When I was a little girl I loved the simple patchwork quilts my mother lovingly constructed of scraps of fabric cut from clothing I had outgrown. Each square, carefully organized into a colorful pattern, held a memory-the family trip to Mount Rushmore or our backyard Fourth of July party. My mother also created beautiful intricately patterned quilts, but it's these simple quilts, sewn from scraps of memories that I remember best.

Melisa Darnieder's Magic Carpet Blanket, from the Spring issue of Interweave Crochet, captures the nostalgia of those treasured quilts while at the same time incorporating the brilliant texture of crochet. Each square is crocheted separately before being seamed into this traditional Trip Around the World quilt pattern. I can imagine using scraps of yarn left over from my favorite crochet projects to construct a crocheted memory afghan. It makes me want to experiment with translating other quilt patterns into crochet.

Speaking of quilts, I picked up a copy of our sister magazine Quilting Arts yesterday and found an article on Nostalgia quilts. I love the idea of incorporating crochet motifs or leftover yarn with quilting by stitching them on top of a fabric quilt base the way the lace was used in this example.

The "America Celebrates Quilts of Remembrance & Joy" article featured "Mother's Day", a quilt from Gillette, Wyoming, near my hometown, bringing back a flood of rodeo memories and both quilting and crochet inspiration.

Whether you are crafting with fabric or crochet-or both!-quilts and blankets provide inspiration and a way to share our craft and preserve our memories. And you can subscribe to Quilting Arts for year round ispirations. 

Best wishes,