A Quilt to Comfort a Friend

I made this quilt for a friend who suffered a terrible accident, and then I wasn’t sure she would even like it, so I’ve never given it to her. I hope one day to be able to; it’s one of my favorite quilts.

And then A Quilt For Naomi’s Bubble Teacher

We were all trying to be so careful during COVID. When the schools went remote, our family hired a teacher who didn’t want the exposure of the classroom to teach a small bubble of children in a large home classroom. It was a great arrangement – the kids all loved the teacher, got enough socializing while also getting a lot of individual attention, got their work done – and then, horror of horrors, the teacher came down with COVID. As these things go, you can be as careful as can be, and you never know where it comes from.

The teacher had loved the quilt I made for Naomi, and asked if she could pay me to make one for her. I told her no. I never make a quilt on commission, quilts are so personal, and she could tell me exactly what she might want and be horrified by what might be the result. I told her to tell me the colors she likes the best, and I would make a quilt for her, for her efforts and her time with our bubble, because she was a genuinely devoted teacher to our bubble.

She told me she loved greens and golds, all the colors of the forest. She particularly wanted the close quilting she had seen on Naomi’s quilt. I knew just the pattern, and I had a great collection of greens, one of my own favorite colors.

When I make a wacky star quilt, I always make way more blocks than I need, so I can choose the blocks for the first quilt, and use the rest for other quilts.

She loved the quilt. And when I started working with the leftover blocks, I discovered I had enough for another larger quilt, one I actually liked even better. I gave it to my good friend, who has a son who loves it and pulls it out all the time to cuddle in it. I know, because one of the things I love about her is that she takes photos and sends them to me.

Breathes there a quilter with soul so shriveled that she/he doesn’t tingle with joy when she sees a quilt made with love being used with love?

Same fabrics, totally different looks, and two very happy friends. As a quilter, I live for this to happen 😘😊😁❤️⭐️✨.

A Quilt for Naomi’s Teacher

Naomi loved her quilt. She loved it so much she asked me to make a quilt for her teacher, whom she adored, and I had a collection of fabrics I wanted to use doing a kind of rainbow transition in a Sunshine and Shadows format. I loved the look of the quilt – it captures what I see as complicated emotions – and it’s all entirely half square triangles, placed to accomplish the transition I was looking for. This is a 2020 quilt; I’m just way behind in posting 🙂

Education for Ministry Quilt

I have a special mentor who led me through four years of theological discussions as part of a University of the South (Sewanee) School of Theology program. No, I am not a priest. This is ministry, as in how we live our faith, and . . . do we understand what we believe? Do we believe what we say we believe?

As you can imagine, this is exhausting and sometimes distressing. My mentor is a wise and humorous woman who led our groups fearlessly. Although I am still a part of the program now, in another capacity, I wanted to tell this mentor in a significant way what her mentoring and her fine example means to me.

I had a lot of fun with this quilt. I found a fabulous metallic batik, which had several different colors, so when I cut it into a kaleidoscope. I could make entire squares of different colors.

As usual with my kaleidoscopes, color placement was everything. I wanted the center cross to be the most important part of the quilt. I hand appliquéd the two circles, padding the outermost with two layers of batting and hand embroidering the EfM on the cross, using an EfM lapel pin. Rarely have I been so happy with the entire process.

Except that I was terrified I would ruin it by quilting it. I have a friend with sterling instincts for quilting and she quilted it for me, using some metallic threads and enhancing the cross with radiating lines so the quilt almost vibrates with energy. 🙂 🙂

 

Here you can see some of the metallics and some of my friend’s fabulous quilting:

 

Now it gets even cooler. I had ALMOST enough blocks left over (I always make extra blocks because I am really picky about placement) but I had some fabrics that would fill in and I could make another, smaller quilt for another EfM mentor who had encouraged me through some of the rougher parts and who had generously admired the first quilt. It thrilled me to be able to thank her, too, for her part in leading our group through the heavy weather of theology.

 

I wish you could see these quilts in person. I don’t usually brag, but these thrill my heart.

Cursillo Bags

Another friend in Kuwait taught us to make these bags in various sizes. They are wonderful for traveling, for carrying make-up, jewelry, or charging cords, or medication, and keeping them sorted.

I made two sets of these bags for different Cursillo’s, 70 each time!

That’s my “helper,” Ragnar, in the background. He gets jealous. He bites my cords, my computer cord, my sewing machine pedal cord, my telephone cords. He “helped” me buy a new quilting Bernina, (as I was waiting for a new pedal for my Pfaff) which I love for it’s quiet industriousness. I still also love my old faithful Pfaff, a real workhorse, and my ancient Singer Featherweight.

Baby Quilt

I love these quilts; you applique the star, you sew the blocks together and the right fabrics give it interest and liveliness.

 

As you can see, I also had a lot of fun quilting this 🙂

Quilt for a Special Mentor

For the last four years, I have been taking part in a theological study program, guided by a very special woman who led us through Old Testament, New Testament, church history and an overview of theological thought.

I am so grateful for her patient leadership though the thorny grounds of theological thinking. She allowed for freedom to explore our doubts and new concepts. I made this quilt for her.

I have a good friend who quilted the quilt for me. It’s a special quilt, so I wanted it to be more perfect than my quilting. I love the way she was able to make the cross radiate.

I totally loved this fabric, the major fabric in the quilt. It shaded from turquoise to green to purple and pink and orange and red, and gave the quilt a movement that delighted my heart.

My friend quilted the metallic sections with a metallic thread, brave friend! Her quilting was perfect for the design.

 

 

Pink is Complicated

Same song, different year – I don’t have the hours to quilt that I once had. Retired husband. Trips to exotic lands. Grandchildren. My quilting time is eaten away.

I remember how with every new move there was, at the beginning,  a time of great loneliness, and quilting was my solace and my therapy. When I start to bemoan my lack of productivity, I also have to a ask myself if I want to go back to a life where I move often, and have to start over making new friends?

I miss the nomadic life. I miss the challenges, the demands for new ways of thinking, new ways to approach problems. And also, I don’t miss it. I don’t miss saying goodbyes to people I really love,  I don’t miss the selecting out and giving away and packing up, really hard physical labor.

A new baby girl is coming, and I wanted to do a quilt for her Mama, also starting a new life in Pensacola. I think about being a woman; some times I am more hopeful than other times. I wish this baby to have more options, more equality, and a strong spirit to face the challenges of being a woman. I chose a wonderful swirly batik pink, with a range of pink, from purples to pale, and then put in cross hatches in a very light pink and a very subtle purple. It’s complicated. Just like we are 🙂

 

Jonathan’s Star

 

My first quilt for 2016; I’ve been working on it sporadically since October. With my husband retired and after-school care for our grandson, I just don’t have the uninterrupted time to focus that I used to have 🙂  I’m not complaining, and at the same time, it is very satisfying to be able to complete a quilt from time to time.

I am using up a bunch of half square triangles that I cut and sewed to make friendship quilts. I’ve had them ummm. . . maybe seven years now, and it’s time to use things up or pass them along. I got bored with the friendship stars and did one of the eight sided stars in the center, just for fun and to practice the principles of medallion quilts, i.e. that borders must relate to the center.

Bag Lady

In Kuwait, a wonderful generous lady taught us how to make small bags. It takes several steps, but the results are wonderful.

It’s coming up on Fall, when all our charity quilts are due for this year’s project, when bazaars need donations, and, of course, Christmas is also coming. I’ve been busy with bags, and this is the first round completed – I have more, many more, in the works:

These are so handy – make-up, medications, chargers, snacks – each in its own travel bag. Woo HOOOOO!