Sunday, May 20, 2012

2011 Memory Quilt


The main reason I started blogging was to document my quilting efforts, so that I could remind myself of what I had finished and inspire myself to greater creativity and productivity. I have come to enjoy blogging for its own sake, though, and found that I wanted something tangible to remember my quilts by. I love using leftovers from a finished quilt in a new quilt, but wanted one quilt to represent all the quilts I finished in 2011. The first two quilts I finished last year used the Yellow Brick Road pattern, which resulted in very little “waste.” Most of the scraps were less than 2” wide, so I decided to make postage stamp blocks out of 1.5” squares. The sashing, backing and binding are also made out of scraps. The last block is a big scrap of Lizzy House’s Pearl Bracelet fabric, embroidered with the year and my initials in my own handwriting.



2011 was a challenging year for me. In fact, it was one of the most difficult periods in my relatively short life. Still, I managed to finish nine quilts, thanks to this blog, the online quilting community and my loving and supportive family. I hung this quilt on a wall of my sewing nook and every time I look at it, I think of the people that I made those quilts for: two little babies who are now walking, a dear friend, my husband’s grandma (twice), my grandma, my mother-in-law, my mother and my sweet girl.  Sometimes, I look at this quilt and think of how much I accomplished during a difficult time, and it gives me hope that I will accomplish even more in the future.


 
Name: 2011 Memory Quilt
Pattern: Postage Stamp blocks
Fabric: Scraps from projects finished in 2011
Started: September 2011
Finished: March 2012
Amy's Creative Side

12 comments:

  1. Such a great idea and keepsake! This would make a fantastic annual project.

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  2. Such a sweet idea. I love the idea of a memory quilt each year. You're amazing, sweet girl. XO

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  3. What a lovely idea. Many memories in that quilt for sure.

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  4. That is a great idea! Hopefully this year is going to be easier and better and more beautiful quilts!

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  5. That is a very cool idea. Love it. May 2012 be smoother sailing!

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  6. that is such a great idea! A lovely way to remember things, and also use up a whole lot of scraps. Brilliant!

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  7. Wonderful! I hope 2012 is a better year for you.

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  8. Very spectacular, i love this:)))

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  9. What a wonderful story to this quilt! Really, so special and sweet of you to share this with us all. It is beautiful for so many reasons. I blog for myself too, not to gain a huge crowd to talk to, but to look back at my projects and reflect on what I learned and why I love quilting so much. This is one of my favorite quilts in the festival so far!

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  10. I love the idea of a memory quilt-- yours is just lovely! I'm in awe of how productive you managed to be, and how much you were able to give, even during a hard year. That is so inspiring. Thanks so much for sharing your story! :)

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  11. Beautiful quilt, thanks so much for sharing! I especially love your signature block.

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