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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Memory Quilt

Over the past couple of years I have been making T-Shirt Memory quilts for friends and through on line orders [see my Etsy store :)] But I wanted take a different approach to it last month. I wanted to find a way to use my late grandfather's dress shirts to make a quilt for my grandmother for Christmas.
This is what I came up with:

I started with about five of his shirts and cut off the arms so that I had the large back piece and the front panels. I took them to Joann's to find coordinating fabric.
The solid color fabric are my grandfathers dress shirts and the two printed fabrics are quilting fabric from the store.

I figured out how large I wanted to make the quilt and decided with would be easiest to work with 12x12 squares. I cut the fabric into 2", 3", and 4" widths.

Then I sewed them together into the 12" squares then into rows.



And sewed all of the rows together:


Once the quilt was completely pieced together I laid it on that backing with the batting in the middle and pinned it all together:

I decided to do the actual quilting myself and thought it would be simplest to use just straight lines.
I measured diagonally down the middle to create a starting point and guide line:

Using a quilting bar I just slowly made different sized widths at random. I worked from the middle out to help keep everything symmetrical and in place. 

It will take some practice to make it perfect but I was very happy with the final result:

Finally I trimmed all of the excess fabric and batting off around the edges and bound the quilt  by hand.


Here is Mimi with it on Christmas Day:

Isn't she cute?? :)

19 comments:

  1. That is such a great idea and came out so cute, (like your mimi)! I have a bunch of completed quit squares that my great-grandmother hand pieced probably back in the 50's, (maybe even the 40's or 60's) that I want to put together and finish. I'm too chicken to try it at the moment though since I'm so new to sewing. You may have just inspired me though... :-)

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    1. Thank yoU! Mimi Is super cute! :) YOu should totally put them together! Just take you time, use lots of pins, and I'm sure it will turn out great! Plus if you mess up a bit - the stitches are removable! Good Luck! <3

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  2. Beautiful in thought and work!

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  3. That is beautiful! Great job Alex!

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  4. Grandma is adorable and looks so happy with her special quilt! Great job! I found you at Ginger Snap!

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  5. this quilt is such a sweet idea - it turned out great and love your blog. i nominated you for the liebster award - check out my blog to see what to do! jackiejade.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you, that is very sweet of you! I will definitely hop over and check out your blog! Have a great weekend <3

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  6. I've got the fabric to start my very first quilt but I've been putting it off because I'm a bit scared... thanks to you, I'm going to get my materials out and start working!

    I'm your newest follower from the blog hop!

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    1. Thank you for following!! Good luck on your quilt project.. Once you get started I'm sure it will go great! :) Its much simpler than it looks. Have a great week! <3

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  7. This is awesome. Love how this turned out!

    Hopping by and following your lovely blog's twitter and Pinterest. I blog @ Getting Healthy with Essential Oils

    I am also inviting you to join Tiddle Diddle Handmade Shoppe's first giveaway event.

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  8. Following from the blog hop. Such a sweet idea. My mom and I have been contemplating doing these from my father's shirts(he passed away in 2009) We would like to give them to each of my children, I think you motivated me. cheermamadrama.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you! You should definitely do them! They are such a great gift and hold such great memories, and they will last a lifetime! <3

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  9. This is such a lovely idea! What a great way to preserve memories in a beautiful way! Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Mimi looks so cute holding it up! This is a wonderful idea.

    Blessings from Oklahoma,
    Meredith

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