Quilter’s Name: Amy Jorissen from Valley City, North Dakota
Style of Quilt: Memory Quilt
Pattern Name: The Night Sky
Featured Date: 1-5-23
Hi! I’m Amy Jorissen. I would like to show you my Night Sky Quilt that I made to honor the memory of my two grandsons. My mom taught me to sew when I was a little girl. I have always enjoyed sewing and recently learned to quilt. I have eight grandchildren and over the past year I made six of them each a quilt. I knew the quilt I would make for my last two grandsons would have to be a very special one. They are brothers and they live in heaven.
My daughter and her husband unexpectedly lost a baby boy, Hudson George, at 37 weeks in May of 2020. They became pregnant shortly after that and had a healthy baby boy, Baylor Hudson, in September of 2021. In May of 2022 he suddenly and unexpectedly passed away.
I think of Hudson and Baylor often and especially at night when the stars are shining brightly. I began to search for a quilt pattern that would represent them and help keep their memory alive. I came across a pattern entitled ‘The Night Sky’ (Maywood Studios ‘Dusk to Dawn’) and decided to add two shooting stars to the quilt design…one for each of the boys. I wanted to use batik fabric for the quilt, and I wanted a fabric collection with various blue hues and a night sky theme. I found what I wanted online from Creekside Quilts in Gales Creek, OR. Since I was unable to see the fabric in person, I contacted April, the owner of the quilt shop, and asked her for help in selecting the fabrics from the Island Batik Constellations Collection that would coordinate the best. She was amazing! She not only took the time to send me suggestions but sent photos of several color options for me to pick from.
The quilt was so much fun to make, and it turned out beautiful. Each and every stitch was sewn with love. A closer look at the stars reveals a ‘B’ and ‘H’ for the boys.
I know Baylor and Hudson are unable to snuggle with their quilt, but I think they would be okay with their Mom and Dad keeping it for them. I know they are in heaven together and shining brightly, watching over us all until we meet again.
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I love the stair way quilt i mace one but a bed one like that 1 inch squares has been a nightmare started it 15 years ago and still not finished i might make one like this one with bigger squares it looks beautiful
A very touching explanation and a beautiful quilt. Thank you for sharing it and your beautiful grandsons with us.
A sad story about losing 2 babies – but a beautiful quilt that will be so healing to your daughter and her husband. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Love the Memory quilt and the meaning behind it. Sorry for your family’s loss. My 1st child and only son was born 11 weeks early and only lived for less than 2 weeks. That was 44 years ago and I wasn’t quilting at that time. I need to think about something like that for me & my husband. Thanks for sharing.