Sunday, October 30, 2011

A convert to new/old ways




Just a little over a year ago, a wonderful talented man and great friend succumbed to cancer.  Several months after he passed away, his lovely wife was talking about cleaning out the closets and giving his clothes away.  I quickly suggested that she save them for a bit longer and offered to use them in making quilts from them to give to their grandchildren.  Fast forward a few more months and I sent a "subtle" email link to Nifty's post regarding this same subject. Upon seeing how this could be accomplished, my dear friend as well as her daughter, were ready to jump on board with this idea.  Neither of them had ever made a quilt, but were quite eager to learn more.  And why not start out simple with the no rules approach, a la 15 Minutes Play.    Yesterday afternoon, we cut up dozens of shirts and started making "new" fabric out of them.  By dinner time, after much laughter and tears, it seems "we" have a new convert, as my friend stated, "this is really addicting!  It is instant gratification". 



Thinking ahead, just a bit my friend thought of using his khaki slacks as borders for the blocks

Audition on a khaki fabric



Or then, another thought, using some his black linens slacks for the connecting strips.

audition on black fabric
We have lots and lots more clothing and countless ideas for more quilts.  I'll keep you posted on the progress. 



8 comments:

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

OOH! Love seeing your options! What a great project.. Show us more, Mary! Looks great!

Miki Willa said...

I thought this was a wonderful idea when Nifty shared the ones she made. I am so glad to see that you are helping your friend do the same thing. These look great.

Maureen T. said...

OMG! These are awesome!

Helen said...

Yes, it's addicting and gratifying indeed! I, too, was inspired by Nifty to recycle my late husband's clothing but have not begun this yet. Now I can add your designs to my list of possibilities. Keep posting!

smazoochie said...

Quilts from clothing are such a perfect way to keep your loved one's arms wrapped around you.
I recently began projects with my parents shirts -- my Dad is gone, Mom has Alzheimer's -- but I can't work on them for very long at a time. For some reason, cutting the buttons from the shirts really got to me.

Nifty Quilts said...

What a wonderful gift you've given to your friend! Not only the quilt-to-be, but the quilting lessons. Tears well up, thinking about your day--making lemonade from lemons.

Anonymous said...

I echo the comment above... what a wonderful gift... including the time to share memories as you work on the quilt!

Chris said...

Thanks for sharing, Mary - what a special project - especially involving mother and daughter, sharing stories and tears while working side by side.