In the autumn of 2008, my Mom fell in her house. (She had been falling more. At the time we did not recognize that this was probably an early sign of her dementia.) She hurt her back & had a mild concussion & it was then that I realized that I should be checking on her more often -- so began my daily phone calls. A year later, I called her from Quilt Festival 2009; we chatted, she said she was doing OK, I said I was calling from the Quilt Festival & she told me to buy myself something to be from her. She was always generous & in the years after Dad's death, she was especially so, trying to give us things, writing us big checks (probably another sign of the Alzheimer's). Mostly, I turned her down & I had no intention of getting anything "to be from her" this time either -- then I passed the Den Haan & Wagenmakers booth. This is the Dutch shop that has the beautiful, old-world polished cottons; they had fabric, patterns & quilt kits. I lovingly stroked the beautiful prints & started to pass them by. Then I stopped, went back & bought myself a kit as a gift from my Mom to me. She was so pleased I did!
A few months after that, her physical & mental health nose-dived, she moved into nursing care, then into memory care & now she's gone.
The quilt kit sits untouched. It is a challenging pattern -- a small block with small, odd-shaped triangles. And the instructions are in Dutch! I kept trying to figure out a way to simplify it -- partial paper-piecing was the best I could come up with, but I never got it started. And now I don't really want to make it as instructed -- something simple & spare is more appealing. So I'm going through my Idea Book & making sketches. There are 22 sort of fat quarter meters plus the yardage of the 3 shades of blue (& a few extra prints that I added at the time).
Flying Geese? Friendship Star? A modern, trendy pattern?
Stay tuned!
8 comments:
Love the fabric in this quilt and will make a lovely quilt with the original pattern or another. I think you will find making this quilt therapeutic. My heart is with you.
Oh this will be lovely--and I understand about the dementia and falling. My Mom is still having falling issues in her nursing home; she has had 2 hip repairs in 2 yrs!! She says she feels "light-headed". Hope you will have fun finishing this quilt..hugs, Julierose
Nothing like stitching to sooth the soul and with this story attached to this quilt, you will cherish it forever.
xoxo
I'm sure you will make a beautiful quilt with that fabric! Funny how you called it 'old-world polished cottons' , we call it 'sitsen' or chintz :-)
What a special, special gift from your mother. It will be the most beautiful quilt, the sort that feels like hugs when you wrap it around you.
Oh, Beth! How lovely this will be, whatever your design. Very bittersweet. Thanks again for your help on Saturday. I washed the kitchen floor several times!
A comfort quilt for you could not be made from more beautiful fabric. I just love it and cannot wait to see the process.
what lovely fabrics, and lovely memories, too, so that whatever you decide on it will be lovely as well!
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