It seemed as we were walking through miles and miles of fabric. On either side of me were bolts of brightly colored flannel and a million possibilities.
"How about this one? Do you like it?" Grandma C. asked.
"Ya I like it. Oooo! Look at this one!" I said as I pointed to a yellow Hello Kitty printed piece.
"Alright, put it on the stack then."
This sort of conversation went on for quite some time as we made our way through the array of fabric options. The year was 2005 and Grandma had come to California to visit. She had taken up a new project of making rag quilts for all of her grandchildren and that day was the day my sister and I would pick out our pieces. I had so much fun finding pieces that I felt represented me. Some were more like me than others, but they are all cute and all made me smile.
As the years passed and life happened, Grandma had some health issues and my sister's and my quilts never got made. Grandma passed away in October 2012. When my mom returned to Grandma's home to clean it out, my sister and I asked her to pick up our fabric so that we could finish our quilts in honor of our sweet Grandma who showed us so much love.
I never found the chance to finish my quilt at the end of 2012 or in 2013 or 2014, but when I moved to Kansas in 2015, my schedule opened up and I finally was able to finish a project that was long-due. This was no ordinary project because I was able to reflect on my memories with Grandma. Her example of love and care for her grand kids was so evident. I loved the stories she told and sitting in the sand at the beach as she showed me the shapes in the clouds. These kinds of memories made me smile and made the 20+ hours of working on the quilt totally worth it.
The How-to:
Rag quilts are awesome because they do not require exactness or any pinning. It took me about a week to finish it and I am happy with how it turned out.
1) My quilt was 12 squares X 12 squares, 144 squares for top and 144 for bottom.
2) I cut my squares 7.5 inches per side to allow for a 1/2 inch frill on each side.
3) My batting squares were 6.5 inches per side
3) I then decided on a pattern and put the pieces together: bottom fabric, batting, and then top.
4) Sewed an "x" through each square to hold the pieces together.
5) Sewed the finished squares together along the side to make finished rows.
6) Sewed the finished rows together.
7) Snipped the raw edges to make frills
8) Washed and dried the quilt to allow the frills to get a "rag" look.
Ta da!
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