Creating A Crochet Baby Blanket Gift

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.

Now, women are making selvedge edge quilts, using strips cut from the sides or edges of cotton fabric. The selvedge prevents unraveling and holds onto hooks during the printing process. This edge is mostly white with the manufacturer's name and logo, the designer or collection's name, and a chart of the colors used printed on it. Selvedge edges are cut completely off and thrown away. Today, they are saved for a new purpose.

Blanket Quilt Comfort Food: Exchange a bite of Mac and Cheese or Beef Stew (ok Bourguignon, you Julie and Julia Fans!) as a promise to nurture one another. Serve it at your reception. Have it on your buffets when you entertain during the fall, or have the annual mac and cheese (or whatever) party once you're married.

I scanned the photos and then printed them onto photo transfer sheets. I ironed the transfer on to a piece of white material that was just a little bit larger than the picture. The white square and photo was sewn on top of one of the 12" blue squares. I then added eyelet trim and blue ribbon around each photo. Putting dark blue ribbon on a light blue square, and light blue ribbon on a dark blue square.

I decided on using 35 pictures for Peggy's memory quilt. I chose pictures that showed her children at different stages of their lives. As well as pictures showing her and her husbands age regression. Her favorite color is blue, so I chose a dark blue with a light blue design, and a light blue with a dark blue design for the blocks. One thing to keep in mind when doing one for a person with Alzheimer's' is to try and keep the material fairly plain or quiet. When using a material that is very busy or loud, it just adds to their overall confusion. Something you definitely do not want.

This caused most families to start saving bits and pieces of scrap material. It was not uncommon to see bins of random materials scattered in small piles of the early colonial homes as they hoped to gather enough to eventually construct a quilt.

Another way to customize a blanket is by including text in it. This may be a favorite punch line; a line from a song; a secret code between the two of you; a meaningful date; or even a surname.