Crazy Autograph Quilt Square.

My mom will have passed one year ago on the twelfth. I knew that there was an annual Hospice quilt in the works. But, it hadn't really registered. When I got the "last call" a couple of weeks ago, I was jarred into action. My mom's favorite type of quilt was the crazy quilt and she especially liked the autograph versions. So, I thought that would be the best type of block to make.

My first order of business was to run through my scraps. I pulled out bits and pieces of things that she had worked on; I had worked on; or, we had worked on. Then, I pulled out the embroidery floss. I've embroidered for the majority of my life and have a huge collection of flosses of my own. I also have a box that was my mom's and one that was my grandmother's. So, plenty to sift through, there.


In one of my boxes, I turned up a series of embroidered scraps. Years ago, my mom had showed me a crazy quilt tree skirt kit from the Herrschners catalog. I decided to make two of them for wedding presents, one of which went to my niece. I went through my mom's scraps and picked out pieces from clothing and items that she had made for my niece and siblings when they were growing up. I assembled the one that was for my niece and sent it off. But, the friend the second skirt was intended for divorced and the skirt was never assembled. I tucked the pieces away and had forgotten about them.

Seeing them again, I realized that they had some really weird karma. Not only had my friend divorced, but, my niece as well. I knew I could never put them into any other project. Figuring that nothing bad could ever happen to my mom again, this project seemed like the perfect home for them.


I picked over the fabric selections and whittled down my choices. I chose a reject block from a quilt my mom had made for me; fabric from three skirts I had made, including one that my mom had picked out the fabric for; some silk I had in my stash that was printed in my mom's favorite colors: red, purple and green; and a dress we had made together. I also added a butterfly to represent my mom's (and mine) interest in butterfly gardening and a print of a vintage valentine with a bee. I selected three of the aforementioned embroidered scraps that worked best with my fabric selections and Eric screen printed my mom's photo onto silk.


Doing this signature is a bit of a cheater. Traditionally, ladies stitched their own squares and swapped them. So, when you encounter an antique autograph quilt, you are probably looking at the stitching of the person whom the signature belonged to. But, for the purpose of a memorial quilt, I think this is fine.

I went through her old checks and picked out a perfect example of her signature as I remember it. I expanded it on a copier, then stitched through the paper onto the fabric. I then sprayed the paper with water and picked the paper off, leaving the basting behind. I used the basting as a guide to embroider the signature.

This particular piece of fabric came from a skirt I had made. She had really liked this fabric. I think it is especially pertinent because we had spent so much time looking at the stars. When we would go up north, we would stand out in the dark and stare up at the sky. The last time, we stood out in the road in our nightgowns. She was nervous about being seen. I coaxed her out into the road, telling her that we could hear and see any vehicle long before they could see us. We got a magnificent view of the Milky Way that night.


So, I cut an 8"x8" back piece and began trimming and basting all of my pieces into place. Once the base pieces were basted in place, I began embroidering the seams. I learned to embroider from my grandmother. But, I hadn't done any in a few years. Rather than dig around and look at some books, I just winged it from memory. I could have had a few more stitches. But, I stuck to the basics and did the first few stitches I learned.

After the basic outline was in place for the embroidery, I added the butterfly, valentine and orange appliqué. I then went back and embellished all of the stitches, interspersing the colors throughout the piece. I had wanted to add a chocolate colored ribbon from an Easter bunny, but I wasn't sure where I had put them. This piece had to be handed in on Monday, so I dropped it off in the afternoon. On Tuesday, I saw one of the little ribbons in the kitchen. I guess that means that I should fish around amongst my family and friends to see if I can get a few stitching ladies together for a swap.

More photos are here.