Daddy loved batik shirts. So over the years, I had bought him quite a few, especially for Chinese New Year.
It's almost 2 years since he passed away. As always, I try to find ways to keep his (and mummy's) memory alive. And then I had the idea that we should make his old shirts into a quilt. This idea came about from his love of children. When he had dreams, it would sometimes be about children and blankets.
He loved his grandchildren so it was a no-brainer that the quilts should be made for them, hopefully for them to use when they have their own children. To me, that would be the perfect way for the future generations to have something of his, and to feel his warmth which he had given to his grandchildren.
The idea of a small quilt also came about because when my boys were babies, I had bought a couple of small quilts which I used to lay on the floor so they could play on them. As a first-time mum, I was very particular about hygiene and carried the quilt when we went out visiting. They came in very handy when travelling on planes too. And I still have the blue one today.
Whilst I had wanted to add a personal touch and sew the quilts for Daddy myself, unfortunately, I doubted my sewing skills. I had not sewn for years. The last time I used a sewing machine was probably in school! I searched for and watched online videos on how to make quilts. I looked at patterns and thought about the tools I needed. In my mind, his shirts would be cut into small hexagonal pieces and stitched together, like our old neighbour at Bukit Merah did. But that would have taken me years....
He loved his grandchildren so it was a no-brainer that the quilts should be made for them, hopefully for them to use when they have their own children. To me, that would be the perfect way for the future generations to have something of his, and to feel his warmth which he had given to his grandchildren.
The idea of a small quilt also came about because when my boys were babies, I had bought a couple of small quilts which I used to lay on the floor so they could play on them. As a first-time mum, I was very particular about hygiene and carried the quilt when we went out visiting. They came in very handy when travelling on planes too. And I still have the blue one today.
Then my siblings and I went to Guangzhou last November (read my previous post). We thought it would be a good idea to try to get the quilts made there. So we took his batik shirts with us during the trip. We found a shop that could sew the quilts but they could not be made in time for us to bring them back. A good friend offered to bring them back when she visited Guangzhou the next time around.
I had been waiting anxiously for months ... and the quilts finally arrived!
I put them on my boys' beds and they look simply beautiful...
