I’ve already posted about two of the special Christmas gifts I made for my kids with supplies from my late mother’s stash; a turtle apron for Abigail and a scarf for Betsy. This is what I made for my little boy, Henry.
Henry had been asking me to make him a quilt since I’d finished his sister’s last winter. When my mother suddenly passed away in July, leaving behind a stack of fabrics clearly intended for the kids but with no direction as to what she would have made, I decided to use several to make him a quilt.
I chose a Rail Fence pattern because this boy loves to trace patterns, and I thought he’d enjoy driving his matchbox cars on the black and white zig-zags. This is the fourth quilt I’ve made, and the more I learn about quilting, the simpler the patterns I’m choosing. When I started I didn’t quite know what I was getting into!
The robots on blue, owls on black, and vehicles on white were from Mom’s stash. I bought the orange tractors (Moda Farm Fun Working the Fields in Pumpkin by Stacey Iest Hsu), the farm backing (Moda Farm Fun Grass by Stacey Iest Hsu) and tractor back side panels (Kaufman Everyday Favorites Tractors Green by Mary Lake-Thompson) and John Deere Little Farm Multi for the binding.
I like how the tractors go up one side of the back and down the other.
It went surprisingly well, with relatively few mishaps, which is a first for me. Perhaps my mother’s spirit was guiding me through the process. I took a lot more time to carefully check and re-check my math and my measurements, which is much more like my mom than like me.
The quilt is somewhere between the size of a lap quilt and a twin size. My husband asked why I didn’t make it a true twin, and the answer is that this is all of the blue robot fabric that was left over. Just these few little scraps.
I was so nervous about cutting up the fabric and my math having been off. It was close, but I managed to cut everything I needed out of the fabric that she’d left!
And it’s a great size for snuggling under with my four-year-old on a cold day.
I’m so glad I could make each of the kids a last Christmas gift from their grandma.
Shared at Crazy Mom Quilts.
Rebecca Breed Pepper 
This is so beautiful. I love that I can see you so much in Henry and in his eyes and expression, and I especially love that when you wrap up together in this quilt, you bring together your heart lines.
Thank you. I hope that some day he’ll understand what it all means.
Mom would be so proud of what you made. It’s beautiful!
Thank you, Aunt Carol!
nicely done! So sweet that you made your kids ‘last gifts’ from their grandma. (and that she had fabrics in her stash clearly earmarked for them!) I loved that you could see a little more of your mom in the way that you worked on the quilt. I am so sorry for your loss.
Thank you.