For a couple of decades or more I have been saving jeans that my four children wore, but didn’t wear out, when they were young.  My plan was to someday, create a jean patchwork quilt for each of them out of the very fabric from their life.  And with our mobile lifestyle and limited storage space, it took a little doing and some resolve to not let these jeans go. 

 

The skills needed to create these quilts started with both my grandmothers.  Grandma Sumsion and Grandma Horton made many quilts.  I remember enjoying their quilts when I was a young girl and each of them gave me a quilt for my wedding.  In fact I used Grandma Sumsion’s quilting frames to tie these quilts.

Audrey's Quilt - Light Blue with a splash of Dark Blue

The first quilt I made was when I was a senior in high school.  Our family had just moved to Salt Lake City and we didn’t know anyone yet.  My mother thought it would ‘kill two birds with one stone’ if we made new quilts for our rooms, to give us something to fill the first weeks in our new home and also design our rooms. 

Brig's Quilt - Dark Blue and Light Blue Mix

Making a patchwork quilt requires a lot of sewing.  My Mom who comes from a long line of expert seamstresses, taught me to sew when I was pretty young, probably about fifth grade.  I made some simple clothes at first but by the time I was in seventh grade, I made a dark chocolate brown seal, fake fur coat that was completely lined.  In junior high I made almost all my own clothes which lead to my first job at age 14 working for a discount fabric store called Bob Goldman’s Yardage in Van Nuys. 

Dallin's Quilt - Black and Gray with Stone Wash

Designing these quilts was great fun.  I wanted to use different parts of the jeans, details like pockets, seams, and labels.  I also chose different colors to create an interesting piece.  Transforming the pants, working around a few worn places, into something new was a highly creative process.  My children even recognize some details from their childhood.

The quilts could be used for picnics, soccer games, football games and the like, or even camping. They are meant to be used and are durable and completely washable.  My hope is that they will create more memories to add to those that brought them into existence and those remembered while making them.  These quilts, in more ways than one, are ‘the fabric of your life’. 

 

 

Russell's Blue and Black Combo

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