Monday 22 October 2007

From This to ....................

A few weeks ago I gave a Moo card to one of the mums from school as she had asked me what kind of things I made. I had a call from her about an hour later saying how much she loved everything on the blog and asking whether I would be able to make something for her baby daughter.

I called round to see her and whilst we were chatting I mentioned that I loved making things from childrens' clothes. Clare's eyes lit up and she fetched a bag of her daughter's first baby clothes and we agreed that I would make her a quilt from them.

And here it is!
I really enjoyed making it, using the pockets and decorations from the tiny clothes. I had to piece it with a layer of cotton underneath as the fabrics were all different weights and varied from fine cotton to stretchy t-shirt material. Some of the squares were made up of strips of t-shirt hems sewn to make a block, or the trimmings from the collars of tops with picot edging, or the ruffles from the bottom of trousers and dresses. All the fabric came from her clothes and a spare gingham curtain from her bedroom - so everything means something special to her. I made up a few little appliques of hearts, elephants, butterflies and birds but the majority of the designs were already on the clothes, including the lovely large elephant and the deep pink strawberry. Because of the different textures and layers of fabric it doesn't have perfect seams and would be impossible to quilt properly but it has a charm of its own. I just stitched a few heart outlines at various points to quilt it (I even had Mum helping me with it when we visited them yesterday - it was really lovely to sit and sew on the same project together)

My friends had told me off recently because I always get a bit anxious when I have finished a project that it is not good enough and the person won't like it so I often end up handing it over in a cheap plastic bag, almost apologetically, like "here you go, but you won't really like it!"
So they told me I had to improve my presentation! They would have been very proud if they had seen the beautifully tissue-wrapped and be-ribboned parcel in a white paper carrier bag complete with Moo sticker that I gave to Clare last night!

Clare loved the quilt - it even made her cry! And it was lovely to see her little baby lying on it gurgling at us.

This is definitely something I would love to do more of - being able to preserve the memories attached to individual garments by turning them into a quilt, cushion, bag or doll's clothes, is such a lovely idea and is something I have been doing for my own children for quite a while - hence the name Lucy Locket Recycled Her Pocket. I really do recycle lots and lots of pockets!

27 comments:

Lucykate Crafts... said...

what a lovely project to work on, the quilt looks amazing : )

Anonymous said...

What a lovely quilted memory for that mommy. Great job you did on it!!

Gina said...

That is absolutely gorgeous. What a fabulous thing to have ... all those little memories in one quilt.

dottycookie said...

That is such a fabulous re-use of old clothes - we have stacks that have been through my two girls and their cousin, and now really can;t be worn anymore. I've been hanging onto them wondering how to use them - this could be just the thing. Thank you for the inspiration!

Anonymous said...

wow well done Lucy the quilt looks amazing! 10 out of 10 for presentation I'm sure the extra touches were all appreciated.

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a fabulous quilt. It looks amazing.

Monkee Maker said...

Simply stunning, and what a lovely idea. That's the kind of quilt heirlooms are made of :)

mc said...

Your work is great!
What a wonderful idea, two for the price of one, clothes first then cuddly quilt. You are so gifted.

Mrs Moog said...

Oh Lucy it's so beautiful and what a lovely sentiment. Makes me wish I'd kept all my children's baby clothes.

Leigh Russell said...

What a lovely idea. I wish I'd thought of it when my children were young - all grown up and left home now.

dutchcomfort said...

A quilt made of memories. It’s so pretty and heartwarming?

Leigh Russell said...

Thanks for visiting my blog, Lucy. Keep in touch.

Anonymous said...

It is lovely, what a smashing way to reuse pretty baby clothes and keep cherished memories for the future.

Catherine said...

Hi. I just have to leave you a message because I've stumbled across someone else who loves the film Jean de Florette!! It's such a beautiful film and it's so good to find someone else who thinks so too. We have great taste!!!

Bye the way, I love your needlework. Have more confidence in yourself! It's really gorgeous!

Just Original said...

What a lovely idea! You've made me want to go into the loft to find my daughters 1st clothes!

Gigibird said...

I emailed you but it got returned.....

weirdbunny said...

So beautiful, Lucy your so talanted.
And to prove that point I'm about to blog about the lovely wallet that I purchased from you. Mine is the flowery one, and Hannah of Gentlytiptoe had the russian doll wallet. Thank you so much, I absolutely love it ~ love Julia x

Lissa Jane said...

I think you have outdone yourself this time Lucy.. was thinking though, if I made a quilt out of my old clothes, it would be big enough to cover a circus tent! :O)

great idea and well done!

Lissa

trash said...

What more can I add to all the fabulous (and deservedly so) words above? As always LLRhP your work is stunning!


(plus Vicious Chicken had an eight letter verification today so it is not just me!)

Leanne said...

Great post Lucy,
You should be really pleased with your efforts the quilt is lovely. That is a great idea I have never thought to do that all my kids clothes are in boxes in the roof space I should get them down and have a go.

Anonymous said...

I have to say that is a wonderful quilt.

I've wanted to do something like this since I saw it on "The Waltons" a loooong time ago. Unfortunately I haven't done it yet.

Know what you mean about the plastic bag and the "It was nothing" attitude.

Be proud of your work. You deserve to be.

Anonymous said...

Oops - that anonymous above was me.

Pressed the wrong radio button

sorry.

Thimbleanna said...

Oh Lucy! It's just beautiful -- you did a great job! And isn't it fun to make the presentation special? WooHoo for You!

Yummers! said...

The quilt is a piece of art!! You are very talented and your heart is in the right place.
Joni

Anonymous said...

What a fab project for you and such a family hierloom for your friend.

pink-petal-designs said...

wow, its amazing, i LOVE it, you are so clever!!
Sarah x

corry said...

What a lovely warm quilt! It's so gorgeous....great job!