I posted about Adam’s Union Jack quilt back around Christmas, but I never posted about the other present inspired by that project.

This was actually meant to be sort of Adam’s new dad present, but I was so excited about it I gave it to him for Christmas. My brother-in-law Morgan, while helping me with the backing fabric for Adam’s quilt, mentioned that he could change some of the station names on the London tube map if I wanted. And that gave me the idea to create a print for Adam, something completely separate from the quilt, with notable London spots from his life. Adam had a print of “The Great Bear” in his apartment when we first met, and it was destroyed last summer during the hurricane when our basement flooded. We’d also been talking about making some kind of family tree to put in H’s room. So when Morgan told me he could tweak the map, this seemed like the perfect plan.

I got in touch with Adam’s family, friends, former coworkers, etc. and asked them to help me identify the best tube stops to represent Adam’s life in London (his university, his old apartment), and the stops of his family members–his 2 brothers, his grandparents, the stations he takes to get out to his parents’ homes. They came up with a great list, and Morgan very patiently added the locations and sent the file to me. I had it printed at Graphic Lab Inc. in Manhattan, and my mom stealthily picked it up and delivered it to me Christmas Eve.

And I love the finished product, Morgan outdid himself:

Everything on it is addressed to H, but it’s a map of her father’s life. I think it’s a more fitting gift than a family tree, it’s a piece of his own history that we’re framing this weekend and hanging in her room. Because she’s going to need to start studying this map right away to do justice to her English side, too. I love it, and I think Adam loves it, too.

Thanks, Morgan!