A Quilt for Every Special Occasion
Posted by Donna Lynn Thomas on Nov 20th 2017
I'm so excited to finally see The Anniversary Sampler Quilt book become a reality. Although it commemorates and tells stories from forty years of my life, the book is also meant to encourage others to create memory quilts of their own. As the subtitle indicates, there are six more alternate quilt sets in the book to help quilters sit down and put together a special quilt of their own.
You'll find plug-in quilt sets for 10-, 20-, 25-, 30-, 40-, and 50-year anniversaries. A couple of the sets have appliqué components, but the majority don't. One of the sample makers for the book replaced the appliqué indicated in her pattern with fancy quilting, while another embroidered the appliqué designs for her pretty quilt.
There are so many things worth remembering, not just weddings, anniversaries, or graduations. Any important event can be the cause for a special quilt: retirement, moves, friendships, going-away gifts, thank you gifts, sports wins, triumphs, etc. One sample maker for the book made a quilt for her sister to commemorate her tenth year of being cancer-free. Now that is certainly cause for a celebratory quilt!
With forty blocks to choose from, there's something for everyone. Use one block, a handful of blocks with special meaning, or all forty in your quilt. It's all up to you. The blocks will all fit nicely together because they are framed in oversize strips and then trimmed to a standard size.
And just because I made my quilt in the red colors, representative of a fortieth anniversary, doesn't mean you can't choose the colors you prefer or that mean the most for the occasion. Go for it and use contemporary prints, Civil War-reproduction prints, '30s prints, batiks, pastels, jewel tones, solids, primitives, or whatever makes your heart go pit-a-pat. Be sure to label your quilt, telling its story in the process. It's your quilted memory!
