If you use a picture get it sealed in plastic first then put in heavy plastic pouch. That way you won't have to worry about getting it washed.

When sewing plastic pouch on be sure to lengthen you stitch. You might want to wrap the edge with bias tape or such so the edge isn't sharp. Nursing homes may have their own requirements for quilts, but there are a lot of ideas on the board. The first post I saw was for a Nesteldecken (German). Here is a pic of the one I made for my brother. I tried to use things that meant something to him. He was a paratrooper and a helicopter pilot, so I used buckles, paracord, boot laces, leather, etc. He especially loved the stuffed dog that resembled his real one. Brother has now passed and one of his daughters has the quilt.

Nice ideas
What I,m doing is sort of thinking if it is going to a male or female this way its stuff that a guy or girl will enjoy.

All types of fabric would work for these quilts. With silk & satin you could put a fuse able webbing on the backs to make them more stable. Anything fuzzy would be great also plus pockets & zippers.

thanks for the posting, I'm putting this at the top of my to do list

My suggestion for the pictures is to get the transfer fabrics that you can transfer photos onto from your computer!

Thread mess is correct -- your computer printer at home can be used to transfer color or B&W photos onto fabrics which you can include in your quilt. No need to worry about how to sew or wash the plastic coverings...

I made some fiddle mats for residents in my Dementia Unit......I sewed grids into a couple of my fiddle mats and then inserted into each grid pocket before sewing it shut with the next seam, something to feel...for the men...eg, flat nickel (no rusting) washers, screws, bolts etc so the men could fiddle and feel each item. An added advantage of sewing/hiding objects in the grids is that it gives the mats a bit of weight which makes it a more pleasurable feel when placed on the lap. I used a triple stitch throughout to make sure stitching couldn't be fiddled loose, and also, all items inside the pockets were of a size that would be difficult to swallow....just in case....scary thought! Another trick is to sew a gardening glove onto the side seam so they can put their hand into and out of the glove and scrunch their fingers in it. I tended to use palin fabric like cenim for the men..something nice and masculine and for the women, whilst using bright colours made sure they were just the one colour....no patterns as this confuses the eye and impedes them focussing on the items attached to the mat. Of course the fiddle mats had to be approved by my supervisor before I was allowed to introduce them to the residents and of course, were always used under supervision from staff.

A lot of neat ideas.

Wow!!! I hope all of you ladies know how wonderful you are to make all of these suggestions for pinker6a? I know that each of us has at one time or another needed to ask a question, and every time, not once in a while, but EVERY time, you receive an abundance of replies that are ever so helpful. I don't have any suggestions for this one, but sure did realize how blessed we are to have this board. God Bless us all.