Originally Posted by
Neesie
Since you've never made a quilt, I'd like to suggest you start with something easier, than sweaters and other irreplaceable items. Get yourself some cotton fabric and learn the ins-and-outs of piecing and quilting, first. Quilting with those sweaters will be a bit trickier, so it's best to learn the basics, first. Maybe you can find some fabric that reminds you of your dad . . . or something you think he'd have liked. Use that for your very first quilt, so that if there are any problems, the precious items won't be harmed.
Welcome, from Texas!
I completely agree. My mother passed away, after a long illness, just a few years after I started quilting. Having 3 very small boys at home, I had little time to make any projects, let alone build up my expertise to make a memory quilt of mother's things.
My grandmother and aunt, bless their little hearts, saved all of her nicest clothes for me. Unfortunately, they were all silks and stuff that not only didn't remind me of mom, but would have been impossible to make anything with. I went to the stuff they wanted to donate and found some beautiful pieces that just screamed my mom. I'm going to make a t-shirt quilt with them. I buy bits of tricot when I can find a remnant of it big enough and I've already stabilized a few blocks and got them cut and sashed. Had I attempted to make something with them right away, I'm sure I would have ruined them and they are irreplaceable.
Now I've been quilting several more years, my boys are "tweenagers" and I've been getting my feet wet in more complex quilts. This really was the best way to go. I'm going to have a lovely memory quilt of mom's things and I have so many that I'm making a table runner type size for my aunt who took care of my mother her last 8 years of life. I'm so glad I waited. It was my inspiration why I kept quilting for a while cause I wasn't very good at first. I think of myself as an intermediate beginner now. Still lots to learn, but I know I can tackle mom's quilt as soon as I have all that stabilizer I need.
I wish I could help with the wool sweaters you have. I don't think I'll be of much help. If you have enough of those lighter weight shirts, you can alternate them with a light-weight flannel and make a rag quilt. I've also made a Stairway to Heaven pattern, which is very easy and put memory pieces in strategic spots. I used old handkerchiefs for those and it turned out well. Regular cotton paired with the old hankerchiefs and I used cotton on the back.