The Christmas Memory Quilt - The Beginning

Well ya'all I have commited to making a memory quilt for a colleague of mine.  She will remain nameless until after Christmas because I am not sure if she is one of those folks that googles themselves to see what the rest of the world is saying about her...or which porn star she shares a name with.

Anyway, I have been working with her husband, son, and mother to gather pictures for this blanket for the past month.  I even had her looking for pictures under the guise that I was going to make her a personalized mousepad but I needed a bunch of pictures to choose from before printing one out for her.  Yes folks...she fell for that one.  I just received the last picture today so I have an even 12 and I am ready to go.

Remember during our gathering I said I was not sure of the finished size...well I am still NOT sure of the finished size.  But here is what I do know...all pictures are 8" x 10" and I have 12 total pictures.  What may do is add fabric to the tops, bottoms, and sides of the photos to create even 12" x 12" squares and then go from there.  This is a Christmas gift so I don't have much time to finish it, but I am going to spend all weekend sewing, ironing, and quilting! 

I picked out the fabrics.  She is a sucker for browns, greens, and creams, so who but a true lover of fabric could have found these?!

I am thinking about using the large floral print as the back and the dots for the front and binding.

The design/placement was next since the fabric had been chosen.  I had her hubby help me with the placement.  Here is the crude mock up of the pictures and placement: 

Now, you may be wondering why the late and truly great R & B singer Luther Vandross has a picture in the lower right hand corner...wonder no more it was suggested by her hubby as a 1/2 joke and she just LURVES Luther.  For those in the know...it is neither little Luther or big Luther...it is medium Luther. LOL! 

All done for now...see ya'll this weekend!