Is there a special person that you would like to honor? Or an occasion that you would like to commemorate? Perhaps you have a family reunion coming up. Maybe it’s a gift for a baby shower or a new bride. An autograph quilt is a great way to record family history, genealogy, or special memories for the recipient.
You could make blocks ahead, have several marking pens (a type that has archival ink and won’t harm the fabric such as Micron Pigma pens) available and let everyone sign or write a message on the blocks.
At my workplace, a beloved manager was leaving. I say, “manager”, but he was more than that to us all. He would work along side of us. Get down in the dirt with us to get the job done. We knew he truly cared about us as individuals and not just employees. He had our backs. He was going to be missed.
So we decided to make a signature quilt for him and his family.
He loves anything auto racing, Auburn University, and his favorite colors are red and blue. So we combined that information to make his quilt.
The block we chose was the Friendship Star.
This block was perfect! Not only did it represent our admiration for him as our manager, it also spoke volumes about how we considered him our friend. There is plenty of “blank” space within the block for signatures and messages. When the blocks are set in rows and the rows are combined, it produces a beautiful design that gives movement to the quilt.
Freezer paper, when ironed onto the back of the block, gives the fabric stability for writing. It also can set “boundaries” so that people won’t write in the seam allowances. (People who don’t sew, don’t think about those kinds of details, so having a visually set boundary helps.)
Notice the freezer paper is not in the 1/4″ seam allowances.
You can even draw lines with a black marker on the dull side of the freezer paper. It will show through to the fabric on the front and gives straight lines on which to write. (Pictured below.)
Most blocks can become signature blocks simply by inserting a light color fabric on which to write somewhere in the block design.
Whether it’s to be a gift for someone you love, or a wonderful reminder of family or friends, an autograph quilt can be a fun group project.
What blocks have you made into an autograph quilt? Who was it for? What was the occasion?
Happy creating!
Diane