A Quilt Full of Memories

One of my current projects: Sewing quilts for our two great nieces, and great nephew. 

I am currently working on a hand embroidered, hand quilted blanket for our two-year-old great niece who lives over seas. We get to see my niece and her family about once a year or so, and I want my great niece, Natalia, to have something special to remember us by in between visits. 

Since she likes pink, Natalia's quilt is being made of pinks, purples, and greens.  I've chosen to use new materials (which I've embroidered with a theme: Each day of the week plus a mouse, because she also likes mice) combined with triangular quilt pieces cut from the scraps of vintage home-made dresses, sewn by my mom, and/or one or more of us girls, which we wore as our Easter dresses or other special occasions while growing up.  A few years ago one of my sisters was nice enough to leave me some of these "scraps" for quilting projects, and I am just now making use of them.

These dresses would have traveled all around Texas. Most likely they would have visited my late Grandpa Barney Lawrence and Grandma Mary Ivena's home in Alief, TX. At some point one or two of the dresses were most likely gone to our other grandparent's home in San Juan, TX, as well as many places in between. While wearing the dresses we hugged our mom and dad, aunts, uncles, grandparents, sisters, and other special friends and family over the years. This will be a one-of-a-kind quilt with special memories sewn into every stitch, sewn for a one-of-a-kind special little great niece, Natalia. 

Here are some pics of the project underway. Later I will update with a photo of the completed quilt.