Okay, well, freaking out might be an exaggeration, but not by much. I am making a memory quilt for the son of a friend. His dad was killed in an accident in July. I'm making the quilt out of his dad's shirts. I have the shirts. I have the pattern. I've tested the blocks. I bought backing fabric.

Now I need to get going if I want to have the quilt done in time for his birthday in March, but the box of fabrics, templates, pattern, etc is sitting there and I am procrastinating. I've cut into a few of the shirts, and made a grand total of three blocks - two pieced, one plain, of the 108 blocks that I'll need. I get very anxious because I'm afraid I'm going to mess it up and make something that will be painful to the kid and his mom instead of comforting.

I want to do this quilt. I volunteered to do this quilt. I love the idea of this quilt, but I am having a hard time just doing the cutting.

I'm not sure what I'm asking for here. I just really need to get it out, I guess.

Calm down, the purpose of the quilt is to provide memories, not showcase your skills. It is going to be loved for what it is, a physical reminder of him. Keep it simple and get going, you can do this and you want to do this.

(hugs...you are doing a wonderful thing).

Go ahead and make the quilt. By the time it's finished, the shock of his sudden death will probably have eased somewhat. Be sure to tell them that it's a memory quilt when you give it to them, if it's still too soon to look at it they can wait until the time is right. This is a wonderful thing you're doing.

I think this is a wonderful idea. Just go with it and I'm sure there will be tears but in the long run it will be appreciated and what great memories of his dad he will have.

Sometimes it is not good to think to much.

Good luck would love to pics when it is done.

Take a deep breath. I make memory quilts all the time, for good and bad reasons and the 1st few blocks are the toughest. Look at it this way, the way they will "remember when dad wore that shirt to the baseball game, or remember he wore that in that photo we have with the goofy face he made....etc... Your doing a wonderful thing for them and everytime they curl up with that quilt the will have a hug from dad.

Well, his wife did give me the shirts, so she knows about it and she is at the point where she feels comfortable with me cutting them up, so at least I feel comfortable on that score.

That is exactly what I want this quilt to accomplish. Jesse is only ten, still at an age where he needs his dad so much.

Good music, chocolate, and a prayer. You will truly get a blessing from doing this. My heart iw with you. Post a pics as you go. Looking forward to seeing them.

I agree with others. You have the skills and material. Just wrap your mind around good thoughts and start sewing. If you have the time, we would love to see pics of your progress. Then we can give you more encouragement. I am sure they will love it. What a caring thing for you to do.

Okay, I went away, I cried a little bit, made a nice cup of tea, and said some prayers. I'm going to go in and start cutting now. I'll post some pics later to the picture section.