On Eagle’s Wings

I’ve been so busy, today I’m just veg'ing. After our Quilt show I went to the AQS show in Des Moines. I came home on Friday and the following Tuesday I was the substitute speaker at my local quilt guild. 

In order to show quilts that I’ve made, I spent the weekend traveling to my son’s, my stepson’s, my nephew’s and my friends’ homes to pick up quilts I’d made and given them so I could show them at guild. I also did a lot of washing of quilts that weekend. I have allergy problems with pet dander so needed to get rid of it. Also, the first big quilt I made had been vomited on, and my DDIL couldn’t get the smell out. I soaked it overnight in the “Recipe for Stink Removal”, then had to wash it in Synthrapol as the burgundy fabric I used nearly 20 years ago still bleeds. I took 8 laundry baskets of quilts (thank you DH for carrying so much stuff) because I make large quilts for beds.

After Guild was finished and DH was off to Nevada, I started a labor of love. A dear niece had such an awful cancer that she was having radical, radical surgery on the 14th. I thought she should have a comfort quilt.

When we were vacationing in Colorado, I ordered a kit from a vendor at the quilt show we found in Montrose. It finally came, and I couldn’t seem to cut the fabric right to get all the pieces out of the kit. After pulling everything I could out of my stash I still couldn’t come up with a piece of jade marble that matched the panel. I finally found some at our local quilt shop, then some came that I ordered on the net.

I had this idea that the rays coming off the center of the quilt should be filled with messages of hope and comfort, so had another niece post on a private Facebook group to gather them. Was that ever a tear-jerking experience.

I wanted a soft backing, was at Costco and they had wonderful soft fleece-type blankets cheaper than I could buy backing. This was my first major mistake!! This blanket stretched BOTH ways.

I loaded Black Bart, did the math and started with SID and the rays. Every time I laid a ruler on it, it would stretch. After 4 hours I almost stopped and was ready to rip it out, but remembered a class I just took at AQS, and stopped floating the top and pinned the bottom of the top to the roller. It made it much more stable.

I finished all the rays on each advance, then started “writing” in all the messages. Some were Bible verses of comfort. I wrote in 2 verses of “On Eagle’s Wings” as well as the refrain in the center brown border. I knew it wouldn’t lay flat with this backing, so I stopped worrying and just finished it.
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My DDIL and I delivered it to my niece the second day after her 14 hour surgery. When I gave it to her I warned her that is would make us all cry. I cried many a tear quilting it. She loved it, and it’s many messages. Here’s a close up of one spot.
2013-10-16 12.00.35closeup writing
I added hearts when I needed a little fill. I should have quilted them in the empty rays, but it was more important to finish it and deliver it.
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I think it was comforting, but I hope I never have the need to make one of these again.

On to happier quilting!
(Aunt) Becky

Comments

Marj said…
I love the quilting of comforting and inspirational words on the quilt! I think I will put some on the next quilts of valor that I quilt. Hope that your Niece is on her way to recovery.
Bonnie said…
Agh, a tear jerker in the morning. It is a lovely quilt and not even knowing your family I'm crying. Beautiful work.

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