Grandpa's Quilt

When it comes to quilting, I am just winging it.  This was my first quilt. It took me a year to make it.

After my grandpa passed away, my grandma gave me a big box of his shirts and pajamas and things he wore daily that would not be suitable to pass on to anyone else.  These were shirts that he wore day after day, year after year, while working on his ranch or relaxing at home.  She told me to do whatever I wanted with them.  I assume she meant to sew them into whatever I want.  

After lots of thinking and searching for a quilt top pattern, I made this pattern up myself.  I wanted to showcase the shirts and not lose sight of the fact that they were Grandpa's shirts. If I cut them into pieces too small, they might look like worn fabric, but not necessarily look like his shirts.  I wanted to keep the pockets and yokes in tact.  I ended up making rectangles with small squares in the center for the blocks. 

I tried to lay the blocks next to each other, but then decided I liked a border between each block to frame them all. First, I used a striped pajama pant as the framework between the blocks.  It didn't look right when I backed up and saw it from a distance.  I ended up using this dark blue, which wasn't part of his box of clothing items, but it framed it in so nicely and it was a nice strong bold color.  I like the strength of it as it reminded me of my Grandpa's personality. 

Honestly, I don't remember what the back is.  It is probably the same blue as the borders on the front.  I think I bought a set of sheets to use as the back and borders, but I can't recall.  I made this quilt 15 years ago and my focus was the shirts on the front, not the insignificance of the back.  Nobody sees that part anyway.  

I know I put two layers of poly-fill in it though. I like my quilts to be fluffy and heavy.  If anyone is ever going to sleep under this quilt, it will be warm and snugly!

After a year of sewing (and sometimes just gazing or feeling it or thinking about it)  I gave this quilt to my grandma.  She enjoys it very much!  It lays on her bed. I am more proud of this quilt than any other sewing project that I've ever made. I miss my grandpa a lot, but I feel so good having made this tribute to him and sharing it with my family.  This quilt warms my heart!

Pantsuit for Grandma

My grandma is my biggest sewing fan; she loves everything I make!  Honestly, I'm not sure if that is entirely true because she would never hint otherwise.

I made a pantsuit for her once.  This was probably around 1995. I cannot remember.  I know I sewed this when I lived in the house on Filmore Street, which means I used my Brother machine.  

My Brother sewing machine was just a basic machine. It was my first machine. It wasn't fancy, but it had a buttonhole stitch which I used extensively.  

My grandma wanted me to make her a nice pantsuit. I tried my best, which at that time was not too bad! I've gained skills now though and I am sure I could do a much better job now that I have a serger and my sewing skills are more polished (still have lots to learn though).

I don't know if my grandma wore this pantsuit more than once, but she at least posed for this picture.  She looks thrilled, right?