Baby Linens In Your Nursery

Shortly after her death I came across the quilt that she made for my mother a few years before losing her eyesight. Suddenly it began to dawn upon me. When I looked at the quilt, I did not see a blanket. Instead, I saw a scrapbook made from material. It was as if, by looking at the quilt, I was paging through my family album. I remembered the times when we baked cookies with my mother, the times when my sisters and I played with our tea-set, the first "Superman"-movie I saw with my dad, my first day at school, the visits we had with our grandparents and many other special memories. Each memory was carefully interwoven into this quilt.

Then, my grandmother became very ill. She gradually lost her eyesight, and eventually was unable to continue busying herself with the needlecraft she so much loved. Her life, once so meaningful, was reduced to her bed and her chair in her old-age home. The final straw was when she developed gangrene in her left foot. The operation to amputate part of her left leg was too severe an intervention for a woman of her age, and she died at the age of eighty-seven.

Blanket Quilt Turn and press this rectangle over the seam allowance, again pressing away from the center piece. Trim the seam allowance close to the stitching line.

First, you need to find two boards, ideally of a hardwood such as oak. It is crucial that they are longer than the width of your quilt. Next, you need to staple or stitch a piece of durable material around the boards, such as heavy cotton or denim. Form the fabric into a slack tube, loose enough to leave a flap of fabric to which the quilt ends can be attached, while ensuring that the material is firmly fixed to the boards.

Another way to make a memory quilt is to use all new fabric with a different approach. You could make each square a representation of some part or event of a child's life. Each square would be embellished by applique, embroidery, scanned pictures, iron-on letters, fabric paint or whatever you like. You could ask important people from the child's life to contribute a square or two and to sign their square with their name.

Squaring the quilt: After the pieces have been sewn together take a couple of measurements on the upper half and lower half of your quilt. They should be the same. Also take a couple of measurements the other direction. If they are the same you should have an evenly proportioned quilt.

If you want your custom blankets to look more personalized, you can have one large photo, or a collage of photos printed on them. Images should be of high quality so they will look better in the finished product. Certainly, your blanket will be a gift that will always be treasured.