memory quilting: part 2

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I've finally decided on a quilt that I'm going to use as inspiration for Sera's memory quilt.  It's from Amanda Jean over at Crazy Mom Quilts. I wanted something simple with sashing that showcased the individual fabrics and yet kept everything neat and tidy. I came across this quilt while researching how to do the math for planning the quilt I had in mind and found that if instead of the 9-square blocks I just use plain, simple blocks then the quilt is exactly what I'm after and will allow me to use even more of the clothes I cut because of the beautiful and colourful border made up of tiny blocks.

Check out more of Amanda Jean's amazing blog and beautiful quilting!

I also started cutting up the "materials" for the quilt (sounds better than destroying my child's precious clothing). I knew it would be a hugely emotional task if I did it alone in the quiet of my upstairs office so I took a few items downstairs at a time and cut them while sitting in front of the TV with Sera and hubby.  I started with my favourite pieces/memories first figuring it would be a lot like ripping off a band aid and in fact it was a smart choice. From the moment I made the first cut into her raspberry corduroy romper with the tiny pockets there was no going back. From then on the quilt had-to be made or I would simply be a vandal.

I swear, not all of her clothes are pink of fuscia!!

On my third trip back from the clothes stash Sera spotted me holding a really fun skirt and stole it back. What do you know!?! It still fit! It goes to show you that the sizing labels on baby clothes are really crazy because the last I checked she's quite a lot bigger than an 6-month old. I'm going to let her wear it for the rest of the summer and then find it a spot in the quilt in a central location, now that I know how much it means to her.

There is still a very long way to go, even with just getting through the clothes so I can start cutting my squares, but so far I'm feeling a lot better about the project than I thought I would.  

Here's a quick idea of the numbers to get an idea of how much cutting ill be doing in the next few months. The finished quilt requires 70 coloured 6.5" squares and 308 2.5" squares for the border + all the sashing, which I haven't bothered calculating yet and possibly some more coloured squares for the backing.  I'm waiting for my nice new ruler and rotary cutter to arrive before I even let my mind wander towards those cuts at all yet.

Oh my oh my! I'd love to have this done by the end of January for Sera's 3rd birthday but who knows!