Christie Palladino contacted me several months ago about using her late mother’s clothes to make Christie’s quilt and bears. For her quilt design, she chose a design that was beautiful but also quite challenging. It involved cutting the garments into many small pieces and then carefully stitching them together in a very precise manner. My first step was cutting the small pieces and placing each shirt in a stack.
The quilt evolves
Due to the very light-colored background, I had to carefully place the white garment pieces in the design without them touching the background. This allowed the design to really show through. I stitched 7 rows together as a group before sewing them all together. 
This seemed to keep the rows even and the pattern straight.
Finished quilt
The completed quilt was beautiful! To make the quilt larger, I could not add rows or block without losing the design. I auditioned several fabrics to try adding borders to get more length and width. These added colors seemed to distract from the colors of the memory fabrics. After sending pictures to Christie, she agreed that the quilt needed no extra borders. (There is remaining fabric – so Christie has ordered a king size quilt to be made of these fabrics but using a different design).
Cute Bears
Christie had also specified two of the blouses to be used for 3 memory bears. Later, a fourth bear was requested. To do so, I had to add some fabric from a coordinating shirt. 
They are so cute, and each just seemed to have his own personality.
Delivery is final
Christie’s quilt and bears were complete and safely made their journey to their home in New York. They seem to be a big hit. And I hope they will bring her and her family many treasured memories.
