I almost always have a project or three that I'm working on and this year was no exception. I tried new recipes like The Carbomb Cupcakes. I scrapbooked my way through our Hawaiian Honeymoon and made my own wedding album on Adormapix. By far the biggest undertaking of the year was the quilt for my grandmother.
My grandfather was a very well dressed man, and I could probably count on one hand the times I've seen him without a starched shirt and tie on. He passed in February at the age of 85 and when my grandmother was ready and started going through his belongings, I asked her for all his ties. Over the next few months she gave me bags of them over 60 in total and I started the quilt in May.
I was inspired by a photo I had found through a google search, and while I have a background in sewing I had never quilted before. I chose fabrics at Joann's that had a menswear feel, like cotton shirting and pinstripe suit twill. I transferred and embroidered the names of all 20 of my family members on to the sashing of the quilt. Then I started basting and stitching the ties and putting everything together. I hit some roadblocks and improvised somethings but I finished the quilt in November and gave it to my grandmother on Thanksgiving. She was surprised and thrilled and so glad to have something so tangible to remember him by, she loved the you could still smell his signature cologne on it. It brought a lot of my family members to tears. Its large enough for her to use it on her double bed but i think she wants to hang it in the living room for all to see.
Renee at work helped me take some incredible photos of it.
