A Quilt in the Making

A few weeks ago, I was at Diane's house while she was doing a little fall cleaning. I was astonished at all of the things that she has saved from her childhood. I kinda made fun a little. [Okay, alot.] But I had never seen the likes of the childhood toys that she collected and remembered playing with. It is very sentimental.

Among all the barbies and barbie clothes and barbie horses and barbie furniture and "Drowsie Dolls," was a box of clothes. Clothes that Diane's mother had saved for her and since given to her and she has saved for many years. Many many years.

The very clothes that she wore when she was a baby. All the sweetness of tiny baby clothes in box made more perfect by the fact that she once slept and drooled and peed in those clothes.

We oohed and ahhed and did the how precious thing for a few minutes and Diane said that she needed to throw them away. [I knew she was lying.] Who keeps barbies for 30-something years and throws their sweet baby clothes away?

Some of the color had faded. Some had small spit up stains on them, and some of the pants had elastic it them that had almost dry rotted. But throwing them away would mean the end of them. They would be gone forever! So, what do you do? Keep them in a box in the closet?

No. We decided that I would take temporary possession of the imperfect baby clothes and make them into a heirloom treasure for her. Something that she could display and see everyday and that would be very special to her.

So, I took the clothes and spread them all out on the floor. I cut the fabric at the seams and make all the tiny little dresses and outfits into scrap material for a quilt. Then I thought and thought about how I could display all of these different kind of colors and fabrics into a pattern.

I made a hexagon template and cut out the fabric into approximately one inch hexagons. I used as much of the fabric as I could. Every tiny sleeve. And I put them in piles. There were many more piles than this. But this will give you an example.

Then I started sewing my hexagons together. See that's my plan. That's my pattern. Seven hexagons makes a flower. Like these!

They are not going to be the same. They are not even going to really match. But that's what a quilt is. Right?

See how I saved the little embroidered ducky. That is so sweet!!!

And the frilly lace from one of the precious dresses. That makes my heart melt.

And some are just plain. But even the plain ones have something. It is all material from those tiny clothes.

So, I have been sewing away to try to assemble all of my flowers.

I think I have roughly 30 flowers done right now. These things take time!

Then I have some more major decisions to make about assembling the flowers. This is my favorite option. If sewn together, they will fit magically.

The problem is I don't know how many flowers I will be able to produce. I want them all to be from the baby material and nothing else, so I will be limited to what I have cut right now. Which leads me to the decisions. That's where I will need your suggestions. When I get there. Be watching!!