I only have time for a quick post before I have to go cook supper, eat, shower and head off to church, so I hope Demon Blogger cooperates this afternoon. Brenda had posted some pictures of a denim quilt she made using old blue jeans, and it made me think of this quilt I made in 1998 for my great-niece. I used scraps from dresses I had made her and Jessica, and it is a memory quilt because of that. I know where each piece of fabric came from, what dresses, etc. were made from the original material, and it's all handsewn. I used to make lap quilts and baby quilts by hand, but now I spend too much time blogging to do much sewing. I just thought some of you might like to look at the pattern, and it's just a basic nine-patch with white lattice and a cream sheet for the backing and border. It has low-loft fiberfill batting inside. It's just the right size for a toddler bed, which my great-niece was sleeping in at the time.
The background behind why I have it back is that at the time I made the quilt and gave it to my great-niece for Christmas 1997, my BIL, her grandfather, had just found out he had terminal pancreatic and liver cancer. My niece put the quilt away because she feared her daughter would ruin it at her young age, not appreciating that it was handmade for her, sentimentality, etc. As my BIL grew increasingly sicker and weaker, he need props to put behind him to sit up, raise a painful knee or shoulder, etc. In our search for something not too firm, not too soft, somehow this quilt was brought out and my BIL used it from then on throughout his illness. I stayed with him and my sister, nursing him so she could keep working as long as she could. Bless my hubby's and Jessica's hearts for understanding and holding down the fort here at home so I could be a help to them.
After my BIL's death, my sister and niece brought me the quilt and said I should take it home and keep it as a remembrance of my time nursing him, since he used it every day during his illness. So the memories attached to this quilt are manifold. I handsewed it from scraps of material left from sewing my daughter's and niece's dresses, it was a gift to my niece, and my dear BIL used it every day during his illness, then it was given back to me as a remembrance of all this.
A dear blogger friend is sending me a new (to me) hard drive in the mail, so when I receive it I will probably be offline for a while getting it set up and changing everything over. Wish me luck that everything will go smoothly and I won't crash the net or something disastrous like that as I work on my computer. I will let everyone know when I am going to be gone so you won't wonder about me.
Wishing everyone a good Wednesday and rest of the week! Be safe and happy, my blogging friends and family!
Love Y'all,
Diane
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Thought I'd Share.......
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18 comments:
That is a very nice quilt you made, and I am sure it brings back a lot of memories.
I hope you have a good week to, my dear Diane. I've got some major happening myself next week, so I better get some blogging done before then, or nothing new will be up for awhile. :-)
Nice job...hand stitched...amazing.
Thanks for the heads up on your down time...you will be missed. Hope everything goes smoothly on the repair.
Beautiful work! That sounds so like you to lovingly care for your BIL during his final illness.
You are such a special lady....
Memory quilts are the best. This one is lovely. Handstitched, too -I'm impressed.
What a beautiful quilt made with such love and the history behind it is heartwarming. Little do we realize how things we make can bring such comfort to others. Thank you for sharing this story...very meaningful!!
Diane, I'd put that quilt behind glass! I'd frame it and display it, it's so pretty. And I can't think of anyone who deserves a rejuvinated computer more than you. Believe me, there are lots of us out here who need you to have a working computer!
A very touching story and the first thing that popped into my mind as I read it was you can chat and talk with someone all the time and never know the things they've been through until they're revealed to you. All my respect for the way you cared for your bil. Been there. Done that. And I know how hard it is.
xoxoxo
Off topic, but check your email, my dear. Your problem is solved and your answer to the question awaits. :-) And NO, everyone else, she did NOT ask me to marry her. :-)
Hope the computer transition goes well. I didnt know you quilted. Sometime I'll have to take photos of some of mine, a newly acquired hobby just a couple of years ago.
Our church started a new prayer quilt ministry in May of last year & one of the first they made was for my Annie. She only had it about a month & a half before her death but I sure cherish it now. It is on our bed under the get-well bear I bought her in the daytime & over the bear or me (depending on how cold it is!) at night. This was made with Love by great friends and had many prayers tied into it after it was blessed.
dear aunt diane,
i enjoy reading your blog,it makes me miss home even more, lucis poor little toe is blue,and would please pray for dads side of the family,aunt panszy she is going thru rehab she had knee surgury and aunt mable isnt doing to hot either,you know in all the years that i have grown up,i have realized something about daddys family,they made me feel so good the other day when i hugged one of them for the first time in my life i didnt feel like an outsider with them,we had a family reunion sat.just like with yall i always know i can call home and i have an aunt i talk to you are very dear to me too aunt diane,i love you and when i read your blog just a few mins, ago,i know that we all have love in our family,thank the lord,for that love you all always god bless you dean dean
Mike,
Thanks, hope things are going well for you, and thanks for answering my question, too. :-)
MomTeacherFriend,
Thanks, and I just got the hard drive in the mail, so it will be a few days yet before I start on it. :-)
Sue,
It truly was a labor of love. :-)
Brenda,
Thanks. :-)
Pea,
Thanks, and you're welcome! :-)
Barb,
Thank you. I use it as a lap quilt occasionally. I'm very careful with it. :-)
And, NO, sometimes you never know what somebody is going through or has been through. I try to remember that always. :-)
Bev,
The mailman just delivered the computer, at 1 pm Thursday, June 22.
I have some other things that have to be done in next day or two, so I'm not sure when I'll actually start the change-over. I'll post a notice on my blog before I start so everyone will know why I'm in-blog-nito for a while. :-)
And I'd LOVE to see some of your quilts. I have some afghans I have crocheted over the years I may post sometime, too. I actually crochet more than I sew, but I don't do much of either since I started blogging, LOL. :-)
Dick,
I know you treasure that quilt. It's more than just a bunch of material sewed together, it's put together with love and prayers and memories. :-)
Hey, Dean Dean,
Hope Luci's toe is okay. You know I love you, don't ever doubt that. :-)
And I will be praying for Johnny's aunts. I already knew about Mabel, but not about Pansy.
I'll be on here later, so I hope to talk to you then.
Love you, Diane
gorgeous! hehe
btw i love your world map thingamajig there. way cool.
I've been brainstorming and I've managed to come up with a great idea. How about you use a piece of your old hard drive as a patch on a quilt?
*crickets, chirping*
OK, OK! So, that wasn't my best idea. Sue me...
By the way, I loved the "in-blog-nito" line. Very witty...
What a beautiful quilt and now it has its own History, ,made for a child with love from cuttings from handmade clothes that you made, comforted an ailing soul and now brings emotion to you through memories , wonderful indeed!The memory may grow as your family may in years to come ,and it all started with a few stiches of love ,CHERISH!
Hope your back soon I shall miss my friend:{ dont stick your fingers near any wires } unless you want a home perm:}Lmao
will be thinking of you friend.
Greeneyes
So many memories one patch at a time.Good luck on your downtime!
I'm a new visitor and say Hi from Norway. You have a great blog!
While I'm at it, I wish you a Happy St. Han's Day (mid summer) as we are celebrating summer solstice in Norway:-)
Memory quilts are wonderful. Every piece tells it's own amazing story.
Good luck with the new hard drive, hope it doesn't keep you away from us for too long.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Take care, Meow
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