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Lori’s Blog

Remembering Mia

March 9, 2020

Read more >

Categories: Behind-the-Scenes, Memorial Quilts

Jack’s Legacy

December 1, 2019

A feeling of deep loss is being felt in the wake of Jack’s death just over a year ago. As a beloved husband and father of four adult children, Jack was known for his wry wit, razor sharp intellect, and intense love for his family and friends. Read more >

Categories: Memorial Quilts, Quilts

Tony’s Quilts

November 26, 2019

There’s always something special to me about making a memorial quilt in honor of another artist. Read more >

Categories: Memorial Quilts, Quilts Tagged: bereavement, fiber art, grief support, keepsake, loss, memento, memory quilt, modern quilt

Grandpa’s Chemistry

July 22, 2019

My grandfather, Eric Reichl, died in 2014 just weeks shy of his 101st birthday. Read more >

Categories: Memorial Quilts, Quilts, Special Occasion Quilts Tagged: grief, grief quilt, keepsake, memory quilt, modern quilt, remembrance, textile art

John’s Tree

May 23, 2019

John’s Painting

Translating art and imagery from one medium to another can often be challenging, so when Zoë contacted me from England and asked if I could interpret her late husband’s tree painting into a memorial quilt, I proceeded carefully. John painted the tree while he was in college and had kept it with him ever since.

The first thing I noticed in the painting was how John had played with light and dark through the gradations in the abstracted shapes surrounding the tree – they seemed to be both leaf shapes as well as negative space shapes. My quilt work relies on pattern and structure, so I decided to start with a ground of abstracted leaf shapes that were built out of the gradation in John’s collection of clothes. (I would tackle the tree shape later.)

And so I worked with a few clothing gradients, starting with this one.

Keeping each section in the correct order, I had to be organized while laying out the pieces and sewing them together.

Putting the bigger leaf blocks together allowed the gradients to emerge.

Zoë had also asked if I could somehow work in a small label she took out of one of John’s shirts. It was fun to find a nice place for it to land.

Figuring out how to integrate the tree took, well, some figuring. I felt that the tree shape contained so much expressiveness, and I wanted to retain John’s original “hand”. The only option then, was to trace the tree form in the computer, enlarge it, and create a pattern piece to be appliquéd onto the ground.

Luckily, Zoë had sent two matching black shirts that gave me enough fabric for the big tree.

And with careful pinning and pressing, I sewed the tree to the base layer.

Here is the final quilt, complete with a quilting pattern that evokes the wind blowing through the tree.

'John'sTree', a memorial quilt designed by Lori Mason

This detail shows the quilting and appliqué stitching.

I absolutely love this quilt. Thank you, Zoë!

Categories: Memorial Quilts

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From Lori’s Notebook

  • Fashionista Florida Tartans

    When Chip’s wife, Kate, first contacted me to discuss making memorial quilts for Chip’s children, she assured me that I would love the collection of shirts she was sending because Chip was “a total fashionista”.

  • Aurelio’s Chimes

    For all of the memorial quilts I have made so far, I always feel a sweet sort of sadness that I will never get the chance to meet the people who are being honored through my work.

  • Honoring a Theater Man

    According to Tom’s wife Catherine, Tom never took on a project without jumping in full throttle.

  • Ethan’s Puzzle
  • Justin’s Grids

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Work I Love

  • Long World Services
  • Bolt Fabric Boutique
  • What’s Your Grief Blog
  • Eleanor Pritchard
  • Hawthorne Fabrics
  • Holly Pruett, Celebrant
  • Paula Berman Organizing
  • Selvedge Magazine
  • The Abundant Artist
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