Quilting Ideas and Photo Quilts

My great grandparents on my grandmother's side.

This weekend I made a trip to visit my grandmother and continued scanning all the family photos she has. It was amazing to see so many memories from so long ago. I even have pictures of my great, great, great, great grandparents! It is my plan to create a photo quilt of some of the photos and use some fabric from my grandfather's old clothes (he passed away two months ago). I am very excited about printing the photos on the fabric (which is super easy), but a little nervous about starting a quilt since I have never technically quilted.

My grandmother, Phyllis Fitzgerald.

I think I am going to sew a few border strips around each photo, then the squares together and keep it simple. Has anyone ever taken their finished top to a fabric or quilt store to have it finished with the batting and stitching on top? Do they use a clear thread? Anyone have any good quilting sites or locations around Indianapolis, IN to go to for these services?

Any help, tips, or suggestions would be great! I will keep everyone updated with my progress!

ETSY ARTIST FEATURE: Hip to Piece Squares

Tonight I was poking around on my Facebook as usual and this awesome Etsy shop I had fanned awhile back popped up on my newsfeed. I wanted to share their shop with you because their items are just TOO CUTE!

Hip to Piece Squares (or Etsy name sarahminshall) has so many great items from totes to house shoes, which I want to buy soon! I really like these scarves that look quilted (see below), and hope they put some in their shop!

Make sure you check out their Blog, become a fan on Facebook, and shop their Etsy page!