One of the greatest joys of creating Memory quilts like this one is getting to know both the family of the people who commission the piece as well as the people who are to receive it.
In this case, we learned a lot about Renee, Michael and their lovely two daughters. Renee contacted us in January and asked us to make a memory quilt to celebrate her parent’s 50 wedding anniversary. She wanted to incorporate an article of clothing from as many members of the family as possible and gathered up everything from pajamas from Japan to yarmulkes from family Bar Mitzvahs. Yet, in keeping with the decor of her parent’s bedroom, the overall design had to be somewhat formal. We settled on a single monogram, the ‘R’, in the midst of complementary pastel colors.
The ‘R’ was created using foundation piecing surrounded by a deep green narrow border. It was centered on a field of blue and positioned such that it would be the focal point of the quilt as it lay upon a bed. All fabrics were chosen by the family over numerous trips to the local quilt store (www.quiltstore.com) . But it was the fabric chosen by the little girls that was the most fun. 
Turn the quilt over and you will see a sea of BBQ signs in very vivid colors. When I asked the girls why they had chosen that fabrics, their answer was perfect – they knew their grandparents loved BBQ and so wanted them to have that be part of the quilt!
I love the photo of the family in front of the quilt. The pride and pleasure in this gift made all the many months of debate, design and execution well worth it.
overthetopquilting
