I completed this family of Hodge Podge Quilts. This lovely customer sent me five Flat Rate boxes of clothes that were filled with memories!
This quilt was a combination of shirts, graduation gowns, and shorts from the husband and wife. The shirts were so loved that they had holes in them! There was also a mysterious yellow strip that had to be included…..it’s always a bit of a mystery when I work on these and think about the stories behind these shirts. I would love it if my customers would volunteer to write a post about it!
Nevertheless, I believe this is the first “couples” quilt I have made and my customer said she cried when she saw the photos – 20 years of memories came flooding back to her.
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| The mysterious yellow strip. |
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| One of three graduation gowns included. |
She also had me create a blanket for her daughter, which will be a gift.
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| A princess sash. |
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| A baby washcloth. |
It will now be a race to the finish. As soon as I said my orders are closed I have a flood of requests. I’ve accepted the challenge….but will someone do my Christmas shopping for me????
Jane, You are amazing! Such cozy treasures!
ah…the mysterious, yellow strip. Get your tissues ready. Three years ago this Sunday, the most influential person in my life, my Nana, died very unexpectedly at the age of 93. I say unexpectedly because, in my mind, Nana was going to live for ever. She didn’t act her age, in fact, the night before she fell, leading to her untimely death, she and my grandpa, a couple for 70 years, had been out on a “date”. Nana would always come help take care of my brother and I when we were very small. She always wore the same yellow dress which was dubbed the Banana Dress as it was yello and she was Nana. That dress last ed through 5 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. It has wiped more tears, baked more cookies, laundered more loads of laundry, mended more clothes, ironed more shirts, rocked sleeping babies, dolled advice to young children and not so young children. When she died, this was the only thing I wanted-The Banana Dress. There was a simple yellow belt on the Banana Dress and I cut that into pieces for my mom and brither to each have a piece as well as all of my children to add to theeir quilts. My piece is the first thing my eyes go to in my blanket, as wellas my daughters. Someday, when my younger children graduate from high school, they too will have piece of the Banana Dress to have woven through the fabrics of their lives, just as my daughter and I do now, thanks to Jane’s wonderful talent that she so generously shares.
Amy, I am so glad I stopped by this post again and found the story of your grandmother’s dress. I have my grandmother’s plaid shirt she used to wear in the garden. I keep it in my dresser drawer. Thank you for sharing your story.
Elizabeth