"Willie's Bandanas".....A Memory Quilt

My grand nephew was born with severe Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy two weeks after my parents retired. My parents did not hesitate when the need arose to take over guardianship. I believe their love and deligent care is why he is still with us at 18 yrs old. He was very disabled, undergoing surgeries, and literally years of PT, 7 yrs of toilet training, etc. He has no muscular tone in his cheeks, which prevents him from smiling and caused him to drool. He wore bandanas around his neck for 10-12 yrs to catch the excess saliva. My Mom amassed quite a collection of bandanas for Willie over the years. The day he mastered sipping through a straw was a happy one! It meant he could learn to "such it up" and avoid drooling. This quilt is made from Willie's bandana collection. It's a reminder of the hurdles that Willie & my parents have overcome & a tribute to the joy he has brought to our family. This was my second quilt and I had no pattern & was new to quilting. I tried to take into account the varying degrees of wear to the bandanas vs the newness of the black background fabric. I used a cotton/polyester broadcloth for the background because not all of the bandanas were 100% cotton. It was my first foray into transferring photos to fabric, as well, and my first time using appliqué and working with triangles. I pieced the back together using the larger bandanas in the collection.It was a labor of love and problem solving.