Triangle Quilt from Grandchildren's Quilts
 

At the beginning of this year I did a mystery quilt hosted by paintmejudy. http://www.quiltingboard.com/blocks-...e-t209515.html. I used her pattern again in June when I began a project for my Sweet 89 yrold MotherInLaw. I am using her lifetime stash to make her 23 grandchildren, 6 children and their 6 spouses each a quilt. Each quilt will say "From Grandmas Closet."

This summer I spent six weeks in Idaho with my MotherInLaw after the passing of my 94 yrold dear FatherInLaw. I took 11 of the 23 Grandchildren's quilt tops I had finished in June to show her while I was there. During my stay I finished four others. The first picture is one of those four, but when I laid it out for her to see, she said, "I want to be buried one day with that one....." In shock, I said of course, she could have it. OR..... I would make her a special quilt I had planned from the scrap HST wings I cut from the flying geese used to make the stars on each grandchild quilt. I came home from Idaho the middle of August and quickly finished the geese parts on my last 8 grandchild quilts. I then made two more blocks so I'd have 25 for a 5x5 block setting. I sashed, bordered and backed her "Triangle Grandma Quilt" in the same fabrics of the quilt she had wanted to be buried with. The tags on her quilt and the grandchildren quilts will now say "Grandma will forever have a piece of your quilt and you will always have a piece of hers." I will mail it to her Monday.

The second pic is one block of her hsts. Third and forth pics are her finished quilt. It's roughly 60" square. I did the fm quilting on my Vicking Topaz30. It's not professional. But I figure after I finish all my planned grandma quilts, I hopefully will show improvement.

Thank you for reading my long story. It's been a long summer, but sewing for my sweet MotherInLaw has been so enjoyable.

Wow. I saw the scissors next to the patchwork. Oh my heavens do you know how many HSTs there are. I am in awe that you did all those.

Very impressive. I did the math - - - 900 HST's. Wow!

Jane

fantastic quilts and such a heartwarming story

Great job! May you truly be blessed for the love and kindness you are showing to her next generations. Sounds like you are by knowing and loving your sweet inlaws.

Great work and a great story. I once had a friend (long since passed) who referred to her son's wife as her "Daughter-In-Love" That is what I thought of when I read your story. She is definitely your "MOTHER-IN-LOVE".

Wow, what a wonderful tribute and way to perserve the memories. It sounds like you have and she are both blessed by each other.

Beautiful quilts, and a beautiful, loving story.

OMG........ so much work!!! Good thing it's a labor of love!! Phenomenal job!!

What a wonderful daughter-in-law you are. Your work is amazing.

Both very nice quilts.

both are very nice

Wow, that is beautiful!!! What a blessing you are to your family. Hope they treasure you and the beautiful quilts you made for them.

That is some amazing works! Good luck getting them all done!

You are on a great mission, lots of work but well worth it. The quilts are so beautiful. I had to make 100 quilts for our charity and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

Your quilts are wonderful, and love your story. You hardly ever hear loving mother in law stories. What you are doing is a labor of love, hope you will share more pictures.

Wonderful work!

Thank you, everyone. I am 100% enjoying the quilt making for my wonderful MotherInLaw. I chose this pattern so each quilt would have maximum grandma variety, but be the same - but different in their stars/sashes. I also tried to make them male-ish/female-ish, which was difficult because grandma had a closet of girly fabric. :D After I get the last grandchild quilt quilted I plan on laying them all out together and taking a giant picture! I for sure will post that. Eight tops to finish then the quilting starts!! :D

She truly is a "Mother-In-Love". Thank you for that thought.

Such a sweet and caring DIL you are! Love all your quilts!!!!

Great quilts and a wonderful idea to use her stash! God bless you for your ambition and love for your family!

Beautiful story!! Terrific quilts!!

You, my dear, are a very special lady!!!!!! I admire you for doing this.

delma

Love those quilts

I love this! How wonderful for everyone involved.

great quilts!!!!such a nice story!!!

Ditto. Love the story. BrendaK

This is a very touching story. I, too, helped my MIL with a quilt project. She made a quilt for her bed when she retired teaching. She did a candlewicked embroidery design on each block and put them together and added 2 inch wide lace between the block. Then, she had it hand quilted. She put it on her bed. All the family was there for a family dinner and everybody kept asking her "where is mine?" or "do I get one, too?" so she started at the top of the list of kids ( she had 8) and made the next quilt. After that, she asked me to help so I sewed quilt tops together and used the rotary cutter to cut blocks. I serged the edges so they didn't ravel when she embroideried on them. I sewed lace on one top and hand quilted another. Thru the years that we worked together, we chatted about lots of things, but mostly she told me stories of her life and how she grew up during the depresion. She was 89 when we came to the last quilt, the one for my husband since he was the youngest. She was going in to the nursing home then, because due to health reasons, she could not stay alone any more. She asked me about my quilting and I told her about a quilt that I was working on. I asked about hers and she started to cry. She said she was not going to get the last one finished before she was gone. I asked her if she would like me to finish it for her. The tears rolled down her cheaks and she asked, "Would you?" I said yes I would. She told my husband where she kept all the blocks and the pattern books and the thread she was using for embroidery. We took them home that night. Her health took a turn for the worse and we spent a lot of time with her before she passed away. The quilt could wait. About 6 months after her death, I got out the blocks. Our quilt was to be 42 blocks, 6 wide and 7 long to fit our bed. She had embroideried 27 blocks and the rest were plain. There was one block missing but I found a piece of fabric large enough to cut the last block in the sewing supplies she had given me to finish the quilt that night so long ago. I put it away again. Later, when my DH's family was going thru the house and disposing of a life time of memories, we found the last partially finished block in her sewing basket. I sewed the blocks together but I did not do any more embroidery on the unfinished blocks. I hand quilted in a design in the plain blocks and quilted the embroideried blocks. That way the only embroidery in the quilt is hers. She embroideried the date she started each quilt on the first block and the date she finished on the last. I added the partially finished block and quilted a wreath around the stitching she had done and in the wreath, I quilted the date I finished the quilt. It took me 14 months of stitching to finish it as I was working full time and I could only work in the evenings. It was so pretty when I got it done. My DH is very proud of it and treasures it. I named the quilt "A Promice Kept" because she promised her kids they would each get a quilt and I promised her that I would finish it. I wrote the story of the quilt on the computer and printed it on Printed Treasures. Then I stitched it on the back. The story of this quilt needed to be told and needed to stay with the quilt.

I understand why you worked so hard on these quilts for your MIL and what treasures they will be for those recieving them. What a wonderful way for families to share their love and rememberance of those who have passed. Thank you for doing this and for sharing your story with us.

Maryb119....you've given me more tears today. Thank you for your story too. I sat down to put her label on the back and called her at our daily time. My niece answered the phone with tears and told me they were takings MIL to the hospital. She's been growing so weary all week and it came to a head this morning. Needless to say I am a mess. I know my MIL has seen a picture of the quilt. I hope she gets to cuddle it as well.

I am touched by your story and am now reconsidering how to handle some of my own 88 year old mother's work for my siblings and her grands.

Jan in VA

Amazing, do you do anything other than quilt? You must be terribly busy, you've accomplished so much and such a beautiful job. It is so heartwarming to here she loved the quilt so much she wants to take it with her. Congratulations on your accomplishments.

You are an amazing daughter in law....would love to have one like you....have one that is close!!! (One not so much)

I am the "finisher", Jan. I go visit, see something she's started probably 30 years ago or longer, and I take it home and finish it for her. And not just her, I finished baby afghans for sisterinlaws and quilts for nieces. While I was with my MotherInLaw for those six weeks I found embroidered pillowcases she had done. The crocheted edge had been made by MILs GRANDMOTHER. There are exactly enough sets for each of her granddaughters to receive one. Most of these are finished but some need embroidery finished or the crochet edge done. When I need a quilting break I am finishing her embroidered pillowcases. The plan is to gift a set on each granddaughters birthday the year following grandmas passing.

Nice quilts.

It sounds like we both were blessed with wonderful MIL's. These women are so special and the quilts will be a treasure for those left behind....like a warm hug. I hope your MIL gets to cuddle with her quilt, too.

my condolences on the passing of your FIL. the quilts and sentiment are beautiful

All I can say is that you are very challenged to make all these quilts. Also God will surely bless you for doing them.
Not many people have mother in laws that they love this much. I never had the chance to meet mine she had passed away before I met my husband. I think making quilts for all my kids and grands a big job, have 6 kids and 20 grands, by the time I get one set made and start another they are all waiting with hopes of a new one.

Two wonderful stories. Both of you are so blessed to have loving mothers-in-law. However, they were also blessed to have loving and devoted DILs. I would love to have that kind of family. Thanks for sharing such heartwarming love.