Memory Quilts

Yes, you read that right: Memory Quilts, not Memory Books, as in scrapbooking.  I owe the idea for this project to a good friend of mine.  She approached me five years ago with her idea: she had saved her sons' baby clothes and she wanted them made into quilts to give to her grandchildren.  Naively, I agreed to make the quilts for little more than the cost of the supplies.

It was only when I sat down to look, really look, at the bags of baby clothes she brought, that the enormity of the task dawned on me.  Most of the clothes were of a knit material, so I had to iron them onto interfacing.  But that wasn't even the first step!  The first step was to meticulously cut the clothes apart, followed by the ironing.  Then, the fabric was finally ready to be cut and sewn into a quilt top.

Last summer, I completed the quilts for her oldest son.  She wanted two quilts for each boy.  A few weeks ago, I finally completed the two quilts for her youngest son.

Here are some close-ups of the blocks.  As I cut out blocks, I tried to get the main parts of the clothing: whether it be a design, a pocket, the pearl snaps down a western shirt, or anything else.

She loved the quilts - so much so that she is already planning to have me make some like them for her little girl that is due next month.  I'm not so sure about going through all that work again :-).