The Mom Quilts
May. 26th, 2012 12:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mamagotchaMy mother passed away three years ago. One of the things I did while I was out in California helping my dad was to gather up all of my mother's unfinished quilting projects in hopes of someday finishing them. I carried them all the way home to Chicago and stored them in unopened cardboard boxes downstairs, along with many of her papers and books, for two and a half years. Then, last summer, our basement flooded and I was forced to quickly deal with all of the things I'd been avoiding... including the quilts.
I salvaged what I could, washed and dried it, and decided to ask my mother-in-law, Lorraine, if she would please help me. I knew I'd never get to these projects... my sewing skills are rudimentary at best, and to pick up where an experienced quilter had left off, with no roadmap or blueprint of any kind... well, I was way out of my league and I knew it. I needed the help of a quilter, and Lorraine quilts. She had already gifted us with many gorgeous pieces, and she works in a quilting store, as well as doing alterations. The wedding quilt she gave us was stunning; she dyed all the colored parts herself. If anyone could take this huge chaotic collection of squares and strips and raw shreds, and transform them into the patterns the original artist intended, it would be Lorraine.
I knew it was a huge favor to ask, and honestly I thought she'd maybe finish one or two and bunt the rest back to me. But to my complete amazement, she took this huge box of messed-up fabric scraps and managed to cobble everything together.
I felt better immediately after sending the box. True, I did feel a little guilty, shifting the burden of my immensely foolish plan to finish all these things onto an innocent bystander... but the relief I felt when I shipped it off was palpable. I knew she'd be frank and let me know if any of it needed to be tossed, and I told her there was no rush on any of them... they were all in various states of disarray, and I wanted her to take her time and see if there was any way to save even some of them.
The first box arrived a bit after New Year's. It had a cute little Christmas stocking (it had been mostly done and may have been the easiest thing to finish), a pastel floral lap quilt, and a patriotic-themed lap quilt. I sent the stocking and pastel quilt to my sister Amanda in New York, and the patriotic one to my ex-Navy brother David in Washington State.
The next to arrive was a series of quilts that had been partly done, a pair of placemats, and then a large single bed quilt that had been nothing more than a few sample squares. I gave the three smaller quilts to my three older children (Linc already had a quilt that my mom made for him when he was born), kept the placemats for me, and sent the large bed quilt to my father.
You may have noticed that the only pieces I kept were the placemats. But I knew there was one more quilt to come, and I knew Lorraine would do a wonderful job with it. It was also the hardest one to send to her, and the one that caused the most tears when it arrived.
You see, when Bill and I announced our wedding nine years ago, my mom had started making a big quilt for us. I had seen some of the fabric for it... lots of flowers and color, made of about a zillion little 2-inch-square pieces joined in strips. From what I could glimpse when I visited her, the thing was beautiful. But, when she was done piecing the top, she discovered an error... two of the strips had been swapped, and it was in the middle of the whole shebang. She was so mad and disappointed, she folded it up and put it away until she could deal with it. But she never pulled it out again.
I found it when I was clearing out all her sewing things. It was beautiful, really gorgeous... and I could see the error she told me about. I didn't know how hard it was to fix something like this... it couldn't have been easy or she would have done it herself. There was extra fabric for the edges and backing, but those hadn't even been started. When I packed it up to send to Lorraine (after washing the nasty flood waters from it), I hugged it and hoped for the best. I knew I was sending it into very good hands... but I had no idea of what to expect.
Yesterday, the quilt arrived. It's truly fantastic. I can't tell where the error was at all, and right now it is across my bed, covering me and my husband and the baby that was born a year after that wedding. She had the piece professionally quilted with intricate and swooping floral patterns, as my birthday gift, along with matching pillowcases.
But the real gift was the time she spent trying to channel my mother's intentions, taking the fabrics Connie had selected and mostly cut and sometimes pieced, and carrying them the rest of the way on their journey to beautiful finished objects. She gave my father, my sister, my brother, and my three older children each a unique piece to remember my mother with.
And she made it possible for her son and her daughter-in-law to enjoy the wedding quilt that my mother had intended to give us nine years ago.
When I put it on our bed today, Bill said, "I'm a little verklempt." He wasn't the only one. I folded up the stunning black-and-white-and-rainbow quilt that has been on our bed every single day since it arrived in 2003, and lovingly put it away (but just for a few months... I think the black one will be our fall/winter quilt, and the floral one will be our spring/summer quilt). And I once again sent a big sigh of gratitude towards whoever runs the universe for sending me such a talented and generous woman to be my mother-in-law.
Thank you, Lorraine, for all you have done. I know I probably don't have the slightest inkling of how much labor and sweat and resources and cash this cost you... and I hope you forgive me for dropping this huge amount of work on you. I don't know how or even if there is a way to repay you. All I can say is thank you, and to tell everyone I know what a gem you are.
And now, it's time to snuggle up in my new quilt... the one that two wonderful mothers made for me.
I salvaged what I could, washed and dried it, and decided to ask my mother-in-law, Lorraine, if she would please help me. I knew I'd never get to these projects... my sewing skills are rudimentary at best, and to pick up where an experienced quilter had left off, with no roadmap or blueprint of any kind... well, I was way out of my league and I knew it. I needed the help of a quilter, and Lorraine quilts. She had already gifted us with many gorgeous pieces, and she works in a quilting store, as well as doing alterations. The wedding quilt she gave us was stunning; she dyed all the colored parts herself. If anyone could take this huge chaotic collection of squares and strips and raw shreds, and transform them into the patterns the original artist intended, it would be Lorraine.
I knew it was a huge favor to ask, and honestly I thought she'd maybe finish one or two and bunt the rest back to me. But to my complete amazement, she took this huge box of messed-up fabric scraps and managed to cobble everything together.
I felt better immediately after sending the box. True, I did feel a little guilty, shifting the burden of my immensely foolish plan to finish all these things onto an innocent bystander... but the relief I felt when I shipped it off was palpable. I knew she'd be frank and let me know if any of it needed to be tossed, and I told her there was no rush on any of them... they were all in various states of disarray, and I wanted her to take her time and see if there was any way to save even some of them.
The first box arrived a bit after New Year's. It had a cute little Christmas stocking (it had been mostly done and may have been the easiest thing to finish), a pastel floral lap quilt, and a patriotic-themed lap quilt. I sent the stocking and pastel quilt to my sister Amanda in New York, and the patriotic one to my ex-Navy brother David in Washington State.
The next to arrive was a series of quilts that had been partly done, a pair of placemats, and then a large single bed quilt that had been nothing more than a few sample squares. I gave the three smaller quilts to my three older children (Linc already had a quilt that my mom made for him when he was born), kept the placemats for me, and sent the large bed quilt to my father.
You may have noticed that the only pieces I kept were the placemats. But I knew there was one more quilt to come, and I knew Lorraine would do a wonderful job with it. It was also the hardest one to send to her, and the one that caused the most tears when it arrived.
You see, when Bill and I announced our wedding nine years ago, my mom had started making a big quilt for us. I had seen some of the fabric for it... lots of flowers and color, made of about a zillion little 2-inch-square pieces joined in strips. From what I could glimpse when I visited her, the thing was beautiful. But, when she was done piecing the top, she discovered an error... two of the strips had been swapped, and it was in the middle of the whole shebang. She was so mad and disappointed, she folded it up and put it away until she could deal with it. But she never pulled it out again.
I found it when I was clearing out all her sewing things. It was beautiful, really gorgeous... and I could see the error she told me about. I didn't know how hard it was to fix something like this... it couldn't have been easy or she would have done it herself. There was extra fabric for the edges and backing, but those hadn't even been started. When I packed it up to send to Lorraine (after washing the nasty flood waters from it), I hugged it and hoped for the best. I knew I was sending it into very good hands... but I had no idea of what to expect.
Yesterday, the quilt arrived. It's truly fantastic. I can't tell where the error was at all, and right now it is across my bed, covering me and my husband and the baby that was born a year after that wedding. She had the piece professionally quilted with intricate and swooping floral patterns, as my birthday gift, along with matching pillowcases.
But the real gift was the time she spent trying to channel my mother's intentions, taking the fabrics Connie had selected and mostly cut and sometimes pieced, and carrying them the rest of the way on their journey to beautiful finished objects. She gave my father, my sister, my brother, and my three older children each a unique piece to remember my mother with.
And she made it possible for her son and her daughter-in-law to enjoy the wedding quilt that my mother had intended to give us nine years ago.
When I put it on our bed today, Bill said, "I'm a little verklempt." He wasn't the only one. I folded up the stunning black-and-white-and-rainbow quilt that has been on our bed every single day since it arrived in 2003, and lovingly put it away (but just for a few months... I think the black one will be our fall/winter quilt, and the floral one will be our spring/summer quilt). And I once again sent a big sigh of gratitude towards whoever runs the universe for sending me such a talented and generous woman to be my mother-in-law.
Thank you, Lorraine, for all you have done. I know I probably don't have the slightest inkling of how much labor and sweat and resources and cash this cost you... and I hope you forgive me for dropping this huge amount of work on you. I don't know how or even if there is a way to repay you. All I can say is thank you, and to tell everyone I know what a gem you are.
And now, it's time to snuggle up in my new quilt... the one that two wonderful mothers made for me.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-26 05:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-26 05:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-26 06:35 am (UTC)truly you are loved by the work of their hands and hearts. So gorgeous, all of it.
I need to start making. so I can start making mistakes, so I can start learning and someday actually do some of the things that exist only on paper and in my head.
thank you for sharing your good fortune with all of us!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-26 06:39 am (UTC)And I hope your journey of making brings you much joy!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-26 11:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-26 02:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-26 12:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-26 02:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-27 04:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-09-14 03:36 am (UTC)