Has A Quilt Ever Spoken to your Heart, Really?

The past three weeks have gone by with lots of activity around here.  The past two Thursdays a couple of our church quilters spent the day here, with one helping the other learn to cut and piece a little table topper, and start on a patriotic throw (a little late for this year).  They have more room to work together in my sunroom, and I enjoy them being here, though I don't get much done.  I just try to be sure they are comfortable, have what they need, and get them fed.  We do have fun together!

My grandson was here for a week and got more done on his quilt, but still needs to do a little more quilting before his final showing.  He enjoyed being here with us old ladies one of those Thursdays they were here, and they enjoyed him too.  They kept him busy online looking for Texas A&M fabrics, etc., which he enjoyed, and indeed he found some that one of them went and bought somewhere in the DFW metroplex.

During all those goings-on, I was working with some fabric a friend had talked me into buying for an attic window pattern.  She has a gorgeous mountain scene panel that she wants to cut up and use that pattern, but she wanted me to do one at the same time with her.  I didn't like my fabric from the get-go; it was not a panel, but rather yardage with a 9" repeat, both directions, on what really has only two scenes (which I didn't realize until I began trying to cut it).  Fussy cutting to get nine different "panes" was quite a challenge!  All the time I kept saying, "This is never going to work!  I don't even like the colors; I like pink and green!  Why did I buy this fabric?  I don't like it at all!  I should have known better!"  I just kept repeating those words with every cut, and every seam. I did the best I could with it, but kept saying it had been a waste of time, and that I'd never like it.  It finished at 40" square.  I did a not so good job of free motion quilting around  the blooms, fence, vase and wheel barrow, but when I got the frame around it and stood back and looked at it, the top spoke, almost audibly, to me!  I was in tears as I heard it say, "Look out at your Mother's flower garden!"  Oh my, what a feeling came over me!  Fond memories of Mother and her flowers came flooding over me.

"Look Out at My Mother's Flower Garden"

My mother loved flowers, and every year she overtook another row of Daddy's large vegetable garden and before he knew it, she had half of that corner block on the highway in flowers.  Everyone who came through our town saw her flower garden; it was truly lovely.  She walked among the many blooms of all kinds every morning and literally talked to them, telling them how pretty they were.

If you're still reading by now, I have a little more to tell and show.  Here, you can see the Faith, Hope, and Love quilt I gave to a friend in 2011.  She called about 10 days ago and asked if I could lengthen it so it would stay on the back of her recliner.  I decided it would be better to make another little quilt to cover the seat area so she could then drape the original quilt further over the back of the chair.  In my stash, I found just barely enough to do that and also to make some arm covers.  I had never made arm covers, and they certainly are not perfect, but she loves the final outcome of the group.  (I'll never do that again!)  Then she wanted me to fold and sew the sides of the original quilt to fit over the chair, sort of like an envelope!  I didn't like the idea at all, and I certainly will never do that again either, but hey, I had given her the quilt to use as she sees fit; it's hers!  She says when she's really down-hearted because of her sick husband's condition, those scriptures lift her up, and she wants them "under" her.  What more could I say or do?  She's pleased, and I'm glad she's pleased, but I'm not happy at all about what she wanted done with the quilt, and I doubt the seat cover will stay tucked straight like she thinks.  As you can see, it's already a mess!

Covering for chair seat area 

I'll never do this again!  But she loves it!

Today I made a matching pillow case for storing my DIL's blue and white quilt when not in use,  and a little neck pillow to match for her birthday in a few days.

Not sure what I'll work on next.  I think it will be something for me! --- Maybe!

Sorry this has been so long, but I needed to get all this off my tired mind!

---"Love"