This was a really quick design and assembly. I think I’m going to write up a tutorial for this one when I get some time to concentrate on it, but I just love, love, love, love this quilt. On a Friday morning I was standing in the fabric store picking out emergency Plan B fabric for this super last minute plan, and on Monday morning I was delivering it to H’s teacher, just in time for the end of the school year. It came together fast.

We found out a few weeks before school ended that H’s toddler teacher was leaving at the end of the year. She was a huge support and advocate for H for the 2 years she was in her class. I’d meant to make her a quilt last year when H graduated from that class, but I just didn’t have time.

I still didn’t have time to make one, but now I really couldn’t put it off. My original plan was to scan H’s old toddler drawings and print them out on fabric sheets. I’d actually bought the sheets last year, I really did plan on making her a quilt. The images looked cool, but the Jacquard fabric sheets I’d bought bled.

So I ran out the week before the quilt was due and bought Quilted Treasures sheets. Those curled up so much they just jammed our color printer.

I’d also planned on sewing in this old t-shirt of H’s. I’d bought it in every possible size when she was 2, and she still has one she wears. I can’t find a picture of it anywhere right now, and the current one is in the wash. But it says “Hello” on the front and “Good-bye” on the back. Her teacher saw her in this shirt a million times, and it seemed fitting.

So when all of my printed fabric attempts failed, Adam suggested I just make a quilt out of that shirt. A big “Hello” on front, and a big “Good-Bye” on the back. And that was a genius idea, so that’s exactly what I did. Her teacher is from Colombia, and she taught the kids in both Spanish and English. So, the additional Spanish words seemed perfect to add.

Finished, this quilt was about 66″ x 72″, a perfect size for lying on the couch.

I just did meandering quilting all over this. I, again, had lofty ideas and zero time. So I went with what I know I can do quickly.

And, I actually think the meandering was perfect for giving this one texture and making it feel accessible. I think that’s why I love meandering so much. It makes me think you’re really supposed to use that quilt.

Like this.

I wish I’d had a chance to see her teacher’s reaction when she opened this present, but the end of the school year is a crazy time. And dropoff and pickup are a military operation at her school. But I got a beautiful note about it, and just knowing it’s out in the world makes me happy. You give to give, not to get.