One of my gazillion cousins (one of the GOOD ones) was cleaning out her basement and came across a quilt.  It wasn’t just ANY quilt, and she knew it.  It was one my mother had started, we believe.  And she sent it to me.

James Lee Spencer was born in 1969 to my parents.  You see, my mom told many that she loved babies.  Once a child was old enough to not have to rely on her anymore, she wasn’t so keen on them.  But babies she loved – as evidenced by the six that she birthed before she was 30 years old!  I don’t much remember Jamie very much as I was only 5 years old at the time, but I remember our mom carried him everywhere.  I started school a month or so after he was born and I had way more on my hands with the nuns in kindergarten than I did at home with my family.  Not to mention that I had reached the age where our mom didn’t really have time for me.  Which was okay, when I was a kid, because I had my Gramma from Tramma to unconditionally love me.

Anyway, when my cousin found the quilt, she knew where it came from.  It appears that my mother started to make it after Jamie died of SIDS at 3 month’s old.

It seems the quilt is from a kit as most of the unfinished pieces are labeled and numbered.  It also appears that the background is solid cotton and then the applique is trapunto – or a form of it, whereby the applique is put on with batting behind the individual pieces (not behind the quilt).   I’m convinced Mom started this quilt after Jamie passed away, since the baby on it has a halo and wings.

This quilt would be exceptionally special to my youngest brother as he knows that with Jamie’s death, he became the favored child of our mother.

Here is the quilted treasure, any suggestions on how to finish it?

Rest in Peace, Jamie.