A quilt. That word evokes a feeling in most people’s hearts and minds; some think of a warm cozy blanket that may have smelled slightly of grandma’s house with a hint of moth balls or perhaps you envision a fabulously colored piece of textile art hanging on the wall of a stylish building. I think of quilts as a metaphor for life and they are as much an art form as cooking. Just think about it…the recipe is as follows:
- Start with beautiful fresh whole ingredients
- Measure ingredients carefully
- Cut said ingredients
- Carefully re-arrange and re-assemble
- Create an appealing presentation and enjoy
Life is not so easy; it does get a bit messy and sometimes is harder to clean up. We have cleaning products to aid in the removal of spilled or greasy messes as we cook and since I tend to be a messy quilter, known to just throw scraps of fabric and thread over my shoulder, I keep a vacuum nearby as well as a magnet for errant pins and needles.
In our home we do have a favorite, it is the go-to when we are sick, feeling down, stressed or just generally in need of comfort. Truthfully, when I made that quilt I really had no idea of what I was doing since I had only learned to quilt a few short years earlier. As family lore goes, we had just moved from sunny San Diego, CA to Columbus, IN …in January. We had rented a townhouse to live in while we searched exhaustively for a new home in a town we thought would be our new home. Being more than a little claustrophobic when it comes to living quarters, I grew stressed and depressed rather rapidly and the gloomy Indiana winter did nothing to assuage those feelings. One day I made a trip to the local arts and crafts warehouse to peruse the fabrics and stumbled upon a collection that I rather liked (typically, even to this day, I tend to avoid ‘collections’ because I’d rather be unique if not random in my choices). Mindful of our new budget I purchased about one yard of each fabric, went home to wash my new samples and sketched out one of my favorite traditional blocks, Sarah’s Choice (a star with a pinwheel).
After the fabrics were dry I ironed them, laid them out to see which colors I preferred where within the star and the pinwheel and I began to cut and then sew. Since we lived in such tight quarters I could only sew on our dining room table and did not have the luxury of leaving my sewing project out, so around the time the bus dropped off our children I would clean up everything everyday and have the table ready for snacks and homework.
Being so new at the art and craft of quilting I was admittedly not an efficient “piecer” although I had been sewing for years and had a brand new Bernina that would and could sew through just about anything (it was during this time that I also re-upholstered our boat). So after an afternoon of fighting with my pattern and my abilities, I had indeed sewn one block ( 8in x 8in) and was actually quite happy with my results. When I showed my husband later that day he said, “I like it, make it bigger.” Ummm…OK , I had enough fabric to make a total of four blocks so after a few days I had sewn all of them together and quite pleased with myself I again showed my husband and once again he said, “I like it, make it bigger.” Well that meant going back to the arts and crafts warehouse and purchasing a few more yards of fabric, then washing, drying, ironing and cutting it all out. About a week later I had made four more blocks and sewn them onto the existing blocks and once again showed them to my husband who again said, “I like it, make it bigger.” “Bigger?” I thought…”OK, I will make it bigger but I will not show you the results, in fact I will not even let you know what I am doing!” So for months I washed, dried, ironed, cut and sewed this fabric, pulling everything out as soon as the school bus pulled away and setting up on the dining room table and then cleaning it all up before the kids arrived home from school, knowing that I would present the finished quilt to my husband for our 10th anniversary that May.
Admittedly, that was not the way to make a queen-sized quilt and I learned so much throughout the process including PLAN ,PLAN ,PLAN as well as the old adage to “measure twice cut once.” When May rolled around I had finished the quilt and wrapped it in a large robe box complete with a big bow. When he opened it the poor guy didn’t know what hit him, it took a few minutes for the full impact of what he was looking at to hit him…then he cried!
In the ensuing years that quilt has graced our bed (until we up-sized to a California King), gone on car and camping trips, snuggled sick kids and parents, warmed broken hearts and comforted distressed souls. Despite all the mistakes I made while creating “Dad’s Quilt” it has held together beautifully for almost 15 years and I have not needed to repair it, not even once! Sure it is faded and a little worn in spots but aren’t we all, and face it we are typically better off in the long run. You see, a quilt is a bit like a good meal and a long life…we start with fresh whole pieces that are beautiful and colorful, eventually they get cut or ripped apart and put back together albeit in a little different manner. The end result is a treat for the senses. All of those crisp edges are now a bit worn and soft but provide the most comfort for those who need it most. The fragrance is savory and sweet, and if made correctly needs no other seasonings. Oh, and the secondary pattern, well that is an unexpected treat indeed much like gray hair and wrinkles…they show up when you are not looking but add such richness and beauty.
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