Commemorative and signature quilts have long been made to celebrate or mark a special occasion with. Since the conception of them in the mid 1800’s, they have been made and presented for many occasions, with many changing styles and designs over the decades.
This, of course, lead to my next quilting adventure……
Birthday Celebration Quilts
My daughter recently turned 18 and this is the perfect opportunity, (um… excuse….) to make another quilt. With the main objective to have lots of room for messages, the GO! Signature die AQ55356 was the perfect die for this! Co-ordinating with the GO! Half Square 3″ finished triangle, AQ55009 or GO! Qube Mix & Match 12” AQ55778, block 5, it made it a fast, easy and accurate way to complete the body of the quilt.
For the theme of the quilt, I wanted to keep with her bright personality, and keep the quilt young, fun and funky. Equipped with a 12 colour fat quarter bundle, and knowing what I wanted to achieve, I just started to sew.
Along the way I auditioned many different variations before deciding on the way I wanted the quilt to look. As you can see, some layouts looked better than others.
With the main body complete, I thought it would be great to personalise it, and so out came the GO! Carefree Alphabet die, AQ55092! And what better way to make it more festive than with cupcakes! Using the GO! Cupcake die AQ55097 18 cupcakes in total were added to the border, which also doubled as a great place to sign!
As you can see, I was very pleased with the result and her friends had great delight in signing the quilt. I felt privileged to be able to present her with something that she could remember this special day with!Comfort Quilts
We all know far too many people who have suffered from that dreadful disease called cancer. My beautiful and young neighbour was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer, and my first emotion was ‘How can I help?’ Comfort was my answer. Knowing the challenging times that were ahead, I wanted some way to reinforce to her that all friends and family were all there for her, and a friendship signature quilt came to mind!
This concept was easy, the GO! Awareness Ribbon AQ55355 and the GO! Pink Ribbon Awareness Quilt Pattern sprung to mind!Backed with minky for warmth and coziness, it was signed by family and good friends to remind her that she wasn’t alone in this journey and we were with her every step of the way!
Wedding Anniversary Celebration Quilts
Occasionally, we want to give personalized message quilts, although we don’t want to ‘graffiti’ on our quilt tops, and sometimes it just doesn’t go!
The year 2004 commemorated the 60th wedding anniversary of my grandparents and my mum, Colleen, made a celebration quilt to showcase their legacy. Combining photos printed onto fabric with quilt blocks, writing on the front of the quilt would just not have been appropriate.
So, to include our personalized messages of love and good wishes, we sent a fabric squares to all family members, which were written on and then stitched onto the back. This idea is a great way to create a beautiful quilt and include your messages.
Reasons for making signatures quilts are as many and varied as the quilt designs themselves. Whether it is for a wedding, birthday, anniversary, comfort or for fundraising, for me the aim is the same – know this quilt was made for you with love.
Never lose sight of how many family and friends you have who want and enjoy being part of your life. Surround yourself with that love!
Happy Quilting
Debbie