"My children, love must not be a matter of words or talk,

it must be genuine and show itself in action. " - 1 John 3:18

Bring a Memory

Quilt Activity

Prepare a special quilt for your little one made of fabrics collected from shower guests, and/or invite a wider array of grandparents, parents, siblings and friends to contribute fabrics.  The finished quilt contains all of the energy, love and wishes from the special people who are a part of your new baby's life. 

There are many, many scrap quilt designs available that will showcase an array of seemingly random fabrics and colors. View the following examples, then read about the activity below.

Though quilts have been grouped to help visitors envision possible uses,

any quilt or design can be customized to meet your special needs or occasion.

(Click on photos to enlarge and enhance detail.)

Millennium Quilt 2000 - 100x92 Patchwork

Like this quilt made up of hundreds of patches from many individual contributors, even random  patches can create a beautiful, unified whole.

By using coordinating border colors, the random placement of many different fabrics come together in this quilt design to attain a cohesive, folksy feel.

Big, bold blocks of scrappy fabrics team up beautifully, unified by their blue commonality.  

"Bring a Memory" Quilt Activity Requirements

Have each attendee bring a swatch of fabric to the shower to equal at least 7” x 7”.  At the event ask each attendee to snip a small piece of fabric from the corner of their fabric and attach it to a Quilt Memory Card (see suggestion below) or onto pre-made Scrapbook Pages.  Have each person note their name, where the fabric is from and if it holds any special memories.  Ask them to add wishes, sentiments or advice for the mother to be, baby or new family.

After the event, Legacy Quilts will design and piece the fabric swatches into a lovely patchwork quilt, and the Memory Cards or Scrapbook Pages can be assembled into a book of memories and wishes for the new mother.

*Send the following information out in advance to shower guests or others, informing them of the activity and asking them to bring (or send) fabrics for your quilt. 

(Copy the following text into your computer's word processor and modify to fit your needs.  Format and print out  to mail with shower invitations.) 

“To help welcome our new little one in a special way and create a lasting memory, we would like to put together a Baby Quilt made up of many different pieces of fabrics infused with the energy, love and wishes of the many people who are special to us and our baby. 

 

*We ask that you bring one (or more!) pieces of fabric/clothing that has special meaning for you to the shower.  This can be a piece of your children’s clothes, your own maternity clothing, clothing from the past, old curtains, the box you were going to take to Goodwill, that old blouse with a stain on the sleeve, those jeans you’ve never mended, cast off sheets, or the hem of a taken-up skirt, etc. 

 

The only guidelines are these:

·    Cotton or a cotton/poly blend fabric is best.  (Nothing too shiny, stretchy, flimsy or sheer, although we can work with these if it’s what you really want to use.)

·      The swatch(es) must be at least equal to 7 inches by 7 inches.  (If you bring a strip or pieces that can be assembled to 7”x7” that will do, too.)

·     *No need to bring the whole garment, if you’d prefer.  Just a swatch or two will do.

·       Any colors will work, but **bright colors will make a lovely baby quilt. 

[**Substitute preferred colors – ie. Nursery Colors, Traditional Blue or Pink, Pastels, Primary Colors, Denims, etc…]

 

At the event, you will be asked to fill out a Memory Quilt Card or Scrapbook Page, attaching a small piece of your fabric, noting where the fabric is from and if it holds any memory for you, as well as any wishes, sentiments, or advice for the new mother, baby and family.  Each memory will be built into a scrapbook, just as we will build the fabrics you bring into a beautiful quilt, infused with your love, energy and wishes for our little one.”

Optional

As addendums to this activity consider :

• Using a permanent fabric pen or markers have guests sign their name and/or pen sentiments directly on their fabric pieces.

• Asking guests to bring whole garments.  Before cutting swatches for the quilt, spend some time having each contributor show their garment and share the story behind it with the group.   [This can be great fun to incredibly wistful if guests are encouraged to bring a certain type of garment like maternity clothes or their own children’s baby clothes.]

Supplies Necessary at the Event

• A free table or work space

• Sharp fabric scissors (with a decorative edge [like pinking shears] is a nice touch)

• Craft glue

• Enough Memory Quilt Cards or Scrapbook Pages to accommodate each guest

  • Modify the following Memory Quilt Card text to meet your needs and print out on paper or cardstock - one for each contributor, or buy pre-made Scrapbook Pages directly from Legacy Quilts.

[Memory Quilt Card Coming Soon]

Have Fun!  

Once you have gathered all of your fabrics, be sure to contact Legacy Quilts to have them designed and pieced into a lovely finished Baby Quilt holding memories for a lifetime and infused with the joy of a very special day!