maybe a pond and a tree.
Then that changed with a message from Angela when she got home:
"I forgot to tell you but Erika really loved the ocean so if we could incorporate that into the scene that would be great"
Me: "I've already cut out the sun, was thinking of it rising over water instead of a mountain"
"also can use the brown skirt as a trunk of tree but that can be a palm to give an island feel-what do you think?"
Angela: "we went to Mexico together on vaca so that would be cool"
Me: "would you mind if I split the sun and make two of the medallion centers, one for you and one for Kelly, I think it will work"
And so it went last Friday, a whole new adventure into making a memory quilt from plain old bandannas and a brown corduroy skirt and I am almost completely engrossed in this process.
I hope you enjoy creating as much as I do, may the joy of crafting be upon you.
Carolyn Wainscott
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My first thought was, "Oh, boy, this is going to be a piece of cake. Bandannas are large and can be sewn together quickly. I can get this done in no time"
Friday night Angela brought the things over and told me a little bit about Erika. She had the Alopecia since childhood, she was a wonderful friend, she loved and missed her very much and Erika loved purple and butterflies, had the heart of a hippy, the soul of a gypsy and the spirit of a fairy. Here's a photo Angela sent me yesterday of her and Erika-Erika, of course is the one wearing the fairy wings:
I looked at the bandannas and skirt spread out on the dining room table with new eyes-maybe cut that large sun from the skirt and create a peaceful scene with it coming up over a mountain or something and Angela suggested maybe the light blue ones could be the sky-WELL-there went that piece of cake right out the window. So much for just piecing a bunch of large squares together! But, hey, I love a good challenge.
Just WHAT do you do with a pile of 14 bandannas and a brown corduroy skirt with a great big patched sun on it???????:
These aren't the usual fabrics I create my landscapes from.
I took Angela on a tour through my quilting area in the garage that looks like a total disaster area. Showed her my long arm quilter Erika's quilt would be quilted on. She looked through my fabrics-I told her I love batiks, it seems Erika did also. She saw a couple of butterfly prints and she is trusting me to create this special quilt. Well, as it turns out-2 quilts. Could I possibly squeak another quilt from the 14 bandannas and the skirt for their friend, Kelly? OK-I did say I liked a good challenge, didn't I?
Before Angela got home that night I had cut the folk art sun from the skirt and had pretty well decided that, yes, it could come up over a mountain and maybe a pond and a tree.
Then that changed with a message from Angela when she got home:
"I forgot to tell you but Erika really loved the ocean so if we could incorporate that into the scene that would be great"
Me: "I've already cut out the sun, was thinking of it rising over water instead of a mountain"
"also can use the brown skirt as a trunk of tree but that can be a palm to give an island feel-what do you think?"
Angela: "we went to Mexico together on vaca so that would be cool"
Me: "would you mind if I split the sun and make two of the medallion centers, one for you and one for Kelly, I think it will work"
And so it went last Friday, a whole new adventure into making a memory quilt from plain old bandannas and a brown corduroy skirt and I am almost completely engrossed in this process.
I hope you enjoy creating as much as I do, may the joy of crafting be upon you.
Carolyn Wainscott
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I
design quilts, children's wear, AG doll clothing, crafts, home decor.
My patterns are available in PDF format
@
~http://www.craftsy.com/user/pattern/store/43851
~https://www.etsy.com/shop/QuiltingCarolyn
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