I stepped into our church yesterday to view the fruits of the labor of the wonderful church ladies who made 116 quilts for Lutheran World Relief. You may remember how excited they were when I delivered a boatload of fabric to them. I cannot tell how many quilts were made from the fabrics that were donated by the quilters I know…but, there is pure quilted beauty in the display of their efforts before they ship the quilts off. Behold…
In 2009, we lost a very special lady. But, our loss is His gain!
She was a nun earlier in life, and left the order to marry a pastor. Pastor Jim and Ms. Stone were very special people to us. My husband attended a men’s Bible study that Pastor Stone led for a few years. Ms. Stone was battling dementia.
I still recall the Easter that they joined with our family. Those memories are cherished.
But, this flashback is about the prayer shawl I made for Pastor Stone when his wife passed away. I have not put the instructions to it up. But, it is very simple to make with three cross blocks and two Jacob’s Ladder blocks.
Since Mrs. Stone was cremated, Pastor Stone wanted me to put the shawl in the narthex of our church with Mrs. Stone’s photos so folks attending the service would notice the photos because of the bright Texas Hill Country fabrics.
I have made a number of these prayer shawls and they are special to everyone who has received one. I am just grateful that folks enjoy my quilted gifts to them.
As you may recall, I recently made a baby quilt for a local friend. You can read about it here and here. The quilt was a challenge, to say the least – since most of the fabric from my quilt friend was basically a couple of shirts, some khaki pants and a load of golf towels. It took me a few days of laying out the parts and pieces before I settled on a design that would work as well as keep the memory of the recipient’s father alive.
Some quilters choose to make show quilts in hopes of collecting ribbons (and prize money) from all over. Other quilters quilt mainly for charity – giving their quilted gifts to those in need. There are also others who quilt for a purpose, particularly those groups associated with a church, and the quilts are sent off to the needy in other countries.
Me? I have a passion for quilting and quilt for the recipient.
After making that baby quilt I spoke of above, I wanted reassurances from both the friend I made the quilt for as well as the mother of the recipient. The mother is a life-long quilter (creating most every quilt by hand – start to finish)…hence my desire to do right by her husband’s memory as well as to do right by my quilt friend. After a neck hug, she assured me I’d done good.
Then, the friend I made the quilt for, shared some info about the quilt from the recipient’s point of view:
At the shower, Ray’s quilt was the first one opened. Mandy and others loved the “look” and complemented the longhorn fabric and designs. But then I mentioned that Linda had given us permission to use Ray’s things and they began to see the details. I think Mandy tried to keep composed, so she moved on to the next gifts. There happened to be about five quilts in a row, so I kind of felt bad that there were so many of the same thing. But after all the gifts were opened, Mandy and Callie bee-lined for Rays quilt and spent a lot of time admiring the details and reminiscing about the clothes and golf towels. It was pretty special!!
THIS is the reason I quilt. THIS is what makes me enjoy making special quilts for folks. THIS is quilted love at its finest.
Since homecoming was last week, Friday was the culmination of the fun – it was spirit day so the kids wore their school colors. Alas, it’s also the day that parents/guardians give their kids mums (or boyfriends give their girlfriend’s mums). This year, I was under a very strict budget but wanted to once again give my daughter’s special mums.
Youngest daughter wore this year’s and last year’s mum on her pant legs.
Next Daughter wore hers part of the day as she said it got in the way most of the time.
I made a special mum for our daughter, who is an alumni – so her mum is a bit different than the other girls’ mums.
btw – Last year, I gave the son-man a garter for his arm but he refused to wear it…hence I did not get him anything. But, I did tell him that if he wanted a mum or something else next year, he was to let me know.
It’s a great way for the kids to show their school spirit – and a great time for this Mom to enjoy putting together something special for our daughters!
You may recall that earlier this summer, I made a t-shirt quilt that was made with a whole lot of maroon and white fabric, from one of the two main universities in Texas. If you want a refresher on that quilt, you can search “t-shirt” (no quotes) in the search box on this blog.
I was asked a couple of weeks ago to put together a quilt for a local business owner who is pregnant. I know the recipient’s mother and love her to pieces. Normally, with my MS so out of control these days, I would never have taken on a project that had such a quick deadline…but, because I care for the lady who ordered it and I care for the Mom of the intended, I said I would do it.
This quilt was to be from clothes from the recipient’s father, who passed away earlier this year. When I finally got the clothes, I was perplexed at what to do with them. There were two shirts, one pair of khaki pants and a number of golf towels in the bag. HUH?
I had an MRI in the city on Friday and we had a bit of spare time before we picked up our daughter for the weekend so we stopped at a fabric store so I could pick up some fabric to use on the baby quilt. Based on the colors of the quilt I made earlier this year, this time, the fabric was from the other major university in Texas – I am nothing but an equal opportunity quilter!
I spent the weekend trying to figure out how I was going to make this quilt, since the fabrics were all different. I put together the center of the quilt…then added a bit more…then contemplated the universe how I was going to incorporate the golf towels into the quilt. Finally, on Sunday evening, it hit me…and I went forth and conquered! Monday evening, I completed the baby quilt top and it’s ready for the quilter.
Whew, made it by the deadline without stressing myself and making my MS worse!