Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and when planning columns for this month it was clear that giving some ideas for Mother’s Day gifts was the way to go.

The main project idea for this column will take some time to put together, but if you can dedicate some serious time to it, it won’t take a real long time, particularly if you have the right materials on hand.

The idea for this column comes from Christmas and birthday gifts I’ve made myself. The gifts I made were memory quilts; I realized that a quilt that is like a scrapbook of life (whoever’s life that may be) and a wonderful gift.

A good friend asked me whether I could make her sister a quilt using their late mother’s clothes and pictures printed out on muslin that is designed to be put through printers.

I was excited about the project, but put it off a full year before actually tackling the project because I had never made a quilt and I was terrified I would hate the process and find myself miserable while trying to accomplish it.

That turned out not to be true. I learned that I love the peace that comes with sitting in my craft room, cutting squares and sewing them together. I’ve always known that I love to see a pile of supplies become a beautiful, useful work that will be loved.

So, for Christmas 2009, I set out to finish the memory quilt. With the mother’s clothes, the printed-out pictures and some fabric remnants I had around, I started cutting, sewing and creating.

And, by Christmas I had that quilt ready to give to my friend’s sister (who is also a friend of mine).

On Christmas Eve, I was able to get together the top for a second quilt (I’d already purchased material in colors I knew my friend would like). Unfortunately, I ran out of time, and became tired, and didn’t get it finished until January, at which point it became a birthday gift.

My point is this: While it was probably a faster project than it should’ve been, it was a great way to remember my friends’ mother and give them a piece of her that they can cuddle up with when they’re missing her.

How, you might ask, does that translate to a Mother’s Day gift?

Well, you have plenty of family photos, cute photos of yourself, your children and your family get-togethers, right? And, you don’t have to use clothing in the quilt (my friend just happened to have saved her mother’s old clothes with the idea in mind of having them placed into a quilt).

So, go to your favorite craft store, or the craft section of your favorite store, and pick up some printable fabric paper. If your photos aren’t digital, scan them. Then, print your favorite pictures on the printable fabric paper (whether it’s self-adhesive or not is a matter of preference; I’ve used both).

From there, you can find cotton quilting fabric at a fabric store in the colors and prints your loved one would enjoy and get a few different but complementary colors and prints. Then, cut out your squares. I used 5-inch squares and experimented a bit with putting them together, but you could just sew four squares together, appliqué your photo on the top of it and stitch around the photo with a fancy stitch available on your sewing machine.

My quilts were four squares by four squares (for a total of 16 larger squares). To put them together, I used a 2-inch-wide strip of fabric the length of each square and then a 2-inch-wide strip the length of the four squares together.

Now, I have no good advice for you on the quilt sandwich or your quilting method. I do believe that, at this point, hand quilting may well be out of the question because of the amount of time before Mother’s Day. But I have not perfected my quilting method to the point I feel comfortable giving advice on that. (However you choose to do it, you will need patience.)

You can do what I’ve done and peruse the Internet; there are lots of fabulous tutorial videos out there. I can tell you that I used close to 2 yards of fabric for the back of the quilts. And, I can tell you that I’ve been told your best bet is to use cotton batting. And, don’t get me started on binding the quilt, I’m not that good at it yet.

The bottom line is that, with basic sewing knowledge, you can put together a treasured piece for your mother before her day on May 9.

If you don’t want to make a quilt, you can do a wall-hanging or a pillow.

If you don’t sew but want to go handmade, there are any number of things you can do. Hit a local craft store, see what strikes your creative fancy and have fun. Handmade Mother’s Day gifts don’t have to be like those we made our moms in elementary school (but she did love those too, didn’t she?).

Co-columnist leaves newspaper

Rhea Edmonds, the second author of this column and assistant features editor at The Journal Gazette, has left the newspaper to spend more time with her family.

Her last column was last April 11.

The column will continue with Joyce, guest columnists and other crafting projects.