molly oldham

I’ve been working on my casket quilt for over 20 years. Off and on of course. I have 7 children so I’ve made 7 individual strips that have 7 blocks in each strip. I pieced with designs that fit each child’s personality and or interests. For instance one daughter Ioves to play cards so I made one of the blocks in her strip the card trick block. The strips will be buttoned together and . When I go to glory the kids will have their strip. I’ll tell you this thing weighs a ton.
The strips can be used as bed runners or table runners.

bearisgray

What a neat idea!

Is your spouse still surviving?

Quiltah Mama

I had an order for a wall hanging that I made a few years back. The lady recently passed away. The family explained to me, she loved the wall hanging so much, they used it as her casket cover. That hit me square in the heart. The family received many compliments on it.

IceLeopard

My daughter says she wants stargazer lilies at her funeral. If they don't make her have a sneezing fit, then we know that she's truly dead and we can go ahead and cremate her.

SuzzyQ

I haven't read the entire thread but I think you are missing the point. The funeral/memorial is for the remaining family and friends. While donations and such to charities, etc are an excellent idea, there still needs to be some flowers/plant life to remind the mourners that life continues, and a life was well lived.
As for covering a casket with a quilt - it is a very good and comforting idea.
I hope you all have discussed your hopes for your own memorial and made your wishes known.

eastslopequilter

I belong to a guild in Montana. Two of our members who passes away have had quilts on their caskets. One of them had a bed turning. The family was instructed to have a bed at the funeral with many quilts on it. She had made many quilts in her life time. As a person came up to tell about their experiences with the deceased they would turn a quilt and expose the next. It was very touching for us that had quilted with her over the years.

The second person requested that one of her quilts be placed on her casket and the other 12 be displayed in the church..

I do not like flowers to begin with so I am going to request some of my quilts be displayed.

juliasb

I have done this twice so far and suppose I will do it again soon enough. The first time a friend asked me to make 2 identical lap quilts so her mother in a nursing home would not be out of her quilt when the other was taken home to be washed. When she died the 2 quilts were laid on her casket instead of flower.
The second one was a quilt I have mentioned here before. It was for my Aunt Mary. I was devoted to her and held her hand until she breathed her last breath in on this side and exhaled on the other side. I made her a purple quilt each block was a bible related block. She slept under it had home for about a year and then a year in the nursing home. It too was placed on her casket when she died instead of flowers. It is now on my own bed where I think about her frequently and the precious gift that came back to me.
So of course I think this is a wonderful idea a great way to create heirlooms. Just my own thoughts.

stitch678

Our quilting group got a request from a local nursing home for a couple of cot sized quilts to cover the deceased (ensconced in body bags). Often, before transport by funeral home can be arranged, a gurney must must go into the hallway , as the rooms themselves need clearing and thorough cleaning for one of the many on a waiting list for residency. I call these " dignity quilts". Since they have been in use, staff got very possitive feedback from the residents who need to pass by a parked cot on their way to somewhere else in the home.

Snooze2978

When my father died back in 1992, the morturary was doing something special using silk flowers for the casket flowers. Then after the funeral, they would divide the flowers by how many are in the family and make bouquets for them to keep in rememberance of the person. I still have my father's flowers.......blue and peach. I found a carnival penny glass vase which of course is also peach/orange and that's what I've had these flowers in all these years. Never of this before the funeral but then I don't go to too many furnerals either if I can help it.

ShannonM

That's a really good idea!