I made this quilt for my in-laws' 65th wedding anniversary in 2008.
I had a lot of neutral fabrics at the time and thought a sepia toned quilt might be fun. I was going to do the photos all in sepia but decided they'd get lost in the pattern. The parent blocks in the center and children's blocks in the corners have darker sepia tones and the grandchildren's blocks are a little lighter. For each family member, I attached a silver charm to represent a hobby or interest. (Single family members got two, just to balance things out, and my in-laws got lots of charms since it was their celebration.) If you look closely, you'll see many different sports charms, but also cooking, reading, art, travel, craft, music and religious charms, as well as a motor home, cowboy boots, a coffee cup, antique tea cup and southwestern themed charms.
I think the photos in the quilt are 4 inches square, so the quilt is approximately 28 by 36 inches. I used Printed Treasures fabric for an ink jet printer to make the photo blocks, and it worked quite well. There has been a fair amount of fading since then, but that's okay. The quilt has served its purpose. I pieced it on my Singer Featherweight and quilted it by hand with cotton thread. The batting is Mountain Mist Cream Rose, I think.
Sadly, we have lost two family members since we celebrated the anniversary--my father-in-law and a brother-in-law. But there is also joy. My mother-in-law has gained a grand-daughter (my son's wife) and 8 great-grand children since the quilt was made.
The most enjoyable part of this project (aside from making the quilt, obviously) was matching the charms to each family member, but that also took the longest. I would recommend a project like this, but be sure you allow sufficient time to keep it fun. (It might include some harassment of others to get some of the photos and feedback on hobbies. Just sayin')
As noted above, I'm linking up with Val's Quilting Studio. Have a good weekend, everyone!
