In January this year I received a commission to make a memory quilt from babygrows. This was a very special commission as the quilt was going to be handed over as a gift.
A commission always goes through several stages (see the blog post ‘How to Commission a Quilt’ here to understand how I work). We began with talking about the quilt and what it was for (a gift to a friend), what form it would take (a lap-quilt or a wall-hanging, say), what sort of blocks might be used, how it might be pieced, would there be a border and so on.
The next stage was to see the babygrows which would form the most important part of the quilt, design-wise. I also needed to see how much fabric would be available for piecing. There is a limited amount of fabric available in babygrows to fit young infants! There are also various zips and poppers and other fastenings that need to be avoided. After measuring each one extremely carefully, I had a good idea of how much fabric I would be able to use from each one.
The next stage was to present a design to the client, which incorporated each of the fabrics in the ten babygrows and which introduced ways of combining them in a harmonious whole. Normally, I would choose a background colour at this point but on this occasion I wanted to wait until the blocks were completed to see what would work best.
Conversation with the client was invaluable at this point, She suggested a background colour that turned out to be just perfect and we also liaised over the positioning of the blocks. We agreed on a binding in a darker tone of the background hue.
I then completed the piecing, layered-up, quilted and bound the quilt, adding a simple label with my name as the maker. I also put a hanging sleeve on the back as this quilt is intended for the wall.
I’m not at liberty to show you the quilt, as it was of course a private commission but after she received it, the person who commissioned the quilt offered to write a review. Here it is – with her permission:
I’m so glad that I chose to commission a memory quilt with Amanda – she was a pleasure to work with from start to finish, taking great care to turn our baby grows into a piece of art to treasure. I contacted Amanda after my mum did her ‘Quilt in a Day’ course and spoke very highly of her skill and warmth. Amanda responded quickly with helpful advice, then created a thoughtful and creative design. Once we’d agreed to proceed, she provided a clear estimate of cost and timeline. I thoroughly enjoyed the design process, since Amanda consulted me, took time to explain her creative choices, and gave careful consideration to my suggestions, ensuring that I was completely happy with the final piece. The resultant quilt is beautifully designed and made – Amanda managed to bring the diverse patterns of the babygrows together wonderfully, with the different colours bouncing to and fro across the quilt in a complementary design. I had tears in my eyes when I saw the finished piece!
What a joy to make a quilt like this!
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Here’s a quilt which I made up in watery blues. It would look great in dark rich colours too. It is beginner-friendly and makes up quickly. Get the pattern here.
Amanda Jane Textiles 