Memorial Quilt to Honor my Father’s Memory
My father, Roger L. Melton, Jr., died on April 30, 2011. It was somewhat unexpected and it’s still hard. As I said in my eulogy to him, he was my hero. He retired after 30 years as police officer and had a decorated (and sometimes colorful) career in law enforcement. I learned just days before his death, but unfortunately after he had slipped into unconsciousness, that he single-handedly prevented a Polaris missile from hitting a Navy aircraft. You can read about it here.
Now I have memories, photographs, a few videos and some other items that remind me of my Dad. I have some old police uniform shirts, a few medals he received while in the Army, some of his favorite T-shirts and the Sergeant’s badge from his police hat. I thought about putting these things in a shadow box, but then I remembered what I did with the baby clothes from my three kids. Campus Quilts turned those items into an absolutely amazing quilt that I will cherish forever. Here is a picture:
Campus Quilts makes t-shirt quilts, but they also make beautiful quilts from baby outfits, sweatshirts, socks, hats, and any other memorable fabric. So I figured why couldn’t they make a Memorial Quilt using my Dad’s things. So I contacted them and they said they could do it — Army medals, badges, T-shirts and all. Their sewing expertise is unmatched.
Once again, they’ve sent me the kit that describes exactly how to organize and number your items (you get to choose the order of your squares) and provides colors from which to choose for the sashing (an optional border around all of your quilt squares) and backing (the fabric on the back of your quilt). Or, you can provide your own fabric, which I might do this time. I haven’t decided yet.
I’m getting my items organized and ready to ship back to Campus Quilt. I might even email them a photo or two which they can transfer onto a white T-shirt and turn into a quilt squre. I have images of his letter commendation regarding the missile incident and my favorite photgraph of him in uniform.
I know this quilt will be among my most cherished possessions when it’s finished and is the best way I can imagine to display the things about my Dad that make me proud. As we move through this first year of milestones without him, I know it will provide me with comfort. For that reason, I wanted to share this with my readers. I think a Memorial Quilt would make a great gift for anyone who has lost a loved one. What better way to tell a grieving friend or family member that you acknowledge their loss and want to help them celebrate the memories.
Now stay tuned because you KNOW I’ll be posting pictures of my Dad’s Memorial Quilt as soon as it arrives. (And I’m hoping to have a new quilt ladder upon which to display it and my baby clothes quilt, too).
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