As the saying goes, "sometimes life hands you a curve." Then again sometimes it's a cliff . . . full of ragged edges and broken dreams.This quilt is 21 years old now, made during a time of great turmoil and unhappiness in my life. The road since has been somewhat bumpy and often full of pot holes, but I'm learning to either steer around them or gun the engine and jump.
Through it all, my double Irish chain has brought me comfort, and warmth, and when I needed it, a snugly.
It's semi-retired now and only comes out when I'm feeling ill or especially "blue." No pun intended.
The original colors have faded to a soothing gray. At the time, I did not know that Woolite had bleach in it and Orvus soap was the way to go.
The binding has been mended a time or two. And once, a puppy I had found it on the line and decided to chew a bit. I mended it and thus added one more story to it's journey.
And the bottom photo, the newest one. Big Blue it's called, for the moment. It's still in progress as you can see. No doubt, it too will have stories to tell as I prepare for a new journey. Finding a
house, buying a house, settling down. Life is full of journeys and stories.If your quilts could talk, what tales would they tell?
And your grandmother's quilts?
Label them if you can, for they've traveled further than any of us.
7 comments:
Beautiful ! And such a big progress on your blue one... I just discovered your Blog a few days ago, and find sooo much inspiration in it ! THANKS for that !
Then I'll tell you that if my quilts could talk, they would tell how much love and comfort they gave me while making them (sometimes they even helped me not being completely crazy, or lost). Some of them would tell how loooooong it took me to finish them, some others would say I could have done better. But ALL would tell how much they're ME, and how much they're loved and cherished ! (and labelled)
Unfortunately, I can't label any grandmother's quilt, as I'm the first quilter ever in the family. (not so many quilters in Belgium, and a rather new "hobby", as they say (how dare they call quilting a "hobby", by the way ?????).
I'll tell you a secret : I even never got a chance to see an antique quilt in real (sigh)...
Oh wait a minute : maybe my modest quilts will become antiques, some day ? (smiles)
Hugs & smiles to you !
NADINE
in Belgium
What a beautiful quilt It just looks...loved. I will have to try to document what I know of my grandmother and great grandmother's quilts...not that I know much!
I"m loving big blue! and I love your double irish chain. It looks so loved!
The old loved blue quilt is a treasure, and the new blue is looking great. I like the star blocks you have on that wall as well. I didn't know Woolite had bleach in it, but I know now:)
There must be a cosmic connection between quilters. Look at another Big Blue... completed in June and presented to my brother and family.
http://pieceful-moments.blogspot.com/2007/08/gifting-my-brother.html
Reading about your Big Blue made me smile, that cosmic connection...
It sounds like the Irish Chain has served many purposes in your life - "made during a time of great turmoil and unhappiness" - I am sure having it to work on helped to get your mind focused on the quilt instead of what was happening. And of course it is there as a comfort for you whenever you need it.
"It only comes out when I'm feeling ill or especially blue" - hope that doesn't mean you are ill or blue now, but just wanted to share!
You mentioned labels, how do you do labels? I have some old quilts handed down, and should label them.
Maybe you could do a tutorial post on labels!
Have a great weekend!
So... Do you pieced all of your strips first? (2 that have three, units, 2 that have 5 units, etc.) Do you you start by sewing a ton of whites to a ton of blues?
Do you pin the heck out of it once you start to assemple the rows together? (Yes, I can go on with the questions, No, I won't.)
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