Quilted Connection

About a month ago, a friend of mine called me with a request.  She saw the t-shirt quilt I had made for my daughter, and when her cousin mentioned at a family get-together that she was looking for someone who made t-shirt quilts, Paula immediately thought of me. 


T-Shirt quilt I made for my daughter

But the t-shirt quilt that Paula's cousin Millie was asking me to make, was no ordinary t-shirt quilt.  You see, her teenage daughter passed away a year ago and these t-shirts were so sacred to her mother that she only wanted them hand delivered to the person making the quilt.  After several emails and a phone call, I had a basic idea of what Millie wanted the quilt to look like, although she very sweetly agreed to whatever I thought would look best.  Her only request was that I use the front and back of one very special shirt to put in the center.
Paula dropped off a rather large bag of t-shirts about a month and a half ago with some notes attached.  I was amazed at the care and thoughtful rubber banding of what part of each shirt Millie wanted included in the quilt.  The sides of the shirts were carefully creased, as if she ironed each one before placing it in the bag. I envisioned what it must have been like this past year for Millie, and thought about how hard it must have been for her even to gather up all these shirts, placing them in a bag and knowing they would never be worn by her precious daughter again.  But at least she would have the remembrance forever stitched up in the quilt I was about to make.
I put the bag aside for a few days, bought the batting and other materials I would need, but I knew how hard this was going to be.  These shirts were sacred for this mom.  She was entrusting me, a person she never met, but only knew through her cousin, with these last memories.  There were no other shirts, there was no making a cutting error.  This had to be perfect.  That was a big responsibility for me.  But one day, I mustered up the courage, and  I brought down the bag, laid out the batting and started arranging the shirts trying to go with the basic way Millie had folded them, but knowing she was giving me carte blanche with the design, except for the special shirt.


Millie's quilt laid out before adding solid blocks around edges

As I separated the shirts, and found the most important one with a note safety pinned to the front saying"most special shirt, put in middle", I wondered why this shirt was so special.  Was it the saying on the back, or maybe it was one her daughter wore alot. Whatever the reason, I knew this first cut on this first shirt needed to be accurate and would ease my anxiety about making cuts into the other shirts.  Well, I got through the first shirt and the rest became a little easier, but since I had it in the only space large enough to work, my living room, as I passed it I would move the shirts around, play with color placement and sizes of blocks, until I finally had them arranged the way I wanted them.  Since I had extra space around the sides, I asked Millie if she preferred a border of solid blocks or  if she wanted me to cut off the extra batting and leave just the shirt images.  I sent her a picture of the quilt laid out on the floor for her input.  She emailed me back, saying how much seeing it this far moved her and she was extremely pleased.  I was happy that she was happy.  That is what I needed to hear.

Finished quilt with solid block border

This has been an interesting and emotional journey for me.  It was more than cutting and arranging fabic blocks.   It was like putting the pieces of a puzzle together.  I got a sense of who this girl was, where she was from, where she went to school, what kind of student she was, where she worked during the summer, what kind of music she liked, what activities she was involved in and where she went on vacation.  I thought of my own daughter.  I thought of Millie and how she  must have felt and still feels every day.  My heart goes out to her and I hope that through this quilt, I have stitched together a lifetime of memories for Millie.  I feel like I have walked a few hours of her journey with her.  I was truly touched by creating this quilt and feel like this connection I made with Millie will never be forgotten.



Finished quilt