A family heirloom

Thought I'd share with you a project of mine that I finished a while ago - but found cathartic and a very relaxing and comforting experience. When my Mum died a couple of years ago now, I found it hard to think about all her clothes going to charity shops etc and that someone else might wear them. I know that this probably seems a rather irrational view - and I can't really defend it, but Mum was always so into her wardrobe - she had a flair for co-ordinating clothes into an outfit and had a certain style all of her own - she always looked good. So whilst we were clearing her things I found myself ferreting outfits and items of clothing away that were so "Mum". Then I decided that maybe I could make a quilt with them. In the end I made 3 quilts and gave one to my sister and brother and kept one for myself for the first Xmas without Mum. I then made another in the following year for my niece as a wedding present.

I'd never quilted before - apart from a small english patchwork project years ago where you cut octagonal shapes out of paper, cover with material and then hand sew together. I chose american quilting which is much more creative and yet quicker as you can machine sew. At first it was difficult to cut up the clothes and I used to have dreams where Mum would come back, it had all been a big mistake and I had cut up all her clothes. But gradually as they became transformed into something visible and something that would be seen daily I began to enjoy the process and it helped me to come to terms with my loss. When I gave the others away, whilst there were a few tears, there were also smiles and happy memories and people picked out outfits and remembered special occasions when they had been worn, for example the black and white square was made from Mum's choir uniform, another contained the outfit she wore for her 50th wedding anniversary celebrations. I would certainly recommend this process to anyone and I now have a very special family heirloom to pass onto others.