The Stenson Quilts
The Stenson quilts were created in memory of a much loved father and husband who died too young leaving Meg, his wife, with three children. Meg put his clothes in storage thinking someday she or her children might want them. Her foresight and trust in her own intuition led to the idea of creating quilts for the children using Bill's clothing. These quilts are not wall hangings, they are warm and snuggly meant to wrap up in.
We began by looking at various quilt patterns, discussing what they liked about the pattern of their choice and any special features (i.e. photos, insignia) they hoped could be included in their quilts. Then we turned to the clothes, sorting shirts, ties, slacks and Bill's delightful collection of boxer shorts allowing each of the kids to choose the items they wanted for their quilt. This resulted in five bags of clothes: one bag each with the items they specifically wanted included in their quilt, items that Lila and Anna both wanted, and those pieces all three wanted. The children also chose the photo(s) for inclusion. I left Meg's house with eight garbage bags of cloths and pages of notes. After the quilt tops were complete, Meg and I chose the fabrics for backing each quilt then the pieces were finished.