Family Stories through Fabric
A variety of items can be included in a quilt: clothes, purchased fabric, stuffed animals, and of course t-shirts. Such is the case with the quilts we made for Chris. Over time we were fortunate enough to be selected to create six quilts for her family.
There is no doubt about it – Kyle is a quilt artist! It’s obvious she loves what she does because she pours so much of herself into it! I’ve worked with Kyle and her talented staff at Just T-Shirt Quilts to make three personalized full-sized quilts so far – one King and two Queens. Kyle made the first one for me over five years ago, on the occasion of my oldest child’s 25th Christmas. Never one to throw away anything with sentimental value, I had quite the collection of sports, school, and favorite articles of clothing from birth through college to first real job for my three children, so I thought, “Ok, for the Christmas after their 25th birthday, I will give them each a quilt made from things they wore spanning the first quarter century of their lives.” And that is what I did for two of the three children (the third was very particular about what he wanted on his quilt).
While the t-shirts were the heart of the quilt, Kyle added so, so much more, like part of a favorite costume, the badges from scouting, a baby bib, the pockets from sorority t-shirts. She even took the stuffing out of a treasured childhood stuffed animal, resized it and made it the centerpiece of a quilt! For the third quilt, its to-be owner had a special request – while he couldn’t see the finished product until Christmas, he wanted his quilt to be made from the school-specific fraternity and football t-shirts he had acquired in college. Kyle added so many extra touches, like taking the pockets off 14 t-shirts and sewing them into the border patches and using school colors and iconic herring bone fabric for the sashing. The quilt turned out beautifully.
Before meeting Kyle, I had no idea how much work goes into making a patchwork quilt. Hours and hours, sizing, cutting, ironing, trimming, sewing, the sashing, the binding, the backing, the thread, the long arm quilting pattern, to name just a few.(And a shout out to Adrianna, Cheryl, Dora, Emily, Katrina, and Sarah of Just T-Shirt Quilts for all their hard work on the most recent quilt!) Kyle pays close attention to every detail. She is meticulous and helps you make the right color and design decisions along the way – for the quilt that had the mountain sashing, we went with an abstract mountain quilting pattern; for the patchwork quilt that was a jumble of a million things, we went with a puzzle piece quilting pattern; for the college-themed quilt, we went with a wave pattern (you guessed it! Roll Tide!).
Kyle doesn’t make quilts, she makes heirlooms.
I happened to see Chris recently one weekend. It was a nice day and my husband and I were out for a weekend walk on one of the local trails. Two ladies are walking toward us. I look more closely. Wait, I know her. “Kyle”, she says. “Chris”. I smiled as I thought of our relationship through making quilts. Choosing the items, design, fabrics and more that the recipient would most appreciate all took time. This is what I remember and how I know Chris. It was great to bump in to her and meet her friend and walking partner. Making a quilt links us. Through the personal items included I got to know a lot about Chris, her family and also her profession–attorney.
Here’s more that Chris wrote about the first three quilts that we created for her from her in laws clothing. They are no longer here, but their clothes and the stories live on!
I would be remiss if I did not also mention the three patchwork throw/lap sized quilts Kyle made for me. I was blessed to have the best in-laws ever and when they passed within a short time of each other, I wanted to create something tangible as a way for my husband, his brother, his sister, and all our families to remember them. I gave Kyle a pile of shirts, robes, and bed clothes Grammy and Papa had worn and, working her magic, Kyle created a mosaic of memories. I remember Papa so vividly when I see a triangle of his favorite LL Bean red checkered shirt; I remember how much Grammy loved soft jersey when I touch a patch from her pajamas. Best of all (and at Kyle’s suggestion), a picture of Grammy and Papa is sewn into a “frame” at the center of the quilt. Finally, and as a special tribute at my request, Kyle gave each quilt its own unique embroidered “symbol” representing something special in that sibling’s relationship with his or her parents. For my husband, it is a Christmas tree because he and his parents truly loved everything about Christmas. Kyle helped me pick out the perfect quilting pattern — swirling double hearts, a tribute to their 63 years of marriage. The pattern shows up beautifully on the soft minky side of the quilt. The quilts are incredibly well made, with the most careful attention paid to every detail. My husband and his siblings have told me often how much they love their memory quilts. I do, too. Thank you, Kyle the Quilter!
Feedback means a lot. For professional reasons, professionals often don’t write public reviews or aren’t even on social media. So for her taking the time to write this, it’s so meaningful, and I greatly appreciate it. I have her comments printed out on the shop wall. Whenever I have down days I read it and it always brings me back to a happier place, why I’m doing this, and the special people I meet in the process. Thanks Chris for your business, through which, you have so positively touched my life!
