Connor's memory quilt....ah, the memories

My grandma is a pretty cool lady, a thing I had not fully appreciated til I was much older. When we were little, she was always sewing neat dresses and rompers for me and my cousins, and when I was twelve, she presented me with a Dresden Plate quilt (my favorite pattern) that had many of the scraps from those sewing projects incorporated in them; including some from a set of bathroom vanity curtains I very proudly helped with when I visited one summer. That quilt has seen much love and wear and tear...it was one of the first things I got at the Academy once restrictions on personal items let up and the whole family still likes to cuddle under it when it's cold way up here in the north of nowhere. I've patched it a couple times (constant use and carelessness as a teen were not kind to grandma's quilt) but it's very special to me, and has become more so as the years went on. In case I never said it the way I should have, grandma, you're a special lady and I'm lucky to have you and grandpa!

Aunt Diane has carried on the quilt traditions of the family to some extent and both my boys have lovely little lap quilts that, despite the fact that they were made before my boys were more than in the wiggly gassy smile stage, are oddly fitting to their personalities. Connor's quilt is soft sage green with airplanes all over it and his all consuming love of airplanes can be sated even at bedtime. Timmy is obsessed with warmth...he loves anything soft, snuggly and cuddly so the ultra soft flannel moose blanket is perfect for the first Alaskan Crean baby! Mom's incredibly soft blue afghan is one of his favorite wraps too...I come from a talented lot of women and I've always wanted something of my won to contribute to special memories with my children.

With that in mind, I always had in the back of my head that I would preserve some of Connor's special little outfits in a "memory quilt" the way grandma did for me. Not only does that cut down on clutter -- a must with the peripatetic life we lead as a military family --but it makes a strong statement about which outfits were special enough to preserve and that I treasured that time enough to memorialize in a concrete way that will not embarrass Connor when he's older. At least that's the goal; he may hate those naked bath pics, but the quilt he can show to girlfriends without fear of mortification. We had a few outfits that just tugged the heart strings every time we put them on. One of my favorites was a little teething dragon and he was so cute! See???



This also happens to be my number one favorite picture of him, and won us $100 of free stuff in a photo contest. See, the nation agrees, Connor's the cutest!

I loved this one...by the time Connor was six months old, Las Vegas was crock pot hot all the time and we were hard pressed to get him into clothes at all (we still have that problem even though it's ten below -- maybe it's the kid not the temperature?). This little soft jersey romper had a nametag printed on it that said "Hello! My name is Snuggable!" and it was one of the few we could always get him to wear without a fight. It helped if he got a plum to steal afterwards...and he was extremely Snuggable.



I wish I had a picture of his most special outfit; it was Charlie's absolute favorite and had stars scattered all over it with a patch that featured a knight and the legend "Sir Hugs-A-Lot." I think he would still be wearing it if it were possible to stuff him in it but he outgrew it by three weeks old.

I also incorporated pieces from sewing projects I did for him...slings, mei tais, his tee pee, a truck patch he just had to have because it went "vroom vroom" (his first car sound at 15 months), a packet of frog buttons he was obsessed with and plays with to this day, and honored a few other things that really meant something during his babyhood -- my wonderful friendship with my girlfriend Kellie is enshrined with a scrap from the sling I made for her, for example. I threw in a few of his special receiving blankets, some soft fleece and green cotton I used to make a changing pad for him, and even some of his favorite pajamas that he just recently outgrew. It seems impossible that my sweet baby boy is well on his way to being a preschooler and even though he's only 2.5, I've realized that those fleeting little moments of mommy bliss are going to pass so quickly -- I need to record them in a personal and hopefully very special way.

So here it is. Not a very professional job -- man, those little jersey and cotton outfits are a PAIN to sew together, they ruck up and make seams impossible to keep straight! -- but hopefully, someday Connor can see past the shoddy workmanship and realize the love and mommy angst that is in every single stitch. I already miss the baby he was, but can't wait to see what an amazing little man he will be.



I plan on doing the same thing for Timmy once we have had time to build sweet little memories like these with him. Maybe his will be a little neater, but the love poured into it will be the same. Being a mommy is such an amazing, exhilarating and ultimately heartbreaking thing isn't it?