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Friday, July 5, 2013

Our Ten Memory Quilts

Last September our brother-in-law passed away.  Many many of you shared your hearts and prayers with us and we were so grateful.  Our sister and her husband have 10 children.  In the weeks and months after his passing we decided we wanted to make memory quilts using his shirts for the kids.  Greg was a Junior High science teacher and had a huge amount of button up shirts.  We didn't use any of his knit t-shirts, lots of the kids have taken those over as PJ's.  


Our mom was the major force in this project.  There were a couple nights with cousins and sisters-in-law where they were cutting squares but it was a huge amount of work from our mom.  Once the squares were cut our sister, Amy, separated them for each of her kids.  Certain shirts in the quilts they all remember and some shirts were special to specific kids.

All the squares for tops were spread out, I did 3 in Arizona and I know several more family members and friends helped here.  I don't know exactly who so my apologies for not recognizing you specifically.  From there our phenomenal amazing Aunt Wendy quilted every one of these.  Seriously.  We love her, she is so kind and generous.


None of these quilts have been washed.  Some shirts still smell like their daddy and we want to keep it that way for as long as possible.

I created a few bindings for these quilts but another step to label the quilts was supposed to be part of my contribution.  However my massive somewhat sudden move left me with no time.

I contacted Jennifer from Jennifer's Jewels.  She created the most beautiful personalized tags for our nieces and nephews.  All 10 have the child's name and then have the same personalized saying that our sister decided on.


I wasn't able to be there but Heather and my mom delivered the quilts to the family in their newly finished home.  9 out of 10 were there, the oldest is working up at school for the summer.  From what I was told it was a happy time and not sad.  That's good :)


Aren't they gorgeous??  That picture warms my heart.  Now they each have a piece of their dad forever.  They can snuggle it when they're missing him.  Each shirt may hold a memory of him.  I'm so happy I was able to be a small part of this project.

Also for any of you concerned please know that our sister Amy is getting her own memory quilt of her husband. She wanted a little more time and wants to really make it special with the shirts and design.  We also made her a quilt as an "I love you" a few months back.




I wanted to quickly again say THANK YOU to Jennifer.  She so generously donated her time and product for these kids, without asking for a single thing in return.  I would encourage you to use Jennifer's Jewels for your quilts labels.  Not only is she kind and generous but she creates beautiful custom tags.  Thank you Jennifer!
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33 comments:

Sarah @ sarahquilts.com said...

This is just beautiful and part of why I love quilts so much.

Phyllis said...

A lovely, beautiful story and picture(s). Very touching. Best wishes for your sister and her kids.

Phyllis said...

A lovely, beautiful story and picture(s). Very touching. Best wishes for your sister and her kids.

Catherine said...

Very touching. So loving of you (and all the family & friends that helped)to create these meaningful gifts.

Anonymous said...

Dear Heather and Megan, thank you for sharing this story of your family! These quilts became so beautiful and special! But I wish they were not needed and he was still wearing his shirts ...
x Teje

jan said...

I just love all those beautiful and sweet smiling faces. I am so glad you and your family members were able to make and give these quilts to them - I am sure they will always love and cherish each one. That is what family and that is what quilts do. Thank you for sharing and now I am off to see about ordering me some labels from Jennifer!

Little Penpen said...

I love those quilts wrapped around all those smiling faces!! The labels are very cool, too! Great job everybody!

SewSara said...

Wow!!!! That pic gave me goosebumps. Minky on the back of all? I love that they still smell like their dad...amazing. and jennifer is awesome!! I have always ordered from her as well!!!

Sarah said...

I don't normally comment but I absolutely adore this. This is amazing.

Sew Nomadic said...

I'm in tears, so beautiful. An amazing display of true love and compassion. I'm sure those kids appreciate all the hard work and love that went into those quilts. What a wonderful story!

RobotMomSews said...

This is so amazing! You guys are awesome and what a heartfelt way to keep his memory alive. ♥

Amie D said...

What a wonderful story and pictures! You all did a very beautiful thing and I'm sure they will treasure them always!

Liz said...

What a beautiful and moving tribute :)

Jocelyn said...

What a sweet and beautiful thing to do. I know these quilts will be cherished.

Ali said...

What a special and beautiful thing to do.

audrey said...

Very special. What a great way to remember dad.:)

Anonymous said...

What a great idea... Hugs to all of them!! Glad to see them smiling!

Polly @ Pieces by Polly said...

The quilts (and the kids) look wonderful. I'm glad to hear that they're doing as well as can be expected through this difficult time.

Dee said...

You ladies, and all those who lovingly gave of their time and talent...rock! Thank you for being lights!

Anonymous said...

Our quilt group recently made 5 quilts for a family that lost their dad/husband. None of us knew the 4 kids and the mom, but one of our members told us about them. I wish I could say we all jumped on board the project with open hearts and minds but we complained about making 5 quilts instead of just one. We were given the dad's shirts, all button-down shirts and we swallowed our complaints and got to sewing. Seeing your pictures and seeing the happy faces on the kids makes me so happy we did the right thing. Our quilts turned out great, and we're told the family loved them - they all had happy tears. Thanks so much for posting this! Nan

Lilpuddin said...

What a wonderful tribute to your brother-in-law and a thoughtful way to share memories of him with his kids. So sorry for your family's loss and thank you for sharing.

Anita said...

What beautiful gifts. I am so sorry for your family's loss. I'm sure the quilts will bring some comfort.

Emily said...

What a beautiful way to remember him. Thanks for sharing.

Elaine said...

That's a gift that keeps on giving, so much love. Thanks for sharing

Christine said...

Quilts heal hearts. I think it's because of all the prayers that are said while they are being made. These are beautiful meaningful treasures made from love and memories.

Sili said...

I love this. I'm looking to do some memory quilts for my siblings with my mom's clothing but I don't quilt so I'll have to find someone that does. These look beautiful. What a great gift!

Michele said...

They are just fabulous and I know they are instant treasures, ones they will hold onto for the rest of their lives.

Katie said...

I definitely cried reading this post a few weeks ago. A beautiful gesture for your nieces and nephews. And thanks for linking up to 100 Quilts.

Karen said...

What a beautiful picture. This is a very heart warming story. This is what quilts are suppose to be "quilts of love and hugs".

Unknown said...

Such a lovely story and the photograph of the children with the finished quilts is wonderful to see. Bless whoever had this idea and those who made it happen.

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