Yep, like many of you, I am sure, I want to use this year to finish up some UFOs that have been sitting in my sewing room for far too long. I have one that is older than two of my children! It’s an Ohio Star civil war reproduction that I started when my second child was young. I was going to hand-piece the whole thing. I figured it would be a long-term project, maybe taking me ten years! Oh, to be young and naive again! That was at least 20 years ago now! Anyway, more on that later this year. (I hope).

First up on the finishing table is a not-so-old project, however. Sometime in the summer, my friend, Martha, asked if I could make a memory quilt for her out of her father’s ties. I was hesitant, as I’d never done one before, but she told me it would be small since she only had about 20 ties. I finally agreed and dived into the internet for instructions.

I soon realized that it was going to be more difficult than I had at first imagined. I thought I could just sew those ties down to a background and it would all be good! Yeah, no. I waffled for a long time, doing far more research than necessary, afraid of not being able to do a good job.

Eventually, Martha and I agreed on a design, and I started ripping them apart and fusing interfacing to the backs. Some blogs recommended washing them first, but since most of the ones I had were silk, I didn’t want to risk it. And this would be a wall hanging that shouldn’t ever need to be washed. After getting the center dresden circle done and basted to the background, the quilt sat on my design wall for several months, once again victim of my creative fear. With some gentle prodding from Martha, I finally got it done this past week.

The border is done with scraps leftover from the ties, and it is appliqued on rather than pieced into the quilt. Originally I did that so that if it didn’t look good I could just take it off, but I think it actually does add to the quilt. I had planned on taking this quilt all the way to the finish line, but after getting the top done, I really think it deserves some fancy heirloom quilting, and that is not something I am good at. If I were to quilt it, I would do a simple outline and straight lines radiating out from the center dresden. It needs more than that, so Martha has agreed to get it professionally done.

Overall, I am happy with it, and glad I took on the challenge. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it is quilted!