The collection- a retrospective

This post is dedicated to my inlaws who brought much love and joy to my life. With the passing of my mother in law, I have completed a set of quilts for them. I thought it would be fun to have a little retrospective of these family quilts. In December of 2003, my inlaws celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, so I decided that they might like a photo quilt. It was a challenge to find a pattern that I thought might be appropriate for photos. After some searching I found one that was an Evelyn Sloppy pattern. With help, we altered some of the design and I had the photos transferred to fabric. I have made one other photo quilt for my parents using a pattern design from the Australian Patchwork magazine but that is a story for another day. This quilt also has some machine embroidery. It hung in their condo and more recently in my mother in laws room at Luther Court. Its new home is as yet to be determined.

This was the last quilt I made for my inlaws before my father in law passed away in 2007. It is based on the Convergence pattern by Ricky Tims. It is a great pattern and I have used it to make a number of couch sized quilts. I love how sweet they look in this photo together. The fabrics include red cardinals which were my father in law's favorite birds as well as his favorite baseball team.

When I first began my quilting journey, I found it a challenge to give away my quilts- now I find it hard to keep them.LOL This double Irish chain has a mate- my parents own the other one. The colors are rich in this Irish chain- I remember having some difficulty getting the striped corners to work out- I love the fabrics in this quilt - they are quite rich looking and do not photograph well. it also has birds on it...

After it became apparent that my mother in law had some form of dementia, I searched for a way to appeal to her sensory system. I ran across a design for a texture quilt. It was suggested that it was something that might appeal to people who lived with Alzheimers. I began to gather fabrics of different textures. I am not sure how washable this quilt is, but all the fabrics are fused on to a foundation fabric to stabilize the materials. There are some very rough knubbly fabrics as well as some very soft cuddly ones. I used shiny ones and flat fabrics... It would be a good design for babies as well.

My mother in law loved babies. This doll quilt has some fun prairie points. The pattern came from a Fons and Porter summer magazine. I love star quilts don't you?

This is the adult sized quilt that was on her bed. My mother in law loved soft colors and I am sure she would love the butter yellow border fabric in this quilt. It was a Fons and Porter pattern from their Love of quilting magazine. I made it in the fall of 2007. Lone star is one of my favorite patterns and while this is not a lone star, it was a fun quilt to make.

And the last quilt in the collection- given recently to celebrate Mum's 90th birthday. This quilt is made with batiks and one of Sandy Gervais's Piece of the heart tone on tone fabric designs. It is the Sidelines pattern and there is much written on my blog about these Maple Island quilt patterns.

Thus ends the collection of quilts that I created for my beloved inlaws. Today was the celebration of my mother in law's life. She was a grand lady who brought much to those who were fortunate enough to cross paths with her in life. These quilts will go on to have different journeys now- someone else will be the keeper of the quilts -At present, I am not sure where they will all go, but I hope where ever they reside, they will bring love and warmth to their new owners.

As for me, my quilt journey continues- some new quilts need to be created... but not for the next while..
 I am writing report cards just now.. I hope you got to check out the Blogger Festival. Lots of terrific quilts to be admired and voted on..
Here in Alberta we have had a large snowstorm- Lots of shoveling going on...
Thanks for stopping by ,
Warmest regards,
Anna

Reflections about Mothers...

Spring has brought spring flowers and more...Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Bruce brought home these beautiful pink tulips earlier this week. We have enjoyed the two shades of pink flowers. The petals are dropping off the tulips, but now there are other fresh flowers gracing our table. They arrived this morning from our son and his girl. Mother's Day is special to me for it was on a Mother's Day weekend twenty five years ago that I knew for sure, I was going to have a child. It remained our secret for some weeks more, but I remember that first feeling of wonder at the prospect of becoming a mother.

This is my first big quilt- I completed this log cabin quilt( pattern sunshine and shadow layout of Eleanor Burns quilt in a day log cabin) when I was pregnant with Kevin. Ubnfortunately, the quilt is in sorry condition now- the victim of former pets and family wear. Here Kevin and our dog Tigger were together, when they were both bright and new.. He is about two months old in this photo- don't you love his running shoe booties??? Even then, he had lots of dark hair.. The first quilt I gave away was this black, red and white Double Irish chain quilt(made around 2000). It belongs to my parents and graces the bed in one of the guest bedrooms of their home. My mother called it my art nouveau quilt because of its vivid colors. It has a rich floral border.

My mother is a woman of great kindness- She is the most thoughtful person I know -always doing something for others. Like her mother, she can be counted on to help others, to listen and to support those in need. To her, it is not the big things in life that matter most- it is all those caring touches that she can do to make others feel important and loved. She has been a wonderful role model in my life. This picture of us together hangs over my desk at school- it always makes me smile. Sometimes, all I have to do is look at that photo to feel her love and her strength from afar. I know how fortunate I am to still have her in my life.I love you Mom- Happy Mother's Day!

Over the years, many of my quilts have had mates- this second double Irish chain quilt belonged to my mother in law- It has beautiful birds in the border fabric- My inlaws were great lovers of the natural world and often enjoyed watching the birds that are part of our local habitat. My mother in law enjoyed creating things- We have two of her paintings. She also enjoyed working with fabric and made quilts for her older grand children. She was a gifted lady who I feel fortunate to be able to have had as a treasured friend as well as my mother in law. To me she remains Mum...

Fast forward 25 years later - This photo was taken when Kevin and Roseanne visited in March. How did that beautiful little boy grow up into this handsome young man? We had such fun when they visited . We so miss his laughter and enthusiasm about life though we feel fortunate to talk to him on Skype frequently. Kevin has just completed his first year at technical college. Bruce and I are proud of him and love him very much. I knew that I always wanted to have children but he has brought more to our lives than I ever thought possible- mostly joy- sometimes aggravation(LOL) but never a dull moment. Each and every day, I recognize that I was given a great gift on the day that he was born.

Kevin and his fiancee Rose have recently bought a house. I am sure that they are going to be very happy in their new home. Kevin has always been fascinated with building and working with his hands. Rose loves to design interiors so their home will be lovely with many special touches.

Speaking of special touches - these beautiful flowers came today- They have many of my very favorite flowers- lilies, roses, carnations,and hyacinths. They came with a loving note from them both and are brightening our dining room table. Anyone want a cup of tea? They had sent the teapot to me earlier in the month- they know how much I love a cup of tea- especially Chai tea! Thank you dear children for your loving gift - it is as treasured as is your love and thoughtfulness...

women in art

I hope this link will work- a while back someone sent it to me - it is a wonderful slide show of women in art- 500 years of women's portraits shown to a beautiful piece of classical music- The link will also show you all the portraits and the artists who created them... And just a small new project to share... This photo is a little project that I completed this evening- it is a bit late- I should have completed it last week, as it was a birthday gift for a blogging friend. It is a signature block- we hope that Ms. D. will enjoy all the blocks that she received and be able to wrap herself in a beautiful quilt hug..

We had a Mother's Day Tea at school on Friday for all of our Mothers, grandmothers, aunties... It was a lovely afternoon where my students shared some songs, dances and a snack with the special women in their lives. My kids made paper flowers and drew pictures about their moms. We also did a drawing of Mom for a card. When I was helping at bus time, I saw some older students with vases, covered with tissue paper squares. Kevin made me one of those vases when he was in kindergarten. I still have it - It, too, is a treasured gift.. Wishing one and all a special Mother's Day.. May it be a day that you are reminded of the gifts of Motherhood. Long ago a dear aunt said to me" when you have a child it is like throwing a rock in the lake-- the ripples go on forever".. I think that is so true.. May you also know that your love continues to expand like the ripples in the lake.. With warmest regards, Anna