Go Hornfrogs!!

Every Quilt tells a story!!

(and I am trying to catch up on telling a few of my quilt stories)

My niece headed off to Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, Texas this fall. I wanted to make her something “fun and funky” that would fit her personality.


 

I grabbed my inspiration from the TCU Hornfrog’s fight song which seems silly but has great history tied to it.  I contacted  the family to send me pieces of their clothing or some sort of message or keepsake so Kennedy would have a piece of each of us with her. I had no idea what the correct color of TCU was, so when I started receiving vintage t-shirts from her mom (also a TCU grad) in a big variety of purples, I knew I could do this.

Nolan’s favorite color is purple so he helped and I think he was sure this was for him. I promised him I would make him one for college! (excuse the laundry on the table- real life pic)

I apologize in advance for the cell phone pics, but I think you will get the concept.


When Kennedy was little she couldn’t say Lissa and she is the one that coined my nickname, IZZY.

 I must be too lazy to do a quilt label, so I always have the quilter stitch my label in with the quilting stitches. ( thanks, Maggi Honeyman)

My brother sent me some text messages that he had kept. They were so sweet that I had to use them. I transferred them to fabric using an inkjet printer and Printed Treasures printable fabric. This is a picture of the back of the quilt. I used Purple Snuggles on the back so that this quilt could be dragged to football games on cold Texas winter nights. Okay, it is not that cold in Texas but I love the weight and feel of this fabric for quilt backs.

My mom probably kept every card, picture or note that Kennedy had ever sent her. My mom passed away last year and I knew pieces of Gammy needed to be included. Various notes and messages are used throughout.

Kennedy’s maternal grandmother passed away several years ago. Popsicle (grandad) sent me a box of clothes and as soon as I opened the box I could smell Mama Faye. Both Grandmothers are still a special part of Kennedy’s life and keeping a good eye on her.

In the left hand corner of the picture above is a copy of Kennedy’s baby blanket. I just took a picture of it and transferred to fabric.
Isn’t technology great? The printable fabric is washable and you can transfer almost anything to it.

I found a drawing of Kennedy and her mom. Had to use that!

Remember when people actually wrote letters? And kids always had to end with P.S. and P.S.S and
P.S.S.S. Thank you for my cleansing set.

It was a nightly ritual if you were with Gammy. You got to use all her fancy cleansers, cotton balls and
moisturizers no matter what your age.

My mom and Kennedy wrote letters back and forth quite often, but there was one small problem. Kennedy could not read cursive so my mom would write a letter, my brother would read it to her. But if there was anything “secret” that Gammy wanted to talk about such as boyfriends, etc., she would print it and put it in a special envelope labeled, FOR KENNEDY’S EYES ONLY.

My message to Kennedy was a piece of a T-shirt my brother gave me after I had brain surgery, What’s Your Superpower? I hope she thinks about all her many gifts / super powers that makes her such a special person. 

Really I promise the quilt is cool, but cell phone pics from a dorm room probably don’t showcase it best.
Some of her mom’s t-shirts were cut up and used as pieced letters, but a few of them had such strong messages that they needed to be highlighted on their own. Make It Possible, Make It Happen,  Make It Yours.

I don’t have a pic, but I also sewed part of a TCU T-shirt to the bottom, back middle of the quilt. I did this so that the quilt could fold up into a Quillow, a quilt turned into a pillow. The main reason I did this is when the quilt is in use, she could also slide her feet into the little pocket for extra added warmth. I think ever I may have to add a foot pocket to all my quilts in the in the future.

My sister in law really knows how to throw a graduation party so I had to include this  pic of my

granddaughter, Imrie enjoying the yummy cookies.

Riff, Ram, Bah Zoo

Lickety, Lickety, Zoo, Zoo

Who, Wah, Wah, Who

Give “em Heck, TCU.

 

Over and out. Thanks for listening to my story.

 

-modalissa

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11 comments

  1. Little Quiltsong says:

    Oh the detail and love that you put into this gorgeous quilt – so heartfelt and awesome! What a special gift you made! Love the last little munchkin pic of your granddaughter – so sweet!

  2. Susan Riley says:

    WHAT a wonderful story! This is SO how my brain works also…and I save everything.
    “thanks mom for saving all these papers, but I think I’m just going to throw them away”…WHAT???? I’ve saved all their cards so have all these signatures from the past & long gone. Plus the pictures tucked in-this is such a treasure & imagine it was so fun to create. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story. (and NO ONE will be able to steal this quilt in her dorm 🙂 ) Susan R

  3. Linzee K. McCray says:

    You know I love a good story, Lissa, and you really know how to tell one! I feel as though I got do know members of your family by reading this post and learning about the pieces of them you included them in the quilt. Kennedy is lucky to have such a thoughtful aunt who’s figured out a way to surround her with love. Your creativity shines!

  4. Mary Ann Scanlon says:

    Such a heartfelt and amazing gift for what sounds like a remarkable young woman. And thank you for sharing the story and ideas for incorporating memories in our quilts. Time to start planning and saving things for Noah and Imrie’s graduation quilts,

  5. Brigitte says:

    Oh wow, so many lovely thoughts, stories and memories in this quilt, a heritage quilt. I mean you can literally say, that every fiber in this quilt is soaked full of love. If anybody would ever do such a quilt for me, it would blow me away for sure. Great project, lovely style – totally Lissa! XOXO

  6. Debbie Maddy says:

    Oh my goodness if ever there was an act of love, this quilt is it. She will surely treasure it forever. Wish I was in your family 🙂

  7. Helen G says:

    That is such a special quilt! I love all the stories you sewed into this quilt! Thanks for sharing your process and the end product!

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