Granny Jo's Memory Quilt and Pinterest Challenge

If you remember I gave you a preview of the quilt I was working on here for my Mom's 81st birthday. Well I finally finished it and my siblings and I presented it to her at our family reunion. She loved it. She said she had always wanted one so that made all the hard work worth it. I have to warn you there are quite a lot of pictures, but I did want to showcase a few of the quilt blocks.

We each made one or more quilt blocks representing our family. Some did it with pictures, others with pieced blocks. I then used a technique called twist and turn to tie the whole together since all the blocks turned out to be different sizes. I also did something totally different than I have ever done before and that was using the scraps all sewn together to sew around the outside of the quilt. I really liked the different colors used to tie the whole together.

If you remember I have been giving myself a Pinterest challenge, to use at least one of my pins each week. Well Pinterest came in very handy when I went to finish out this quilt. Not knowing how to properly bind a quilt I went to my go to resource guide and found this link. The turorial was so easy to follow I had the quilt bound in no time and it looks really great. Thanks Amy for an easy to follow tutorial.

Here are a few close ups and a picture of my Mom with her finished quilt.

My youngest son Alan and nephew Karsten holding the quilt.

Butterfly Quilt block behind my mom's head represented me. When I was a small girl I always told my mother that I wanted to be a butterfly. Also the hanky it was made from belonged to my father's sister who is now in her late 90s so the block has double significance. It is also another of my pins which you will find here.

And here is a close up of said block. I went by Vikki Jo when I was younger, much younger! :-}

My dad was a character and this quilt would not be complete without a representation of him as well. He always wore bib overalls so this square has a piece from his bibs. The picture is of him as a young man when he grew a beard for the Montana centennial.

 Cute caricature of my niece Rue and her husband Brice.

And another pin to represent my husband and I. We have both been divorced and now have a wonderful marriage. I really liked the sentiment so even though the heart I made is a bit different I used the poem and the idea I found here. This was my first paper piecing project. If you check the block to the left you can kind of see my nephew all dressed up in my father's old scout uniform. Loved that my sister-in-law included that.

Quilt block representing my second son and his wife.

And this one to represent their son. Can you believe she had hardly ever sewed before this?

Even my 8 year old granddaughter made one. I was very proud of her for doing that. She is learning to sew and loves it. She is going to be just like her Nanna one day.

This one was made by my youngest brother's wife. Love the colors. My mother's favorite color is purple and so is mine, I am really loving this.

My oldest brother's wife made these two beautiful blocks.

My oldest son's wife made this one with all the handprints in their family. Such a unique idea.

And last but definately not least, the block my daughter did to represent her youngest daughter. Her name is Zaphren, but she calls herself Zappi, she is three and full of energy and noise. Hence what Becky wrote on the block, "The Hills are alive, with the sound of Zappi!" Love the furry sheep.

All in all the quilt was a lot of work for all involved, but will give my mother much enjoyment and isn't that what life is all about? Thanks for taking the time to look at all my pictures.

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