Regatta Memory Quilts

A year and a half ago, my cousin Jessica lost her son to suicide. He was just 29 years old. When Jim & I got married, he was a sweet 12 year old kid in the background of photos, having fun on a trip with his mom. When Jake passed, Ada was just 4 months old. We tried to figure out a way for me to attend the services in New England, but it just wasn’t feasible with such a young baby who couldn’t receive a Covid vaccine yet. Since I couldn’t go and be there for my Jess, I offered to make her a memory quilt with some of Jake’s clothing, when she was ready for it.

Jess asked me to make 2 memory quilts, one for her, and one for Jake’s stepmother (who he remained close to), and sent me a box of Jake’s clothes, including a few button down/flannel shirts. As Jess lives on Cape Cod, and Jake grew up there on the water, I wanted something that would evoke joyful days out on the ocean there, so the pattern is Regatta. Because I was making 2 quilts, and only had 4 woven shirts to work with, I decided to use Jake’s shirts for just the sails. That way they would stand out in the quilt. I used a pale grey-on-white texture for the background, and some blue batiks for the water, borders, and binding. All the fabrics came from Joann’s. (Apologies, I’m just now realizing I only got pictures of one of the two, and they were different, but highly similar.)

At the bottom of the box was one of the cards given out at Jake’s service, which included a traditional blessing between sailors. May you have fair winds, and following seas. It is used both to mean ‘good journey’, and also in remembrance of those sailors who have passed on. I knew that I wanted to include it in some way within the quilt, so I reached out to the amazing and generous @audiobooklover, for help creating a machine embroidery file that I could stitch out and use in one of the blocks. She put this file together for me, and after a little trial and error, I got it stitched up. (Full name blurred for privacy.)

Due to an accident of construction (ie not planning out exactly how I wanted each boat/sail combination to be facing), I ended up with two highly similar, but slightly different quilts. One had the embroidered patch top right, and the other bottom right, and a few ships were going in different directions, etc. But beyond that, I wanted each quilt to be unique to the recipient, and I do believe in the importance of labeling quilts with pertinent data for future owners & quilt historians, so I created a specific label for Jess’, and for Barbara’s quilts. These were just done straight from the embroidery machine itself, using the text feature. (Also, apologies, I’m just noticing now how bad the white fabric looks in photos. It has a light grey/white crosshatch pattern that doesn’t seem to photograph well.)

The box of clothes also included Jake’s Coast Guard uniform shirt, and a thick wool shirt he used to wear when working for a tree service. I didn’t think the wool would mix well with the quilting cotton, and I couldn’t bear to cut his uniform into a lot of little pieces, so I made two shirt pillows from those.

As I was finishing the quilts, I learned that Jake’s best friend just had a daughter, and had named her Jacoba, in his honor. I was able to use the sleeves of one of the shirts to make two Lovey’s for Jacoba. I used the leftover minky and ribbons from making Ada’s Loveys, and embroidered her name with my embroidery machine. I made two because if your baby likes something, you don’t want to risk losing the one and only copy, so her parents will always have a spare.

These all took many months to get through, as they were very emotionally heavy to work on, so I took breaks when I needed to. But I am truly pleased with how they came out. They have been sent off to Jess and Jake’s stepmom. Jess loves them and the pillows, and has even sent me a few pictures of Jacoba cuddling her new Lovey.

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These are so special and oh my stars the care & love & thoughtfulness is just bursting out of my screen! I love the uniform pillow, agreed on your usage there instead of the quilt.

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I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your cousin’s son. I can’t imagine the grief your family has been dealing with. The quilts and pillows are such a beautiful gift for your cousin and Jake’s stepmom - they will be a comfort to them, a sweet reminder of him. And two special Lovey’s for his little name-sake.

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Jennie these are touching and so beautiful they show both your big heart and your skill. Well done, they are amazing and I can’t imagine anything better to give the families.

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What beautiful and loving gifts you have created! So much thought and care in every single one. They will surely be treasured. Hugs to you and your family as you remember Jake.

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These are just so beautiful, my friend. Wonderfully made (as usual) and personalized to honor Jake’s memory in a very special way. I especially love the incorporation of the sailor greeting/toast.

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The sailor toast made me a bit weepy. It’s such a heartfelt addition to the gift. These quilts are the perfect way to express the love you have for the grieving parents, and for Jake himself. Beautiful.

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These are absolutely a wonderful treasure.

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I know that this must have been an emotionally challenging journey making all these wonderful pieces from Jake’s clothing. And I know that love and heartbreak went into every step. I am sure that the recipients were all deeply moved by your care and thoughtfulness and I hope they find some comfort in these pieces of their lost one.

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These projects are so beautiful, both in craft and in feeling. :heart:

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The quilts are beautifully done, and very touching. Thank you for sharing this.
I hope they can bring a bit of comfort to Jake’s family.

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:snowflake: Congratulations! Your project is snow good, it’s featured this week! :snowflake:

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So moving.

I know what it’s like to be in his headspace. I nearly died in 2012 when I was pregnant with my son. That’s why he’s a miracle–he survived all of it.
My insurance thought I only needed 2-3 days in the behavior health ward. I think I was in and out four times that summer plus a month long session of DBT at another hospital.
I’m hoping that I will be self-aware, but it’s hard to see what’s really happening when you’re in it. The best you can be is open and honest with your docs and family, but even then sometimes it isn’t enough.

I’m sorry that his suicide happened. It is good of you to provide comfort in this way. I hope the blankets bring pleasant dreams of happier days and that little Jacoba grows up knowing that her namesake was loved by many just like I’m sure she is.

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This is so lovely. I’m crying a little at work reading about Jacob and all the thoughtful details you included. Just wonderful. :heart:

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Thank you!

I just opened my mail to find a card from Jake’s stepmom too, so this has been a big day for these little quilts.

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These are beautiful and so thoughtful. True treasures to keep his memory. I can see those pillows being hugged tightly on the hardest days.

You are a wonderful friend.

I think it’s also really important to take breaks from work that’s emotionally involved; you are setting a great example.

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These are such precious gifts, full of love and thoughtfulness. Thank you for sharing them with us.

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You are an amazing person and you did an amazing job on these quilts, from the pattern selection to the machine embroidered sentiment (I like your placement of that block). You went above and beyond and the thought and effort that you put into each of these projects really shines through.

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