Memory tree quilt art

This morning I started working on the memory tree quilt art project from the book, Handmade Home. The idea is to take your child's outgrown clothing and make a little memory quilt from it.

I started out by freezer paper stenciling a tree onto some muslin. Amanda used fabric for her tree in the book, but the freezer paper stenciling worked out better for me. It's the first time I've ever done it, and it was fun!My child has outgrown a lot of clothes in her lifetime-she is 18, after all. But all I've really kept are her newborn clothes, some bibs, a few blankets, and a few special pieces over the years. I really didn't want to cut into much of what I had. But lately, she has been having me cut the sleeves off her t-shirts, so I started saving some of her sleeves and thought I could use those. I also used a pair of bloomers (that went with a little sundress) and a bib.

So I cut little leaves from the clothes and hand sewed them onto the muslin with BIG stitches. The little hope (that's her name) was a little metal bookmark(?) that a friend gave me. I painted it and stitched it on to hold it in place. Then I stuck the whole thing in a frame and hung it on the wall. I like it!

Three projects to go before the end of the month!