This is a deeply personal quilt. Before passing away, my grandmother gave her blessing for me to use her clothing to create a quilt. We discussed the quilt design together and agreed the most appropriate quilt block would be the flying geese pattern as Grandma had a keen connection with birds.

The making process was a creative rite of passage. Initially, I assumed I would utilise all of her clothing and fabrics suitable for hand stitching. This eliminated items such as her raincoat and some pairs of heavy pants. However, during the making process, the palette and overall feeling of the quilt just wasn’t right. There was something missing. It didn’t feel like Grandma. I reviewed my initial plan and realised I needed to add in fabrics which represented colours which she wore that I didn’t have appropriate fabric for. I even ended up including linens in the tone of the walls and carpet in her home. At last, the whole process began flowing and I recognised that for a quilt to deeply feel like the person it honours, at times it may be aesthetically necessary to bring in other fabrics and colours.

The quilt provides a continuing connection to our family’s matriarch. My daughter will often trace a finger over each piece, naming the fabrics as great Grandma’s shirts, aprons, scarfs, even her pillow cases and serviettes. This quilt is used and cherished every day.