Grandma’s Sheets Quilt

Grandma’s Sheets Quilt

After my Grandma passed away I was able to be there with aunts, uncles, and cousins as we sorted the items that remained in her home.

Because she was so organized there wasn’t much left…only precious memories and utilitarian items…like a set of old sheets…sheets that moved from house to house…that I had slept in….that were quintessentially my grandmother.

That set of sheets came home with me.

I tried to cut into them a number of times but didn’t. I couldn’t think of a pattern that would do justice to those sheets.

It is strange how, when you lose someone, previously unimportant things can somehow become treasured memory keepers.

I’d pull out those sheets. Smell my grandmas laundry detergent. Think of her quilts, sleepovers, apple turnovers, corn muffins….a million other little things….and I couldn’t cut into them.

And then one day I was in the sewing room, again looking at the sheets, and I realized what I wanted….I wanted to use the entire sheet and wrap up in it just like I did when I was little.

There was only one little problem….there was a fairly large rip near the center of the sheet.

So I cut the sheet into two pieces and squared them up to create a “top” and “bottom” for a quilt front.

Next, I created a little band with flowers that were reminiscent of the pillow cases that my grandma used to love. This band would be sandwiched between the pieces of sheet to create my grandma’s sheet quilt.

The band was constructed with simple squares and rectangles that I paired with a blue stripe and border.

Easy peasy.

Sadly I accidentally reversed the green leaf pieces on both the left and right hand side of the band without realizing it:

But, at least I made the mistake on both sides…so…the quilt is still symmetrical….and I will take that as a win.

Last month I got the chance to go spend time with my brother who currently lives in Amsterdam.

When he moved there several years ago my grandma was worried about him being so far away. She’d call and fret and was always so relieved when I’d go over to visit and “check up on him”.

I always wished that she would have been able to make the visits with me.

She would have loved the beautiful city that my brother calls home.

And so it only felt right to bring this quilt with my on my trip to “check up” on my brother and walk it around the city.

I actually loved having that quilt with me.

In a way it felt like I was able to bring my grandma along for the adventure….and to “check up” on my brothers new apartment.

It sat with us on the couch as we talked late into the night and I slept with it on my bed…just like when we used to have sleepovers at her house.

This is not a complicated quilt. In fact, I made the entire thing on a Sunday afternoon.

But I love this quilt…and I am keeping it for myself, to be used. To wrap up in when I need to be wrapped in memories of childhood, and my grandma, and a summer afternoons walking along canals.

How lucky I am to have this. It feels like a gift.

-liZ