I’ve recently finished two quilts for a young boy and girl that had an unusual origin. When their friend Dana died, twelve of her friends got together and commissioned me to make quilts from her clothes for her children, then five and seven. Below is the quilt I made for Collin, the seven-year-old boy.

Bereavement quilt for young boy made from his mother's clothes

This quilt was Collin’s choice out of five designs and it features a blue shirt of his, which he got on a special trip to France with the family not long before his mother died. The orange, brown and yellow material in the corners came from his mother’s dress, which I found out later his father chose for her. In the borders there is material from three t-shirts of Dana’s and one of Collin’s. All other material on the front came from Dana’s clothes.

Below is a picture of the label:

Label for bereavement quilt given by 12 friends to young boy

 

Next I made a quilt for Collin’s five-year-old sister Mackie:

Bereavement quilt for young girl, commissioned by 12 friends of her mom

The tulips are made from a pink dress of Dana’s, a green jacket of Dana’s, and a pink outfit of Mackie’s. The basket is made from Dana’s shorts, and the central feature is from one of Dana’s t-shirts. All other material except the pink border is from Dana’s clothes.

Note the tulip design on the edge of this quilt:

Design on edge of bereavement quilt

I’m told that the kids love their quilts and sleep with them every night. Even though these quilts are for the kids, I hope they helped their father heal a bit as well. He said he recognized every piece of material and was overwhelmed by the quilts. What a wonderful gift of love they were, from twelve ladies who all lost a dear friend.

Label for bereavement quilt for young girl