Journey Quilt Company
Trish Maxwell of Journey Quilt Company treasures the moments when customers first see their finished quilts. “Their mouths drop open, then they smile,” says Trish. “They brought in a pile of old clothing, and now they have a visually balanced fabric scrapbook that they get to take home and use.”
Trish and her team have been designing mosaic quilts for almost five years. They create three main styles of quilts—T-shirt quilts, Legacy quilts, and Shadowbox quilts that showcase military awards. Quilts can be made in a wide variety of sizes. Each design is completely original, and all quilts are crafted in-house by Trish and her talented staff.
If you thought of T-shirt quilts as a bunch of big, worn-out squares sewn into rows, a visit to Journey Quilt Company will change your mind. Their mosaic designs use only the logos and graphics of the shirts, creating blocks of different sizes that are shaped into a beautiful work of art. “Everything we do is about balancing colors and patterns,” says Trish. “Having an artistic eye is a must.”
Legacy quilts also use a mosaic style, but they include a wider variety of clothing items. Many legacy quilts are created as baby keepsakes, and others are made with favorite pieces of clothing from a loved one who has passed away. “We can put in anything that’s fabric,” says Trish. “I literally added in part of a shoe once.”
Shadowbox quilts are the newest addition to Journey Quilt Company’s lineup. Using a service member’s discharge form as a reference, Trish and her team create digital images of the veteran’s awards, medals, badges, and insignia. Then they print these images onto fabric and create a stunning quilted version of a shadowbox award display case.
Trish has been working on the shadowbox quilt concept ever since her own discharge from the Navy in 2000. “At first I was literally recreating those little ribbons out of fabric pieces,” she recalls. Now the technology has caught up with her vision. “The response is mind blowing,” she says.
She has already created numerous shadowbox quilts, with many more in progress.
It’s been a long journey from Navy air traffic controller to quiltmaker, but Trish loves where she’s landed. “This is the most fun job I’ve ever had,” she says. “I’m very thankful to the Edmond community for their support. It’s wonderful knowing that more than two thousand quilts have come through here.” She plans on creating many more. “It doesn’t matter who you are, this is something that works for everyone regardless of interest or age,” she says. “It’s a great way to protect memories.”
To see samples of Journey Quilt Company’s mosaic and shadowbox quilts, visit them at 16516 North Pennsylvania Avenue or online at www.journeyquiltco.com.
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