All Thumbs

Make the quilt with whatever fabrics you have; whatever fabrics the MIL suggests; and eat the cost however you may. There will come a day when you are 75-80 and these women (whether a B----- or absent of mind) have passed and you will look back at the 20 to 30 hours devoted to make this moment of happiness by simply quilting was well worth the effort. Good luck and remember God blesses you with this ability to sew not only for ill children at summer camp (mentioned in your profile) but also for an elderly senile woman and her daughter (your MIL) whose life may not have been the most pleasant before you married her son. Life changes people. I have been in your shoes. Now a hint for the nursing home, quilt that label with grandmother's name within the quilt. It takes a lot of time to get identification off a quilt if label is also quilted.

jpthequilter

II agree! Having had some similar experiences! My advice is to put her name in large letters across the bottom of the FRONT of her quilt! Make the quilt as simple as you can, using an easy pattern like a square within a square, or nine patch blocks, because perhaps she won't recognize the quilt and give it away, insisting it isn't her, so don't make a complicated work of art. Just make it colorful!
Funny things happen in a nursing home sometimes....We caught my elderly cousin one time, in her neighbor's room where they were both busily writing "escape" notes, helping each other, although the neighbor lady was writing hers in italian!
...and my cousin would go "shopping" in her neighbor's rooms, and brought back all the stuffed toys she could find and hid them in a small chest of drawers, giving away all of her nighties and towels, to make room for them! The nurses would find those in the laundry, and hang them in her closet.
Each time I visited, I would unpack the stuffed animals, and scatter them in the chairs and couches in the punlic areas, having no idea who they belonged to!
J

jpthequilter

II agree! Having had some similar experiences! My advice is to put her name in large letters across the bottom of the FRONT of her quilt! Make the quilt as simple as you can, using an easy pattern like a square within a square, or nine patch blocks, because perhaps she won't recognize the quilt and give it away, insisting it isn't her, so don't make a complicated work of art. Just make it colorful!
Funny things happen in a nursing home sometimes....We caught my elderly cousin one time, in her neighbor's room where they were both busily writing "escape" notes, helping each other, although the neighbor lady was writing hers in italian!
...and my cousin would go "shopping" in her neighbor's rooms, and brought back all the stuffed toys she could find and hid them in a small chest of drawers, giving away all of her nighties and towels, to make room for them! The nurses would find those in the laundry, and hang them in her closet.
Each time I visited, I would unpack the stuffed animals, and scatter them in the chairs and couches in the punlic areas, having no idea who they belonged to!
J

tatavw01

use what you have on hand...

patimint

I hope this doesn't come off as critizing you, but wheather or not you buy more fabric than is needed isn't the point. buying what is called for in the pattern is fine. This is your husband's grandmother you are making it for, not your mil, although she suggested it. Having my mother in a nursing home 2 years before her death was hard. She didn't know us, but some people in nursing homes become attached to "things", a quilt, a teddy bear, a doll and even if they don't know who gave it to them, it, for some reason, is dear to their heart. Putting her name on the quilt is a must. taking it home to wash maybe a problem, unless there is family member right in town. Items in nursing homes may needed washing more often then they would at home. Make it to go through a lot of washings (like a baby quilt), make it with all the love you can put into it and it will be cherished for many years to come, if not by Grandma, then by your mil and your dh. God bless you.

MemoryKeeper

I think you know what you want to do. So, do it and live with the consequences. The trick is to predict what they will be and most importantly, decide exactly what it is you want. Fabric or recognition? Someday, with luck, you'll be a MIL too.

newestnana

I had made a quilt for my mother when she was in a nursing home. She had Alzheimer's so didn't know any of us, or pretty much anything else either. Each time (yes, EACH time) I'd go to visit her (in another state), we would realize the quilt was missing from her room...it's so easy for stuff to move around, and I don't think it was really anybody's intention to steal it. So my brothers and I would go on a treasure hunt and eventually find the quilt. Since it had my mom's name on it, there was no question where it belonged, so we'd return it to her room.

She has since passed away, and I am sitting now with her quilt. She might never have been aware of its sentimental value, but I am, and I love having it and the memory associated with it.

I suspect you (or your MIL) will inherit the quilt someday, and will love it at least as much as it original recipient.

I realize this has nothing to do with your question...but it gives me comfort just telling the story.

SWChick

Sounds like you have a lot of resentment against MIL right now so remember it will be for GMIL. I would do a fast quil, twin size and put her name on it with permanent black marker, large. My GM was in a home for several years and if her name was not on everything it disappeared. Also remember when GMIL passes the quilt, if still there will be given to your MIL. Have her buy the fabric for quilt, scraps are yours but think about the person who is getting the quilt and what she has meant to her family over the years while you make it. Quilts are a part of us and you want the woman to feel love not resentment when she is covered with it. God bless you.

bucksprt

I made my MIL a a quilt just prior to her going in a home.
It was made with 5X7" blocks all machine embroidered with lg
colorful flowers. These blocks took forever to make and really was pretty. She did love it and kept it on her bed. Fast forward. She died and the quilt disappeared.
Be sure to have your name on it.

ssnare

Make a lap quilt, it won't take as long and it will be used. And everyone will be happy. You could even get cheater material.