Memorial Pillows

I'm sure many of you have completed t-shirt quilts before for friends and loved ones. The quilts are versatile in size, fairly easy to construct and can focus on one or several events while telling a story. I've only made two...one for my daughter that focuses on high school sports that has yet to be quilted and another one...a memorial quilt...for a friend of my SIL who lost her son suddenly three days before Christmas. You can read about Bryant's Quilt for his mother here.

At first my SIL requested pillows for Bryant's family after receiving a pillow from me that was constructed using some of my late Father's shirts. 

You all, I know, are familiar with the process of how projects evolve...Talk of pillows led to talk of a quilt which led to the birth of the above memorial quilt. After the quilt was completed the challenge was on... to make the pillows from leftover t-shirts used in the quilt.  Okay...I'd only completed one other t-shirt quilt...can I do t-shirt pillows too?! 

Yes I can.....!

They turned out quite festive and I hoped they would bring joy to Bryant's family members. The entire front of the pillow and ruffle was made from the t-shirts I received. I've never ruffled t-shirt fabric before so it was a first for me...well...the t-shirt pillows were a first too, so why not have many firsts in a single project!

I used the disappearing pinwheel block as demonstrated by Jenny Doan...

 ...And added some deco stitching from the sewing machine. 

For all you sewing and quilting purist out there...how do you like the way my stripes lined up?! The funny thing is I wasn't even trying to line them up, didn't even think about it, and only noticed it after I took this photo. This phenomena (a true phenomena because I'm far from exhibiting characteristics of a  sewing/quilting purist) occurred on all three pillows that had the striped fabric! 

My only explanation is that Bryant was over my shoulder quietly guiding me as I was piecing the fabric!

The ruffle edges were finished with a loose serged rolled hem to give it a primitive look...

...and I added a side zipper under the ruffle for easy removal of the pillow form. Piecing the ruffle was decided upon because my t-shirt scraps were getting quite low and I didn't have enough of each t-shirt color to complete an entire pillow. 

My last task included a machine embroidered memorial to Bryant on the reverse of each pillow. 

It is my and my SILs hope that these pillows, as they are being hugged or looked upon, will bring a small amount of joy and comfort to Bryant's loved ones. 

So... do you know what you need to do right now...right this minute....???????

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Go hug a friend or loved one because we never know if it will be the last.

Happy Living! Happy Loving!

A Memorial Quilt for Bryant

Bryant, a friend of my brother and sister-in-law,  passed away suddenly a few days before Christmas 2013.  Bryant was in his mid 40s and his death, of course, was devastating to family and friends. While most folks were doing last minute Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve, Bryant's family members were shopping for funeral attire.  My SIL, who is best friends with Bryant's mother, wanted to present her with a quilt in memory of her son.

I'd not had the pleasure of knowing Bryant, but was honored to get to know him while my SIL and I worked together planning the quilt. Our final decision was a t-shirt quilt that was to include pictures of Bryant and his two lovely daughters along with various t-shirts that Bryant favored. 

It happened that my mother came for a two week visit in March and the plans were for her to bring the finished quilt back with her to give to my SIL. While Mother was here we had loads of fun attending the Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop, planning my indoor hydroponic garden plus we were able to work on and finish Bryant's Quilt. We both had a marvelous time working side by side as the quilt came together. Most importantly we had quality mother-daughter time that will always be remembered and cherished by me,  just as Bryant's family will always remember and cherish him. 

Quilting is suitable for all life events and even though Bryant's Quilt was made because of a sad life event, its making created happy moments of laughter and fellowship that my Mother and I shared together...moments that I will always remember. And even though I did not know  Bryant, I thank him for the happy life event that was shared with my mother by making this quilt. Even in death one can still bring joy to those left behind. 

Bryant's Quilt

As of this photo the borders still need to be added. We used batiks for the sashing and the quilt borders.

He enjoyed outdoor sports so I embroidered designs on a couple of the shirts.

It's difficult to see in this photo, but two of the t-shirts had pockets in which I embroidered a heart and a fancy design on the fabric.  Since the pocket of a t-shirt covers the human heart, love ones can put their hand in the pocket for a few minutes and dwell between the hearts. 

I thread binded the quilt with my Serger using a wave stitch. I love this stitch and finding I'm doing it more often instead of tradition binding.

And then....

...Mother and I wrapped up in the finished quilt.  My motto is a newly finished quilt should immediately be wrapped around someone!

Have you made a memory quilt or a t-shirt quilt? 

It was an honor to make this one.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you have a blessed day.

Happy Living! Happy Quilting!