It is always bittersweet when previous clients get back in touch to request a memorial quilt in honor of an additional family member who has passed away. In Emy’s case, this meant that her second parent, her mother Carmen, had died. Back in 2020, Emy’s father passed away, and I made a beautiful quilt in his honor, entitled Aurelio’s Chimes. A close friend once described the feeling of being suddenly parentless as something akin to living in a house with no roof. My guess is that Emy was feeling something similar.

Emy’s mother Carmen preferred not to draw attention to herself, yet quietly and diligently worked behind the scenes as a bilingual secretary to keep things organized and exact for her employers. She had a special appreciation for fine pottery and stoneware, collecting it whenever she saw something that caught her eye. She also loved to bake, often sharing her treats with Emy for merienda, the Mexican ritual for afternoon coffee and pastries.

Just like Emy’s father Aurelio, Carmen loved Hawaiian fabric prints. She had a lovely collection of dresses with bold Hawaiian floral designs.

Emy also sent some of her mother’s everyday wear.

One of the things that Emy was particularly missing in her mom’s absence was the consistency of holding her hand. As I began to explore design concepts for this quilt, I felt that the idea of interconnectedness should be at its foundation. Equally important was to reflect the family’s Mexican heritage. Because the collection of clothing contained similar amounts of both dark and light colors, I landed on this big, bold block pattern reminiscent of some Mexican tile designs I found.

Each printed or patterned fabric was paired with one of the dark solids to create each block.

I also liked to think of this spiral design representing a snail-shaped pastry one might eat at a merienda table.

I loved the electric energy created by the bright colors sitting adjacent to the dark blues and blacks.

Here is the final quilt in a twin size.

Emy requested the same wave/wind quilting pattern that we used in her father’s quilt, seen here in some details.

A heartfelt thank you to Emy for sharing her parents’ stories with me during an understandably vulnerable and grief-laden time.