Pinwheel Sampler: Finished!

My pinwheel sampler is finished! There's quite a story behind it but first, the photos.

 This quilt has been a long time in the making. It all started when we lost our sweet baby to a miscarriage on April 3, 2012. It was extremely difficult, and still is, but the worst part was that I didn't have anything tangible from him. We lost him very early in the pregnancy, way before I could start nesting, and we didn't even announce it to the family. So I was very alone in my grief, aside from my husband.

About a year later I made up my mind to make a quilt in memory of him. My firstborn got a quilt and I wanted to continue the tradition. So the spring/summer of 2013 I walked into my local quilt shop and picked out 10 fat quarters in a general blue-green-orange theme. No real direction, just picked out what I liked in those colors. They sat in my stash for a long time. It took awhile to find a pattern and once I did, it took awhile to get started. When January 2014 rolled around I made a small list of just 3 quilts that I wanted to finish this year. This was one of them.

I ended up pulling 2 out of the original 10 fat quarters and went out and bought a few more quarter yards to add more orange and some navy. Once I started I tried not to stop. There were a few times where I just let unfinished blocks sit for a few weeks but I set a goal to get it done and shipped to Abby by summer. I met that goal and now I have this pretty quilt to snuggle in whenever I feel the need.

 Abby Latimer did my quilting again. She is my go-to longarm quilter. She is so wonderful to work with! After looking through all her patterns I didn't find anything I like. Last year when I finally decided on a pinwheel sampler I fell in love with the cloud panto. I've been dreaming of pinwheels and clouds ever since. Abby didn't have that pattern on her list but she was so sweet and bought it to use specifically on this quilt. I'm so grateful she did that!

 I used Spoonflower to print this tag. I ended up needing tags for 3 other quilts so I printed all 4 at the same time. Each of the tags is 3.5" square when finished (4" unfinished) and they fit perfectly on their 8" x 8" sample. I used the option of Kona for the base fabric.

The tag reads:

In memory of Joseph

April 3, 2012

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.

Psalm 116:15

With love always, mama

 My name, 2014 ~ quilted by Abby Latimer

The quilt has already been washed to get that perfect crinkle and it's been loved on nearly every day since. This quilt has been a labor of love and I am so happy to finally have something to snuggle whenever I think of my sweet angel.

Quilt Stats

Pattern: Pinwheel Sampler by Rachel Griffith (found here)
Size: 54" x 54"
Batting: 80/20 Hobbs 
Fabrics:  Top: Mix of green, blue and orange from various designers
               Backing: Grey Crosshatch Quilter's Flannel from Joann's Fabric (similar)
Quilting: One Cloudy Day by Abby Latimer
Tag: Created by me, printed by Spoonflower

Grandpa's Shirts Turned Pillowcases

Remember Grandpa's quilt? Well, I still had quite a few whole shirts leftover and some of my mother-in-law's siblings who wanted a little something of their father's too. I decided on making pillowcases for the siblings (since more quilts would be a bit much for me) and came upon this inspiration on Pinterest.

click here for tutorial

It was a really quick and easy project, and I ended up making 7 pillowcases total. I still had 3 corners of the white handkerchief used in the quilt plus my mother-in-law gave me another blue handkerchief, so all 7 pillowcases had a corner of a handkerchief sewn into the front pockets.

All 7 of the pillowcases

All of them got the same tag as the quilt

3 of them used scraps from the quilt backing

Stuffed with an 18" square pillow form

She flew to Iowa for spring break and delivered the pillowcases to her brothers and sisters. They all loved them, which makes my heart so happy. I think at this point I only have a few shirt fronts left since the backs were used to make the quilt. So I may make a few more of these pillowcases using the quilt backing scraps for the back piece. And then all the remaining shirt pieces will end up being cut into squares for future projects. But for now everyone has a little piece of Grandpa so there's no rush to whip up another big project any time soon.

Grandpa's Memory Quilt

Here is one of the quilts from my work in progress post.

This quilt is very special. It was made for my mother-in-law's mother, who lost her husband earlier this year. After the funeral my MIL gathered up around 10-15 shirts that belonged to her dad and brought them to me. I used 9 different shirts and 6 coordinating fabrics to create this quilt for her mom. It took longer than expected but I finished it up in time and it arrived on Grandma's doorstep a few days before Christmas.

That's my MIL on the right

The shirts can be seen in the middle of the star and it's outer points (the blue and purple in the photo below). The coordinating fabric is seen in the 'V' part (the grey in the photo below).

Close up of the middle block containing a piece of Grandpa's handkerchief

The quilt tag

This was the largest quilt I ever made at just below 83" square. I knew from the beginning I would use a long arm quilter just for the sheer size of this quilt. Abby of Latimer Lane quilted this up for me. I had a hard time picking out a pattern that didn't overpower the shirts, I wanted them to be center stage. She helped me choose the loops and swirls pattern, and I absolutely love it.

A great view of the quilting

The best part is that Grandma loves it. I've gotten several phone calls from my MIL, apparently it's all she talks about! The absolute highlight of her Christmas. This just makes my heart happy. I'm so glad she likes it and I hope it brings her lots of comfort in the years to come.

To see more photos (including close ups of each block) click here


Quilt Specifics:
Pattern: Snow Blossoms by Lella Boutique (purchase here)
Fabric: Mix of cotton button-down shirts and 100% cotton quilting fabric
Quilting: Loops and swirls by Abby Latimer