The ocean was a central and anchoring element in Kathy’s life. As the matriarch of her family, her passing left a deep well of grief, felt most acutely by her daughter Karen. Karen sent me an exquisite collection of her mom’s clothing, and she requested a water/wave-themed custom pattern.

Icy blue was to be central to the design as it represented both water and the color of Kathy’s eyes. The custom dress she wore to Karen’s wedding featured prominently in the quilt, thanks to one of the helpful notes Karen pinned to it.

Happily there were other beautiful shades of blue to accompany the dress in creating a feeling of water.

The pink and apricot shades of Kathy’s wool and leather jackets added lovely color accents.

As did this bright fuchsia bathrobe.

This beautifully patterned bathrobe felt reminiscent of sea foam on a wave and was also used generously in the design.

The wave shapes were appliquéd onto the horizontal blocks and had to be prepped with fusible web.

One outstanding jacket seemed to have been made just for this quilt. It had a wave-like, current pattern embossed into the fabric, and the two-toned sections offered real dimensionality.

Here are the finished appliquéd blocks ready to be laid out.

Here is the final quilt, followed by a detail.