I was given a large amount of material for these quilts. These quilts are made for two 5 year old twin boys whose father (a firefighter) passed away.
In the basket of materials I was given were t-shirts, mens white vests, bandanas, football jerseys, sports shorts – a whole lot of materials that you would perhaps never dream would go so well together into a quilt. I mixed all the different materials together in their color groups and they look amazing.
The family requested a large bold patriotic design and for the quilts to be similar.
The entire quilt from the front to the back to the binding is made from the clothing. The project did take me a longer longer than I had planned. But I think it was utterly worth it. The firefighter was an owner in a local bar – so the back of the quilts are styled in the way that you might find signs and registration plates tacked on a sports bar wall. Scattered – but with a purpose. A large proportion of the backs are made from his bandanas – cut into quarters and sewn on point.
The biggest shocker for me with the project is how I quilted the quilts. No fancy quilting. Just simple in the ditch.
And of course some matching pillows which have his football jersey number on the back.
And while I enjoyed taking these quilts for a photo shoot at my local fire station with some not too shabby firemen – I have to admit that I got rather teary when I was sewing on the labels for these quilts. A wonderful family man – a man who saved and protected – lost all too soon.