Quilt 4 of 4: A colorful celebration of life & Memories on the Green

This is the fourth (and final) quilt in a series of four memorial quilts I created for one family, using clothing upcycled from their lost husband, uncle, brother, friend. I was so honored to be a part of the storytelling of these special keepsake quilts and their memories for this particular family, and so humbled to offer these small comforts amid their grief.

Memorial quilts offer comfort during grief, but also joy in remembering, and this quilt in particular is a joyful celebration of a life well lived. While each of the quilts in this series honors a unique person in its own way, this one is bursting with bold color, playful charm, and lively spirit.

Made from an extensive collection of colorful golf shirts, this quilt is made to evoke memories that are equally vibrant. Its intended recipient is his brother and favorite golfing buddy, and I hope this becomes a daily reminder of fun and connection in its new home.

Honoring a Life Lived in Motion

There’s something powerful about remembering someone through the activities they loved. The rhythms, rituals, and gear that accompanied their happiness. In this case, it was golf. I don’t know a lot about golf despite living near a golf course, but I picture early tee times, sun-warmed grass, the calm focus of lining up a putt, the low-stakes drama of friendly competition between brothers.

The first quilt in this series, the Warm Hearts quilt, exuded warmth and affection. The Tranquil Tribute Storm at Sea quilt used precise piecing and professional clothing to reflect calm capability and thoughtful intention. The third quilt, the Heart-Shaped Space quilt, represented authenticity and a quiet stability through its calm neutral shades and its simple and modern geometry.

This quilt is made from the uniform of a life in motion, worn during laughter-filled mornings and shared moments of sport, literal fun and games!

Fabrics Made for the FairWay: Polo shirts and performance knits

As I mentioned in previous posts in this series, my role in creating a memorial quilt from clothing items is to use my emotional distance to make the aesthetic decisions that go into a quilt. (When you’re grieving a loss, you might not have the bandwidth to know which items would look great in a quilt). You focus on the emotional connection to each piece of clothing included, and I focus on making it a visually appealing item that will fit into your daily life and continue its storytelling journey within your family.

So after I received all the clothing that was to be used for this entire series of quilts, my first move was to group the items in a way that made sense to me artistically and aesthetically. Then, through communications with the client, some pieces were moved around among the groups in a way that stayed true to the emotional significance of each quilt, and the relationship of each quilt’s recipient to their loved one.

This customer came to the table with some ideas already. One, they wanted all of the quilts to feature hearts in the design. Two, they wanted a specific quilting motif to be used in at least one quilt (the swirling hearts pantograph was used in both the Heart-Shaped Space quilt and the Warm Hearts applique quilt). Three, (and this one was decided while I was sorting the fabrics) all the golf shirts belong together.

an impressive collection of athletic shirts

So this grouping was an easy one. A hole-in-one! The warm colors and interesting woven textures made up the first grouping. The cool blues and professional suiting made up the second. The third grouping was all soft earth-toned neutral clothing. This grouping was bright, colorful polo shirts in performance knits.

Golf shirts are made from stretch knits for range of motion, and sometimes from ‘performance’ fabrics for wicking. These require more ‘processing’ than other clothing items before incorporating them into a quilt. Knit fabrics are much easier to sew and quilt when they’ve been stabilized with a fusible interfacing or stabilizer that keeps the knit from stretching as its intended to do.

The stabilizer makes knit fabrics easier to work with, but the bulky knit fabrics still make intricate details more difficult. So we factored in simplicity and larger pieces when we chose a heart pattern for this lighthearted and delightful quilt.

A Quilt Pattern that radiates Joy: Infinite Hearts

This colorful keepsake quilt was made for someone who not only shared the fairway but shared a sibling bond. It was important that this quilt feel less like a somber artifact and more like something that radiates the energy of their connection. Years of inside jokes, missed putts, and tales from childhood that develop into something more akin to myth than anecdote.

With all keepsake quilts, my goal is to create something that fits into a recipient’s daily life, so that it continues to absorb the stories and memories around it, recollecting the memories that it already holds, and staying more accessible and huggable than a photo in an album.

The exuberant and modern Infinite Hearts quilt pattern by designer Emily at Quilty Love was a perfect fit. The pieces are large enough for the thick knit fabrics, and the stripes are lively and fun. The crisp white background lets your eye rest and doesn’t distract from the bold colors and varied textures of the athletic fabrics.

You can see from these original mock-ups I used for customer approval that I didn’t use the exact pattern (I try not to when it’s not my pattern). This is close enough to allow the customer to visualize what the quilt will look like with different colors and fabrics, but the actual pattern and final quilt are even better.

In the actual quilt, the vertically striped hearts are staggered, not in straight columns. The offset blocks keep your eye bouncing across the vibrant stripes, a riot of color and movement.

You can see from the original clothing and from these process photos that we chose not to include the logos and embroidered patches from the shirts in the final quilt. But we did include some color blocked stripes that give a little added flair and visual interest in the final composition.

joyful Finishing Touches: Unique Details that Make this a true Heirloom

With each of the finishing details, I ask how does this contribute to helping preserve the memories of this quilt for future generations? How do these details participate in the storytelling? How do they enhance the aesthetic?

This backing fabric is such a wonderful choice for this quilt, adding an extra pop of ebullient personality. This yarn-dyed woven from the Warp & Weft collection from Ruby Star Society is a lightweight cross-weave cotton that is incredibly silky and soft to the touch. In a cross-weave, the warp fibers and weft fibers are dyed before they are woven together, adding dimension to the color, a uniquely soft texture, and just a hint of a sheen.

This sporty yarn-dyed stripe from Ruby Star Society

The colorful stripes add to the sporty and lively aesthetic of the quilt as a whole, while the dimension and sheen give it an extra something special, like a twinkle in your eye as you exchange faux barbs with your ‘fierce rival’ on the 9th hole. The soft blue has a relaxed appeal, like faded denim, your weekend play-clothes.

The light weight of the cross-weave cotton balances out the bulk of the reinforced performance knits on the front of the quilt. In additional to a beautiful piece of decor, and in addition to being a document of family history, this quilt is also a functional item in a home. So it is important to make sure that it is warm and comforting, but not too heavy for use in all seasons.

I free-motion quilted this on my Handquilter Sweet Sixteen machine in these playful swirling loops, each one about the size of a golf ball, meandering across the top like an overly enthusiastic breeze.

The striped backing fabric was used horizontally as the binding, machine stitched for lasting durability.

Beautiful Art
Document of Family History
Functional Home Item

Closing thoughts on this family of connected quilts

This final quilt in the memorial series closes things out not with a whisper, but with a full-hearted laugh. I hope that it brings memories of clear skies and big swings, and the reminder that love and joy live on. I hope it brings comfort in its warmth.

This collection of quilts was a way to turn one person’s wardrobe into a tangible story, an evolving document that both memorializes one man and continues on for the family who grieves his absence. I hope that these four related quilts have captured something about not only who he was, but how he lived: with color, with heart, and with profound and lasting connection.

If you are looking to memorialize clothing into a keepsake quilt, but would love to have me take the aesthetic decisions off your plate so you can concentrate on the stories being told, please visit the galleries to see if we would be a good fit, or check the custom keepsake quilt listings to learn more.

Keepsake Quilts

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