Commissions:

Photo and Memory Quilts:

See your treasured photos of family, friends or a favorite pet transformed into a custom designed quilt, wall hanging or pillow that reflects your expression of a special memory or event.

A memory quilt makes a wonderful and highly personalized gift. They are perfect to commemorate a wedding, birth, anniversary or graduation or to memorialize a loved one. Or consider commissioning one for yourself to add a special touch to your own home decor.

I work individually with each client to design the quilt and to choose the fabrics and embellishments that will best meet his or her needs. Embellishments may include buttons, beads, lace or other trims, charms, etc. You may also request to include pieces of clothing or other items of particular significance to you or the recipient of the quilt. A label with a personal messge may be placed on the back of the quilt, if desired, and every quilt comes with specific care instructions.

Memory quilts and pillows can be made in any size and design. Price will be dependent on size and complexity of quilt and the number of photos used. Click here for pricing information.

Please allow four to six months for a lap size quilt and four to six weeks for a pillow.

Photo Transfer Services:

I offer expert photo transfer services for quilters or others who wish to use high quality photographic images on fabric in their own creations.

Please allow one to two weeks to process and transfer your photos. See below for details.

Examples of Photo Memory Quilts:

This quilt was made in 1999 to celebrate the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Manchester: "Making the world a better place, one child at a time". It was the first quilt I made using photo transfers.

I designed the quilt, took all the photos of "matches", did the transfers of the photos and the agency name and logo and did the final construction of the quilt and quilting. The blocks surrounding the center logo were made by a group of Big Sisters and their Little Sisters. Many "Bigs" and "Littles" drew the pictures and wrote the inscriptions on the plain muslin squares and setting triangles, using permanent fabric markers. It was a wonderful group effort celebrating very special friendships.

I used heat transfer for the photographs. In this process, the image is reversed, printed onto special photo transfer paper and then ironed onto plain white fabric. The resulting image has a coating on the surface and a stiff feel. I no longer use this process.

This is a small pillow commemorating our own dear departed dog, Pepper. She lived a good life with us for eleven years.

I used heat transfer for the photographs. I no longer use this process.

This quilt was commissioned by a young woman to honor her recently deceased grandmother (center photo). Past and recent family photos celebrate the life of this family matriarch. The quilt incorporates pieces of the grandmother's favorite clothing. The hat she loved to wear graces the top of the quilt.

This quilt was commissioned to celebrate my clients' 35th wedding anniversary. It was designed to hang on a door, which was a challenge. The front represents three generations of the family, with my clients' parents at the top, followed by baby photos of the couple, their wedding photo and their children growing up, down to the present day. The back of the quilt has five large pockets to hold additional photos. Asian inspired fabrics were chosen because the family has spent a number of years living in Japan and has a deep interest in Japanese culture.

Photo Transfer Process:

Original photos are scanned at a high resolution and printed directly onto specially treated, high quality cotton fabric on an hp 6540 inkjet printer, using Vivera inks. The printed photos are fade resistant, washable and have a soft "hand" (texture). They are easy to sew into your project.

Photos may be edited, cropped and resized to customer specification before being printed onto fabric. Your original photos are returned to you unharmed.

Both color and black and white photos may be used.  Color photos may be recreated as black and white, and both color and black and white photos may be "antiqued" using sepia tones.

The cost for photo transfers include minor editing and preparation for sewing into your project.   There are additional charges for extensive editing (such as repairing a damaged photo that may have stains or cracks).

Transfer results are best using original print photos, but digital photos may also be used, and can be sent by e-mail or on disk. The quality of the transfer is dependent on the quality of the photos used. I reserve the right not to accept any photo that is of such poor quality that it cannot be "fixed".

Here are some examples of very old photographs that have been successfully improved with proper editing. In every case the original was faded, scratched and of poor color.

Click here for pricing information for commission work and photo transfers  Feel free to contact me directly with any questions you may have.