7 ideas for designing a special quilt

 Sometimes I struggle with a reason to make a quilt. I've given once to my husband, all my children and parents, my niece and nephews so now what I think. Well here are 7 ideas for designing a special quilt for a loved one that I came up with that might help you too!

1. Memory quilt: Create a quilt made from old clothing or fabric that holds special memories for your loved one. You could use pieces of their childhood clothes, old t-shirts, or other sentimental items. I've never done this yet, I didn't keep much as far as baby clothes when my kids were small and my daughter had a lot of soccer shirts but she wore them out!

2. Anniversary quilt: Design a quilt to celebrate a special anniversary. You could incorporate the couple's wedding colors or use fabric that represents their interests and hobbies. I thought about making a giant massive beautiful one for me and Jason for our 10-year anniversary. I think you could make wedding quilts also in this category. I hope to make my kids all one for their weddings one day.

3. Travel-themed quilt: Use fabric and patterns that represent places your loved one has traveled to. You could also use a map print fabric and highlight the locations they've visited with embroidered or applique markers. For the past 2 years, I have been purchasing fabric at local quilt shops in the areas we travel to. Sometimes it's just a fat quarter or a yard but it reminds me of my trip and travels. One day it would be fun to make a quilt from all the fabrics from all the places!

4. Family tree quilt: Create a quilt that represents your loved one's family tree. You could use fabric in different colors to represent different branches of the family and include photos of family members in each block. I have seen several of these through the years and it's always fun to see the old photos in them years later even!

5. Inspirational quote quilt: Choose quotes or sayings that your loved one finds inspiring or meaningful and incorporate them into a quilt design. You could use fabric with words or embroider the quotes onto the quilt.

6. Pet-themed quilt: Create a quilt that celebrates your loved one's furry friend. You could use fabric with paw prints or create applique blocks featuring their pet's breed. I love my dogs so this is something fun I think, plus there are lots and lots of pet-themed quilt blocks out there now!

7. Music-themed quilt: Design a quilt that celebrates your loved one's favorite music. You could use fabric in different colors to represent different genres or incorporate music notes and instruments into the design. I like this because my mother and I play the piano, my father and brother both sing and play the guitar and my love played the trumpet. All in all we all like music and enjoy it, so this would be fun to make a collage-like quilt of an instrument.