Making Memories

A couple of months ago I was at a craft show answering the usual questions that customers have when they see a quilter.  "Do you make all of these?" blah, blah, blah.  It was a slow day and sales didn't seem to be adding up to much, if any profit for the day.  I was getting discouraged especially since the day was almost over, when three people approached my booth and commented on how much they liked all they saw, and as they walked away I thought, "Well there goes another sale". 

As the group settled at another booth one lady walked back and asked, "Do you make memory quilts"?  Oddly enough I was in the process of making a photo memory quilt so I said, "yes".  She continued, saying, "I have 2 bags of shirts and I would like to have 4 quilts made for my family in memory of my Dad".  I had never made a memory quilt using clothing but in an instant my quilter's creativity began to whirl and ideas popped into my head one after the other.  I explained that this would be a first for me but if she was game so was I, she took my card with promises to call.  I have had numerous customers give me the same line so I took it all in with a grain of salt.

The weekend passed and on Monday morning I received a call from the craft show customer.  She had been anxious to call but had thought that calling on Sunday would not be appreciated so she had waited until Monday.  All weekend I had been tossing ideas around in my head and felt downhearted thinking that this was another opportunity that would fall through the cracks, so to receive her call was very uplifting.  We met and discussed design ideas and shopped for all the necessities to make these ideas a reality.  I took everything home knowing that these were to be Christmas gifts so I needed to work quickly but carefully because there was only so much fabric available.

Last week I delivered 3 of the quilts, the fourth will be done after the holidays, and my customer was overjoyed with the results.  She has given me permission to use images of her quilt in my Etsy shop as a custom order, knowing that any other quilt will never be the same as hers because of the memories associated with type and style of shirts that would be used.  If you are looking to make your own memories check out my shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuiltingFrenzy

All three quilts were designed, pieced and quilted by Quilting Frenzy in my studio.  I found it an emotional journey and learning experience as I took these items of clothing and created a memory of love for my customer and her family.  Two of the quilts were made entirely of flannel and the third was made of dress shirts.

In these quilts are memories of a lifetime that will be recalled everytime these quilts are viewed and when they are used they will bring someone home again.