Friday, April 17, 2009

Bloggers' Quilt Festival

Amy at Park City Girl is hosting a Bloggers' Quilt Festival this week, in which we each select our favorite quilt, blog about it, then link over to her site. There's already quite a list of participants, so I look forward to perusing this eye candy a lot the next few days.

(I apologize for the photos in advance. I no longer have the quilt, and I didn't have a digital camera at the time, but I did scan the prints made of the quilt. However, I can't seem to comvert them to jpeg format, so I will have to link to them through flickr. Just click the highlighted links and it should take you to the photos.)

The Story:

When I first started working at my current job, Debbie had been there 3 years, working day shift. She was a terrific nurse, a favorite of the patients, staff, and physicians alike. Her husband lost his job, and they had to relocate to California for a new job, which was really closer to their families anyway.

Debbie was a free-spirit quilter, not following "the rules", but loving what she did and it showed. One of our most beloved patients was a young mom who had breast cancer. Debbie made the 8-yr-old daughter a comforter with broderie-pursed flowers and animals on it, as we all knew "T" would be losing her battle soon.
"T" would take it with her to chemo, wrapping up to stay warm.

The Quilt:
Before Debbie left, I ironed freezer paper to the backs of muslin squares and took them to work, along with a handful of Pigma pens, and staff and physicians alike signed the blocks with good wishes, simple drawings and whatever came to mind. The blocks were incorporated into stars, using a Judy Martin pattern, and the colored fabrics were all starred fabrics, mostly from Moda, as I recall. It was an early quilt for me, quilted on my little Kenmore, and the mistakes were plenty.

We spread it out on an empty bed and brought her in to see it. She was totally surprised, and all day long people came by and spent some time reading the many comments and signatures from her friends. She wrote later that she has it hanging in her new house, even though it is really lap quilt sized.

Probably the most precious block was the one drawn and signed by T's daughter, T2. I don't remember what it said exactly, but it was something to the effect of "thanks for taking care of us". T died 4 months after Debbie left. I hope T2 still has the quilt Debbie made her.

Thanks, Amy, for hosting this! If you want to see more entries, click the button on the left sidebar and it will take you right to the links of entries. If you have a favorite, you can post about it through April 24--and then be eligible for some terrific prizes.
Have fun!

30 comments:

rachel griffith said...

well it sounds like one great quilt.

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

What a great quilt, especially for a first try. I'm impressed! And what a sweet story. Thank you for sharing.

That's what quilting is about to me - taking things you love and putting them together for people you love.

hetty said...

A special quilt with a special story. Thanks for sharing.

rachel griffith said...

okay so i wasn't smart enough to hit the links.
big dork here. lol.

it's beautiful stephanie.
:D

Kerri said...

o.k. i'm glad rachel figured it out since i didn't realize to click as well. :)

it is very lovely!!

Jean said...

Nice quilt...great story!

Zonnah said...

I love the bright colors

Jocelyn said...

What a wonderful story and a beautiful quilt. Thanks so much for sharing.

Lori in South Dakota said...

Wow--the quilt was beautiful, and it was a great idea!

Libby said...

What a great quilt!

Mushyhed said...

What a great quilt and beautiful story! Love this quilt festival. I've been able to see so many beautiful quilts.

Unknown said...

That is a beautiful quilt. And an even more precious story. What a wonderful memory for T2 and for Debbie also. Two stories for the FREE price of one!!

dutchcomfort said...

Such a special quilt and story. Thanks for charing!

Dorothy said...

That is a lovely quilt with a very special story. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Pat at Bell Creek Quilts said...

What a wonderful gift to give to T and T2! Thanks for sharing :)

stitchinpenny said...

Great story.

Quilt Rat said...

Love those stars, great quilt
Enjoy this fabulous festival.

Unknown said...

Stephanie it's beautiful! I love the story of the quilt and the beautiful way you came to make it. Thank you for sharing it with us :)


I wanted to tell you - if you go over to your flickr pics and click "all sizes" above your pic, you can select the size and copy the html into your blog post. I just figured it out - it's pretty cool :)

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Very nice quilt with a touching story. Thanks for sharing.

Tami @ Lemon Tree Tales said...

The stars are very bright and cheerful. I always like hearing about how memory quilts came about. Yours is a sweet story .. a little bittersweet about T1 but how nice that T2 was able to sign a star for your friend.

MightyMom said...

beautiful dearie!

I joined in! come and see

Anonymous said...

wow!! such a beautiful quilt with a wonderful story!!!! i'd love to quilt but never the time [or much patience either]... its a talent to be admired as it has so much storytelling in it too!!

biggest hugs stephanie! nice to catch up on your blog

Granny Lyn said...

(sniff sniff) what a wonderful story...behind a wonderful quilt, thanks for sharing!

Kim said...

Lovely, vibrant quilt for someone who sounds like a lovely, vibrant person! What a wonderful idea and no wonder Debbie has it hanging on her wall :-)

nanann said...

That is a great story, and a great quilt. I love how you made the memory blocks into the star centers.

giving away quilts can be so meaningful to everyone involved, and I can see why this one would be a favorite.

Julie said...

Found the link, love your quilt, I'm a sucker for stars.

Natalie said...

What a sad sweet story! The quilt is beautiful. Thanks for sharing it with us!

jacquie said...

amazing story!! lovely quilt. thanks so much for sharing.

quiltmom anna said...

What a moving story- it is one that celebrates the way quilts can bring comfort to people- I love star quilts and I am sure the quilt is a treasured belonging of T's daughter.
Thanks for coming to visit my blog- I do hope that you will come again.
Regards,
Anna

Kathy - Pink Chalk Studio said...

A beautiful quilt story, you've captured the spirit perfectly.