I love to sew.  It is relaxing for me and lately has been a source of comfort.  I haven't had a sewing machine in years now.  I do everything by hand.  I'd like to tell you how easy it is to make a memory quilt by hand with all the clothes and pieces of lace, buttons, even medals and rings you've saved, all the things that hold meaning to your life and your past.

My husband recently died and I have all his blue jeans.  He was a jeans man and almost every picture I have of him, he's in his jeans.  I know I will never be able to give them away or toss them out.  Some are far too worn to be given away.  No one but me would want them.  So I'm making a Husband Quilt.  It's not an official quilt name like the Log Cabin, but I bet mine will not be the only one.  I've cut up his jeans, saving front pockets and back pockets for squares, and the legs for other squares and possibly a pieced backing.  It is a work in progress at the moment but one that I know will bring me comfort and warmth when I feel the coldness of his absence.

I did the same with my children's baby clothes.  I made a quilt that hangs on my wall.  I cut everything up, saving the little teddy bears, the embroidered ducks, their monograms, bits of lace, etc. to create a memory of when they were young.  It is easy to do.

Not having a sewing machine is not a drawback.  To sew my squares, or whatever shape I cut them in, I use a back stitch.  It keeps things tight and neat.  When adding odd pieces I use anything from a running stitch, to a blind stitch for hand appliques, to blanket stitches.  For any embroidery I want, say for example dates, names, quotes, I use the back stitch.  For other embellishments I use the full spectrum of what seems to fit and what pleases me.  Daisy stitch, french knots, blanket stitches, all the way up to the fancy woven spider's wheel.

Anything goes when you don't limit yourself to a sewing machine.  I've included links to some great sewing and embroidery stitch websites.  Their drawings and photos and directions have never failed me.  And I've added a few pictures of my own quilts.  It brings me peace to work on them.  It is a comfort to have the clothing and items I've sewn on.  And I know that when I finish my Husband Quilt it, too, will be a source of warmth and love during the times when the realization of his death hits me too hard and I feel cold.

I hope these links and my photos inspire you to go into your closet and bring out those items you can't let go of and do something with them to help you hang onto your memories with something tangible and beautiful to wrap yourself in.