Edmund lived to be 101 and was an avid cribbage player. He also had one of the most stunning collections of wool Pendleton shirts you’ve ever seen. When Miranda, a friend of the family (who also happened to be a fellow Fashion Institute of Technology alum) reached out to me to inquire about having some memorial quilts made in Ed’s honor, I heartily accepted. Never mind that I, too, am an avid cribbage player, but I am also extremely fond of Pendleton wool and was thus instantly intrigued.

Ed’s daughter, Robin was interested in having a series of small quilts made in the shape of a cribbage board – quilts that would be framed, some to be given to other family members.

I was so excited when the box of Ed’s shirts arrived.

This one was a particular favorite of Ed’s daughter, Robin.

It was great to have a range of light and dark fabrics.

Miranda also sent along a collection of velvet samples she thought might make a nice addition to my palette of fabrics. And she was right!

I took inspiration from some lovely vintage cribbage boards, paying attention to the inlay details of many of them.

I particularly liked the layout of this one, with the playing card suit shapes in the center.

I thought the spades, diamonds, hearts, and clubs were perfectly suited to become appliquéd shapes on top of the wool.

I was also asked to include Ed’s initials somewhere in the quilt.

Velvet’s directional nap can sometimes be tricky to sew, but I found that it appliquéd down beautifully.

We added the ivory linen fabric to the mix to provide a solid contrasting color that would allow the design to pop.

One important question was what to use to illustrate the “peg holes” found on all cribbage boards. French knots were too small and too three-dimensional to look like negative space. After a lot of research, I found these black sequins that I proceeded to hand-stitch all around each quilt. Let’s just say it took some solid meditation.

Here is one of the five 14″x20″ quilts I made, followed by a detail and the rest of the series. Each quilt used the same pattern, but I alternated the positions where each of the fabrics were placed so that every quilt had its own personality.

This sixth and final quilt was for Robin, using her favorite shirt for the center and outside border. It measured 20″x30″.

I loved working on this set of quilts, especially because it gave me the opportunity to research new materials and techniques. Many thanks to Miranda for shepherding the project and to Robin for trusting me with her father’s beautiful shirts.